Reviews

Mainly Academic: by Dr. K. R. Srinivasa Aiyengar. Published by Asia Publishing House, Bombay 1. Price Rs. 25.

It is not often the case that you take a book to read and feel inclination to stop reading in the middle. The effortlessness in the flow of language is one of the reasons which lures the reader to turn page after page without any weariness. Also there is the other reason, that the contents prove of such unflagging interest not only to the Academician but to the non-scholar that everything makes useful reading.

Within three hundred odd pages are collected here, forty addresses delivered by Dr. K. R. Srinivasa Aiyengar, during his Vice-Chancellorship of the Andhra University. Notwithstanding the fact that many of them appear to be extempore utterances, they give an impression of serious and adequate preparation. They are not merely replies, sometimes to delightful receptions given in honour of his appointment as Vice-Chancellor, but have a bearing upon some of the current problems facing universities everywhere. The range of topics handled is amazingly diverse, even as they are exacting of study and knowledge of subjects of importance. To instance a few, there are discussions of matters pertaining to medical, legal, agricultural, educational and research fields. One wonders how Dr. Aiyengar, whose main interest as an English professor would normally relate to English language and literature, could have acquired sufficient knowledge in so many aspects of contemporary life, and that too with more than a lay mind’s curiousity and avidity for fresh information of the achievements in every one of them.

There are indeed passages deserving of special notice to the scholar seeking material for food for thought. A feeling is left on the reader, who has had the pleasure of reading some of the late Rt. Hon. Srinivasa Sastri’s speeches in print, to compare them with Dr. Aiyengar’s and entertain a satisfaction that there is a similarity in the spoken words’ adequacy combined with a moral elevation permeating them equally.
–K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

Non-violence and Aggression: (A study of Gandhi’s moral equivalent of war) by H. J. N. Horburgh. Published by Oxford University Press, Madras-2. Pages 207. Price: Rs. 27-50.

There is a spate of books on Gandhism and Satyagraha but they serve the purpose of sermons alone. Here is an invaluable book that is devoted to a study of Satyagraha, its bases, practices and essence. Satyagraha is herein subjected to an anatomical analysis and its efficacy as a moral weapon to conquer an aggressor is thoroughly examined and established. As a study it is thorough and critical. Every chapter in this is an essay perfect both in form and content. It is a great treat to the intellectuals. It is an exhaustive commentary on a few important sayings of Gandhiji on Satyagraha, and an informative and educative text-book to students of political thought. Emanating from the facile pen of a senior lecturer in the department of moral philosophy in the university of Glasgow, this book is sure to lure any rational and patient reader into non-violent ways of thinking.

War, the author establishes, is irrational, morally erosive and is a violation of the principle of respect for persons and hence it is incumbent upon us to search for an alternative to it, an alternative that is a method of resistance distinct from war, that does not suffer from the moral deficiences of war, that can be used in all circumstances in which a resort to war has usually to be, and that offers at least some prospect of being effective when used in those circumstances. That Gandhi’s Satyagraha proved efficacious in solving some problems is proved evidences of his Satyagrahas related to Champaran, Kheda, Vykam temple road and Salt Act.

That Satya, Ahimsa and Tapasyaare the bases of Satyagraha thatmeans dominate ends in Gandhi’s thought, and that Satyagraha is a method that adds to creativeness of conflict, creativeness that is moral in character, is proved by the author with the aid of proper quotations from Gandhi’s speeches and writings, and illustrations from Gandhi’s life and some historical events.

The chapter on practice of Satyagraha is a practical guide to Satyagrahis and deserves to be studied with rapt attention. The nature of the guard-dog method of defence and nation-in-arms method is described and Gandhi’s method of defence is shown to be different from and superior to either of these two. The author points out that a defence system is to be judged in a threefold way (i) by its effects upon that which is to be depended (ii) by the extent to which it reduces the likelihood of aggression and (iii) by the probability that it would prove to be an effective system of defence if aggression should nevertheless occur, and he uses this threefold division as the basis of his account of non-violent system of defence. He also makes it clear that the heart of any defence problem is the preservation of a way of life, and a defence system reached peak effectiveness when it exactly matches the way of life of the community which it is intended to protect, and hence all defence systems are limited in their capabilities and this is true of non-violent defence system also. Our main emphasis, the author proclaims, should fall on active peace-making rather than upon deterrance and that non-violent defence may offer us the best prospect of attaining an effective combination of peace-making and deterrance–always provided that aggression can be successfully resisted by non-violent means.

