Reviews

Search After Sunrise: A Traveller’s Story: By Vera Brittain. (Published by Macmillan & Co. Ltd. Price sh, 15 net.)

The well-known author with a number of valuable publications in Biography, Fiction, History, Novel and Verse to her credit, and wife of George Catlin, author of ‘In the Path of Mahatma Gandhi’, attempts in this book, as well as in her visit to India which provides the theme for it, an essay in understanding. She belongs to the group of thoughtful and ardent souls in the West who were convinced of the impending crisis in West European civilisation,–based on materialism, physical sciences, machinery, technology, greed, capitalism, colonialism, Communism, Fascism, conflict, war, destruction to the point of extinction of the human species by the use of the terrible destructive weapons forged by modern science,–and began to search for the dawn of a new era, and in their search turned with hopeful eyes to the land of Tagore and Gandhi with their emphasis on restraint, renunciation, spirituality, tolerance, love and non-violence. These noble spirits of the West were already convinced pacifists, and war-resisters and advocates of racial equality and, in particular, of the Independence of India and her freedom from British domination. India is deeply indebted to noble souls like Annie Besant, Romain Rolland, C. F. Andrews, the leaders the Independent Labonr Party and the Quaker friends of Mahatma Gandhi for their championing the cause with boldness and consistency, a Vera Britain lays India under still greater obligation by her continued interest in the endeavours of Free India to realise in practice, and prove worthy of the heritage of, the noble ideals preached by the Saint Sevagram and the poet-philosopher of Santiniketan, and thus provide world with the basic principles of the civilisation to come, inspired by the ideals of peace and equality and peaceful settlement of all international disputes.

The author devotes one very interesting chapter to the dim beginnings and gradual growth of her interest in India which culminated in the visit in 1949, in spite of the many difficulties which arose in her way and delayed the consummation for a long time. Thrice she was invited by the All-India Women’s Conference to attend their annual session as overseas delegate, but her pronounced views in favour of Indian Independence rendered it inevitable that the British Government should refuse their permission, for fear of possible embarrassment in view of the already strained relations and bitter misunderstandings between the British and Indian nations during the years of the second World War.

She was thus denied the opportunity of visiting India and meeting in person Tagore as well as Gandhi. It was only after the termination of the War and the grant of Independence to India, and after the death of Tagore and the assassination of Gandhi, that she could realise her cherished objective. Finally she visited India as one of the overseas invitees to a conference of pacifists and war-resisters to study the work of Mahatma Gandhi. The conference owed its inception to the suggestion in 1947 of some English Quakers, especially Horace Alexander and Agatha Harrison, that a group of individuals representing many countries, who were interested in his ideals and technique of peace-making, should meet him and a group of select followers of his policies and programmes, and discuss post-war problems and the creation of peace through spiritual power.

The Mahatma welcomed the Idea and actively sponsored it, but the conference had to be postponed from time to time on account of the tremendous problems that arose in India itself, as a consequence of the Partition and the outbreaks of inter-communal violence till the death of Gandhiji under tragic circumstances. But the valiant followers and friends of the prophet and martyr of non-violence proceeded un-daunted with their original plans and convened the conference in 1949 under the presidentship of the first President of the Free Indian Republic, Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

The book gives a detailed account of the conference held in two sessions, the first at Santiniketan and the second at Sevagram, after an interval during which the visiting delegates travelled in groups to the different parts of the country, especially to acquaint themselves with the conditions and the efforts at social reconstruction on Gandhian ideals carried on by his sincere followers in different parts. Vera Brittain herself travelled into the remote corners of the land even after the second session and returned home only after a visit to Pakistan.

It is thus not merely a travel book, a traveller’s story, that is presented to us in this volume but a genuine essay in international understanding. The account of the conferences and her travels, interwoven with admirable skill with her study and appraisal of the character and achievement of three great Indian personalities,–Tagore the poet-philosopher who not merely heralded the new era but in her opinion, actually contributed substantially to its advent, Gandhi the prophet-saint, and Nehru the heir to them both and the actual leader of the nation after the attainment of Independence, upon whose shoulders has fallen the arduous task of realising in practice the ideals and technique preached by the Father of the Nation in the conduct of the affairs of a great nation during very critical times in its history, in the face of the tremendous problems created by the Partition of the country.

Notwithstanding all her sympathy and genuine desire to understand, she is rather critical of the attitude of the Indian people and their leaders with regard to the outstanding differences with Pakistan. But she succeeds in keeping her poise and provides an impartial objective appraisal of the performance of India which enables her to retain hope for the success of the old nation in its new career, in remaining true to her ideals in the solution of her new problems, and thus setting an example to the rest of the world in the peaceful settlement of international disputes.

Equally interesting are the vignettes we find in this admirable volume of several important persons she came across in the course of her visit, such as Acharya Kripalani, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, B. P. Wadia and Srimathi Sophia Wadia, Manilal Gandhi, J. C. Kumarappa, N. Raghunatha Aiyar, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, the Maharaja of Travancore, Begum Liaquat Ali Khan, and Miss Fatima Jinnah.

Inevitably, the intensely human and charming personality of the talented writer shines through every page of the narrative and constiutes not the least of its attractions. Well has she succeeded in her professed objective of recording the fierce impact of first impressions made by the present Indian Renaissance upon an experienced traveller with a highly artistic temperament and sensibility to spiritual values.

The book is a notable contribution to international understanding and a delightful addition to the literature of travel in the English language.
M. S. K.

The Garland of Letters: By Sir John Woodroffe. (Published by Ganesh & Co. Ltd., Madras. Second Edition. Pp. 10+296. Price Rs. 15.)