Non-violent defence to be successful presupposes and requires the fulfilment of three conditions by the community opting for such a defence: (1) The community must have made very substantial progress towards the relation of social justice; (2) It must also have achieved an extremely high level of discipline (3) and the social discipline to which it has attained must not depend in any large measure upon the use of traditional methods of law enforcement. Nature and importance of these prerequisites is thoroughly dealt with in these pages.

The learned lecturer is candid enough to flatly admit that there is no complete answer to a question posed by himself in the following words: “Upon what is a community to rest its security while it is moving towards their fulfilment? Is it to continue to defend itself by arms until it is ready for non-violent defence? Or is it to rely upon non-violent methods of defence even though it cannot yet hope to use them effectively?” Preparations for non-violent defence, causes of aggression considered in relation to the present, and effects of non-violent policies on present causes of aggression are also described in detail. The author concludes that the present dangers of aggression seem to stem from a combination of causes, the most important of which are ideological rivalry, fear and hostility, a large number of specific disputes and military expediency. The author also asserts that non-violent policies can exert a wholesome influence on the invaders and create a goodwill towards the invaded community.

“Barring the invaders’ path, scorched earth policy and non-co-operation” are the three methods of combating, invasion discussed by Gandhi, and the learned lecturer, based on Gandhi’s own words, arrives at the conclusion that Gandhi would have chosen undoubtedly the methods of non-co-operation to resist an aggressor. It is worth noting in this context that Gandhi was opposed to Dhurna, a practice that is now resorted to frequently in our country in educational institutions and industries. “If we fight our opponent, we at least enable him to return the blow. But when we challenge him to walk over us knowing that he will not, we place him in a most awkward and humiliating position”–Gandhi. Some difficulties that a community wedded to non-violent defence system has to face are also described in detail at the end of the sixth chapter.

At the end of the last chapter entitled “Prospects and Opportunities,” the author leaves an optimistic note in the following words and concludes his thesis with Gandhiji’s words, pregnant with meaning: “Thus the prospects of non-violence in the sphere of international conflict may be brighter than is commonly supposed–in spite of our continued belief in armed force.” It is certainly to be hoped that they are. For, as Gandhi once said, man “either progresses towards ahimsa or rushes to his doom.” How we wish that this volume is prescribed as a text-book to students in our universities.
–B. KUTUMBA RAO

World Perspectives in Philosophy, Religion and Culture.Published by Bihar Darshan Parishad. Distributors: Bharati Bhavan, G. M Road, Patna. Pp. 479. Price Rs. 50-00.

Dhirendra Mohan Datta is one of the very few philosophers who believe that they have to live what they preach. He had not made a career out of philosophy and that is why he commands the love and loyalty of all right-thinking men in the academic circles that know his worth. The present volume is a rich collection of the essays presented to him by a number of distinguished scholars on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Writers from the United States, Europe, authorities on Chinese thought, Indian scholars of repute–all have contributed weighty papers to this excellent commemoration volume. Dr. Nagaraja Rao has a challenging paper on the trends in contemporary philosophy in India. He traces the developments after the impact of western thought on the Indian mind and records the original systems that have been built up by seers like Sri Aurobindo, based upon their own spiritual realization and taking account of both the ancient tradition and the modern developments in science. He rebuts the charge of ‘other-worldliness’ against Indian philosophy and establishes its right to be heard even in the heyday of the present materialistic civilisation. Another interesting paper is by Dale Riepe on the influence of Indian thought upon that of the United States.            It is a most informative document revealing many unpublicised reactions of notable leaders of the American civilisation to Indian religion and spirituality. Emerson, Jefferson, James, Thoreau and a number of others come in for detailed mention. A highly fascinating book worth serious study.
–M. P. PANDIT

The Message of The Upanishads by Swami Ranganathananda. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay-7. Pp. 587, Price Rs. 15-00

The most appealing quality of this work is that it is not heavy though it deals, verse by verse, with texts like the Isha, Kena and Katha, nor is it light and perfunctory as popular lectures of this kind are apt to be. Swamiji keeps to the golden mean and puts across profound ideas with good deal of fascinating dressing. He draws upon other texts of the spiritual tradition of India, the Veda, the Epics, Bhagavata, etc., and also on modern thought in science and religion to illustrate and confirm his explanations of the chosen texts of the Upanishad.

After giving a comprehensive survey of the ground of the teaching of the Upanishads and an analysis oftheir influence on subsequent developments in Indian philosophical and religious thought, the author takes up the Isha Upanishad as it is the one text that boldly tackles the problem of God and the Universe. The very first verse proclaims that the universe is a habitation of God. The world is not a falsehood to be rejected, but a truth to be cherished and lived in its right value as a manifestation of the spirit. The writer observes: “If everything is the Atman or Brahman, the universe of name and form cannot be an illusion.” The Brihadaranyakais emphatic in its statement: “The cosmic energy is, verily, truth; and This (the Atman) is the truth of that,” satyasya satyam (II-1-20).

Both in the Katha Upanishad and the Gita, the universe is described as an eternal Aswattha tree whose root is above in the Infinite. Swami Ranganathananda compares this conception with the Ash-tree of Scandinavian mythology about which Carlyle observes: “All life is figured by them as a tree. Igdrasil, the Ash-tree of  Existence, has its roots deep down in the kingdoms of Hela or Death; its trunk reaches up heaven-high, spreads its boughs over the whole universe: it is the tree of Existence. At the foot of it, in the Death-kingdom, sit three Nornas, Fates–Past, Present, Future, watering its roots from the sacred Well.” Swamiji notes: “In spite of many similarities, there is one striking difference between the Indian and the Scandinavian imageries: the Scandinavian tree of existence has its roots, conceived in the plural, below in the world of Hela or Death, whereas the Indian tree has its root, conceived in the singular, the tap-root above in the world of the immortal and infinite Brahman, urdhvamulam adhassakham aswattham. The world of Time is rooted in the world of Eternity, Brahman. And what the Scandinavian sages described as the roots below in the world of Death are but the secondary roots according to Indian sages.”

Indeed, this world and the beings living therein partake of both these features –immortality and death. The writer quotes from the Mahabharata: “Immortality as well as mortality are both established in the body; by delusion, one reaches death; by truth, one attains immortality.” (XII. 169-28)

By the pursuit of Truth in life one walks the path that leads to immortality and by following the false call of falsehood, one goes under. How to avoid the danger of falsehood? By alertness, by vigilance and sincerity to truth. Swamiji cites two striking verse on the need for this wakefulness. “Wakefulness is the way to immortality; heedlessness is the way to death. Those who are wakeful do not, the heedless are already dead. “ (Dhammapada, Chap. II)

Also, “Heedlessness alone is death, I say; through constant wakefulness, I proclaim, is immortality (gained) Sanatsujatiyam, (Pramaadam vai mrityuraham braveemi; sadaapramaadaat amritvam braveemi) (Mahabharata, V. 42-4)

Among other interesting explanations is the doctrine of sphotaexplaining the origin of the world. The author quotes from Swami Vivekananda: “All this expressed sensible universe is the form, behind which stands the eternal inexpressible sphota, the manifester as Logos or Word (obviously, ‘world’ (p. 376) is a misprint). This eternal sphota, the essential eternal material of all ideas or names, is the power through which the Lord creates the universe. Nay, the Lord first becomes conditioned as the sphota, and then evolves Himself out as the yet more concrete sensible universe. This sphotahas one word as its only possible symbol, and this is the Om. If properly pronounced, this Om will represent the whole phenomena of sound-production, and no other word can do this: all this, therefore, is the fittest symbol of the sphota, which is the real meaning of the Om. And as the symbol can never be separated from the thing signified, the Om and the sphotaare one. And as the sphota, being the finer side of the manifested universe, is nearer to God, and is indeed the first manifestation of divine wisdom, this Om is truly symbolic ofGod.”

Though the title of this book is the “Message of the Upanishads” it is truly the Message ofthe Eternal that it proclaims. The extensive learning and sincerity of the author are stamped on every page.
–M. P. PANDIT

Imagery of Kalidasa by L. S. Bhandare. Popular Prakashan, Bombay-34. Pp. 122. Price Rs. 20

For those who have missed much beauty and rasain their study of the works of Kalidasa as text-books for university examinations, Mr. Bhandare’s book comes as a boon. Beginning with a section on the famous topic Upama Kalidasasya, similes, the author selects notable passages from all over the writings of the poet, gives their renderings and adds brief notes bringing out their excellences from the poetic and the aesthetic points of view. Thus there are, under appropriate titles, descriptions of kings, warriors, seasons, scenes of Nature, ocean, mountains and, of course, the clouds. Hermitages and cities, that is, Ujjaini, Ayodhya, Alaka, claim separate sections for themselves. The section on Siva is specially appealing.

Writing on the very first verse of Kumarasambhavamdescribing the Himalayas as the ‘measuring rod of the earth’, the author observes: “Here the image of the measuring rod of the earth stands quite vivid before our mind’s eye. The towering Himalayas stand pervading or spanning the immense distance between the Eastem and Western oceans.

“Here is one of the finest of Kalidasa’s utprekshas. The vast length of the range of the mountains justifies the utpreksha–an apt simile in its origin but recognized as utprekshaby the rhetoricians. In this verse Kalidasa’s imagination has taken the loftiest flight...

“Sublimity which is the distinguishing quality of Milton’s poetry is not Kalidasa’s forte. Kalidasa in short words or phrases (purvaaparav vaarinithi vigaahya) pregnant with deep meaning rises to sublimty in delineating the awfully grand or majestic scenes or persons, unlike Milton, who rises to sublimity in his magnificent descriptions by elaborating in details, which run into several or many lines. But Kalidasa with a few strokes paints the whole scene and lo! it is sublime.

“The verse is written in a limpid, grand style, in keeping with the magnificence of the object under description.

“What a world of meaning is concentrated in these short simple words, Sthitah prithivyaa iva maanadandah! The towering Himalaya mountain (range) dominates not only the vast country of Bharata, but also the entire earth which is incomparably Vaster.”
–M. P. PANDIT

Prabodha Sudha (Nectar of Enlightenment) by Swami Poornananda Tirtha. Jnanasrama  Wadakancheri, Kerala. Price Rs.10.

The volume under review is the compilation of the lectures on Vedanta delivered by the Swamiji in C. H. Hall, Bombay, in January, 1966. The book falls into two distinct sections. The first part is a fine selection from the Vedantic classic Yogavaasishthadealing about, the seven steps and levels in the evolution and human consciousness in the quest for self-realisation. The Saptabhumikais described in all details.

The Yogavaasishthais a first rate classic of Advaita Vedanta in thirty-two thousand verses, a dialogue between Sri Ramachandra and his guru Vasishtha, dealing about all philosophic topics and the spiritual disciplines to attain bliss. There are in all six sections in the book describing (1) vairagya= dispassion (2) Mumukshutva= longing for Moksha (3) utpatti= creation and origination of things (4) sthiti= sustenance (5) upasaanti= peace (6) Nirvana = ultimate divine merger. The first part of the book is taken out from the sixth chapter. It is useful for the spiritual aspirant to check up his sadhanaand make headway in his ascent on the path. The seven levels of spiritual realisation are set forth with the text and elaborate and helpful notes and translation. The exposition is simple, pleasing and profound as the text is. The Swamiji’s art and language employed for the exposition with apt illustrations is attractive and evokes faith in theme and urges one to practise them. The second part of the book is a clear exposition of Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi’s Tamil Ulladu Narpadu (the truth in forty verses). It is translated Sanskrit by Ganapathimuni. Our Swamiji explains the forty verses and brings out clearly the thoughts of the Maharishi. The mind of man is a flow or sequence of thoughts. It flows one after another. The source of the thought is the ego, i.e., ‘I’ notion. On the ego, chitta, buddhi and manaswork and we have experience. We are asked to make a sincere search for the meaning of the term ‘I’. Enquiry leads us, ed up by experience to the dissolving of the ego in Brahman consciousness. The volume is an excellent, rational introduction to Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta in English. There is a helpful glossary of the philosophical terms used.
–P. NAGARAJA RAO

Hear and Beyond by Vaasamoorti. Telugu Velugu Prachuranalu, Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh. Pp. 263. Price Rs. 8.

This is an English version of the popular Telugu novel Ihaparaaluportraying the emotional and ideological conflicts of two generations. The author has succeeded in giving a graphic description of the modern challenge to the Hindu philosophy of life. The characters are all drawn from real life–Sitapathi the contractor turned philosopher, swearing by the gospel of the Gita, his son Sundar, a stage artist who is fascinated by the Omar Khayam view of life; Susheela, the young widow thirsting for the joys of life; Giridhar, the young private secretary ‘Sailing over the dizzy heights of philosophy by day and swimming in the warm flood of passion by night’ and last but not the least, Krishna, the communist rebel dreaming of proletarian dictatorship. The story runs in the form of dialogues and this enables the author to discuss subjects as varied from one another as predestination and freewill on the one hand and free-love, abstract morals, the social code, etc., on the other. Discussing novels, a character in the story says–“His diction is powerful, his pen pictures effective and his descriptions lively.” The same can be said of the book under review, though at times, one feels English is too much Indianised in the conversations of the characters. Who said English is a foreign language?
–T. C. A. RAMANUJAM

Spirit of India by M. Srinivasan, “Amrit,” Mysore-2, Price not mentioned.

Here is an interesting attempt to sing the episodes from Indian history in forms of easy verses. But where does History begin? Well, the author counts the tides of time right from the birth of the universe. And then, after he has recorded the drift of the sentiments, he shows the formation of the Sub-continent, India.

The central member of the canoe’s pouch
Shaped has been to a peninsular couch
With craggy borders and snow-white pillows,
At the anvil o’ time with hammer o’ billows

Thus the poet is led by the muse, through the epic ages when gods trod the sacred Indian soil, through the legendary rule of mighty emperors, through the turbulent time of foreign conquests, to the resurgent India of 19th and 20th centuries.

Though the poet is enamoured by personalities too recent, it is not unoften that an inspired glimpse of India’s true destiny has come out through his pen, such as in these lines:

Perfect is she like rhythm and rhyme
With a role defined for infinite time.
–“DEVAPRIYA”

Prophets and Priests (Vol. II) by S. P. Thiaga Rajan. Published by Bharata Mata Book Depot, Ellai Amman Kovil Street. Thanjavur, S. India. Price Rs. 5.
This slim volume is largely a collection of profiles of Indian editors, most of whom the author, a veteran journalist himself, had known at first hand. Some of them he had the opportunity of watching at close quarters, in the changes and chances of his long professional career. A large majority of them belong to a past generation. Only two of the sketches relate to the editors who are now alive. Not all of them seem to qualify for greatness, as we are used to understand it.

Three of these profiles, which are detailed enough to be called portraits, relate to the distinguished editors, each great in his own way, who had been responsible for a making of The Hindu what it is today. Substantial was the share of Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, who had helped the paper to get over its teething troubles, soon after he took it over in the early years of this century. Switching from Law to Journalism, in the middle period of his life, when few others would have risked a similar change, he not only made a good job of it, but had the supreme satisfaction of seeing his paper a power to reckon with in the nation’s affairs. He was in himself a rare combination of high intellectual integrity and a sound business instinct. He had a quite unshakable courage that was proof against the sabre-rattling of the most over overbearing of the imperial bureaucrats. A great personality, by all accounts, for whom the author’s unqualified respect is reserved. His son and his nephew are also studied in some depth. If Kasturi Srinivasan represented stability and urbanity in his long tenure of editorship, S. Rangaswami, the most stimulating of leader-writers and war commentators, lit the brief years of his glorious stewardship with the sparkle of his own wit. He claims the readers’ as well as the authors’ admiration. There have not been many in the profession who could hold a candle to him.

Horniman the dauntless crusader, Brelvi the sedate counsellor, irrepressible Sadanand and unpredictable R. S. Sarma, are among the other journalists in this portrait gallery. The fearless campaigner R. K. Karanjia of the Blitz is given his due and M. Chalapati Rau of the National Herald, literature’s gift to journalism, is justly hailed as an editor who can always call his soul his own. The sketch of Roosevelt in the appendices, as well as the few pieces on the Tamil poets, good in themselves, seem rather out of place in this company. Though written for the press from time to time, the studies reveal an uncommon depth of understanding and sharpness of analysis. The author does not pull his punches; nor does he hit below the belt. The volume would have been the better for a more careful proof-reading.

–D. ANJANEYULU

Education and Language Policy by V. V. John. Published by Nachiketa Publications, 280, Sleater Road, Bombay-7

This book, written by an eminent educationist and inimitable columnist, contains words of wisdom and counsels of caution. Divided into seven chapters plus an appendix, it presents a sane analysis of the nightmarish language problem from an academic and pedagogic point of view.

The author’s distress over our educational performance is transparent when he writes: “We are turning our education into a costly device–costly in human resources even more than the material” (P.23). Education in our country has ceased to be the ”pursuit of excellence” or “even employable skills” and degraded itself into pursuit of self-interest and personal advantage. The genuine love and joy of learning have departed.

“The large ocean of illiteracy around us” and the “recession in our language proficiencies” are the chief language problems facing the nation. All talk of “language load” on the pupil is sheer nonsense to him for he reminds that “no one who thinks of language as a load is in any psychological condition to learn it.” Real learning, he feels, consists of “a joy of learning” and “acquisition of mastery,” hence, the right approach to language is the approach embodying these two criteria. It is true as he says that the real purpose of language study in the curriculum is to discipline thought and expression, to provide power of discernment and discrimination, and to impart to the student an intellectual joy and confidence which aid and inspire him in his pursuit of other curricular studies like Science, History, etc. Hence heavy responsibility rests on language teachers. The author further believes that these objectives should be achieved through a judicious and ambitious programme of language study even in the mother-tongue. Our educational system has failed to capitalize on this potential and the heritage of our languages. What is now required to remedy the situation is “academic and linguistic daring” objectified in ambitious language study programmes in our educational institutions.

Regarding the “link language”, he scents ambiguity in its meaning, and in regard to the decision as to what should be the link language for purposes of communication among scholars, he accuses the intellectual community of abdicating their primary and legitimate obligations and “letting their skills and expertise be hired by those in power, in the service of causes and programmes that intelligent men should despise.” Thus he bemoans the alienation and the apathy of the intellectual community and calls for “integrity in public life.”

The author justifies continuance of compulsory courses in the mother-tongue at the university stage only when such courses prescribe “comprehension of mature writing, the cultivation of critical thinking and the practice of effective communication.” A further suggestion is that the mother-tongue may be made the means of teaching subjects under “general education” so that the mother tongue will give the pupil more than linguistic proficiency. This suggestion looks sound though it is doubtful whether we have quality works written in the mother-tongue on subjects subsumed under “general education” in colleges.

In the third chapter occurs a thoughtful observation that the adoption of English as normal medium has resulted in alienation of people from their native culture and created a situatiou wherein people were content with “a second-hand culture and a second-rate quality of thinking” as most of us educated through English medium come to know of our culture and heritage only through works written in English and mostly by foreigners.

The author argues that the question of medium of instruction is not much relevant at the university level for a university student ideally is not a receiver of instruction, nor the universities are extensions of schools for still instructing pupils. The university represents a stage of educational attainment where the student achieves intellectual emancipation from instructors and develops a capacity for self-instruction and independent thought, exploration and discovery. But the author’s, as every one’s, grief is that this ideal university student is currently non-existent.

Mr. John’s book is charming for his thoughtful observations on a vital problem as also for its elegant style and fragrant humour. His writing is forceful and his humour illumines even as it delights arid tickles. The following passage is a good example: “Our economic nationalism has given us such products as motor cars that begin to rattle the day they come off the assembly line. We do not want to match this with an educational nationalism that will give us graduates whose rattle may be even less agreeable.” (P. 41) Mr. John, who has held responsible offices, writes with a force of conviction borne out of experience and mature thinking, and with a patriotic zeal that is tempered by reason and scholarship. This book deserves and justifies the time and money spent on it by the reader.
–C. R. PRASAD RAO

Varivasya-Rahasyaand its commentary Prakashaby Sri Bhaskaracharya Makhin. Edited with English translation by Pandit S. Subrahmanya Sastri. Published by Adyar Library Research Publications, Madras. Price: Rs.

The book under notice is a first-rate work in Srividya Upasana with his own commentary by the celebrated sakta teacher Bhaskaracharya. The present work is the third edition of the text, the first two appeared in 1934 and 1941. The present volume carries a clear English translation drawing useful material from the commentary. The thirty-four pages English introduction gives us the details about the way the text is edited, about the life and miracles pertaining to Bhaskaracharya.

Bhaikaracharya believed that Supreme Reality was the Devi Tripura Sundari whose mantra is Srividya Panchadasakshari. He devoted all his intellectual powers and long life in the devotion to and in spreading Srividya Upasana. His commentary on Lalita Sahasranama is best on the subject. The present work is edited with all academic rectitude and the expert talent of research scholarship characteristic of a Adyar Library Research Centre publications. There is very useful tabular statement of the aksharas. This is a highly valued publication on the subject.
–P. NAGARAJA RAO

HINDI

Ulte Kadam by Ravindra Thapar. Sahitya Bhavan, Allahabad-3. Pp. 141. Price: Rs. 3-50.

This is a story of a simple woman Sapna who is forced to take to Western ways of club-life by her sophisticated husband. She is unwilling at first but in due course plunges headlong in fast life and wrecks her home. Though it is not very agreeable to read of the doings of a falling woman, the writing serves to draw attention to the harm caused by the seemy side of Western civilization to our young men and women.
–M. P. P.