“Religion,” said Swami Vivekananda, “is not the spelling of that word but the practice of it.” India is a land of religions in this sense of the term. Bharat was and still is the birthplace of not merely thinkers but also of Siddhas who are the seers of Truth. These Siddhas their researches in Spiritual Science realised the Supreme Self, and bequeathed to posterity the fruits of their researches, explaining in full both the nature of their experiences and the means adopted by them for realising the same. All these are ensconced in what are known as Sastras. ‘Mantrayoga’ is one of the means prescribed for self-realisation in the Sastras, especially in Saiva and Sakta Tantras.

This Mantra Sastra has now become an almost forgotten science. Sakta Tantras are misunderstood, and have become an object of abuse and contempt. In these circumstances Sir John Woodroffe has laid Indians under deep obligation by publishing his studies in Tantric works and explaining therein the rationale of Sakta philosophy and Mantra Sadhana in the authentic and traditional way.

The book under review is a collection of thirty-one essays dealing with the origin, significance, efficacy, and rationale of Mantra and Mantra Sadhana. The first ten essays deal with the theory of cosmic evolution according to the Sakta Tantras, or in the words of the author “with the Principles of the general Doctrine of Sabda”. The latter portion of the book explains at length some important technical terms like Sakti, Nada, Bindu, Kamakata, etc., in a lucid and scientific way. And to these are added at the end three more important essays with the titles of (1) Mantra Sadhana (2) Gayatri Mantra, and (3) Gayatri Mantra as an exercise of reasoning.

The following observations of the author are worth noting. “The Mantra of a Devata is that letter or combination of letters which reveals the Devata to the Consciousness of the Sadhaka who has evoked it by Sadhanasakti. The form of a particular Devata therefore appears out of the particular Mantra of which that Devata is the Adhishtatri Devata. This Mantra is intoned in the proper way according to letter and rhythm (Varna and Svara). For these reasons a Mantra when translated ceases to be a Mantra. This shows Mantra is not individual thinking but a particular sound body of consciousness.” (P. 259)

The superiority of Mantrasadhana to other Sadhanas is explained as follows by the author: “In the case of Puja, Dhyana and other Sadhanas, it is only the Sadhaka’s Sadhana Sakti which operates, whilst in the case of Mantra Sadhana, Sadhana Sakti works in conjunction with Mantrasakti which is all powerful...” In short Mantra Yoga is a Sadhana part of Advaitic Philosophy, and is worth trying by every spiritual aspirant.

The author while expounding this intricate subject spares no pains to make the subject most intelligible to his reader, if he knows at least something of modern science and Mantra Sastra. Wherever necessary he compares the systems of Sri Sankara, Kapila and others, and explains clearly their subtle difference. For every statement he makes, he has an authority to quote and he never goes out of the way.

Chapters 8, 9, 22, 28, 29 and 30 must be read and re-read by every Hindu, whether he be a Sadhaka or not, and no one should miss them. Though this book does not cover the whole field of Mantra Sastra, it creates in the reader a real interest in the subject. It dispels the doubts of the vacillating mind, strengthens the belief of the initiated in his Sadhana, and removes all misconceptions and misunderstanding standings that have crept into the questioning minds of non-believers all these days.

The chapter on “Natural Name” in particular, and some others are of special interest to philologists, who desire to know the viewpoint of Tantrics regarding the origin of language and the relation between Sabda and Artha. These views have much in common with those pro-pounded by Maxmuller in his ‘Lectures on the Science of Language’.

There is much of repetition of subject matter in these essays, but it is inevitable in essays of this type. I t would have been helpful if a diagram of Sri Chakra also had been given to explain some terms like Kamakata and others. Nevertheless it is a book worth going through by every English-knowing Indian. The get-up of the book leaves nothing to be desired.
B. Kutumba Rao.

Saint Vemana–His Philosophy: By Dr. Ishwar Topa. (Published by the Hyderabad Telugu Academy, Hyderabad, Deccan. Price Rs. 5)

Readers of Triveni should feel glad to notice that one of the fundamental aims of the Hyderabad Telugu Academy is to present the best that has been sung and thought in the various Indian languages to the widest possible circle of readers.

The author Dr. Topa, a professor in Indian culture, finds in the teachings of Vemana “a philosophy of culture and humanisation, of universal appeal and of special significance in the present stage of the history of India and of the world”. He places Vemana among the galaxy of Indian saints of the medieval period like Kabir, Nanak, Basava, Shah Latif and Dadu, whose achievements stand out pre-eminent in promoting a synthesised Hindu-Muslim culture.

It is true Vemana was a philosopher, and that his philosophy was concerned with the realisation of spiritual values in the daily life of the individual. He was a merciless critic of empty ritual, narrow sectarianism, gross worldliness and hypocrisy wherever he noticed it. It may, therefore, be not incorrect to designate his philosophy a philosophy of culture or humanism. But to suggest that it constitutes an attempt to evolve a synthesised Hindu-Muslim culture like that of Kabir or Nanak is a willful exaggeration and can be the result only of wishful thinking.

Moreover, the verses of Vemana are dear to the Telugus, sophisticated and unsophisticated alike, not only on account of the philosophical truths that they convey, but also, and much more, for the shrewd, penetrating social criticism with which they are replete, and most of all their essential poetic quality as distinguished from the technicalities of grammar and prosody, and the utter sincerity and genuine love underlying his biting sarcasm evident in every verse.

It is of course unreasonable and ungrateful to the learned Dr. Topa–who confesses in the Preface his ignorance of the Telugu language and his utter dependence on the English translation by Mr. Brown–to expect in his treatise adequate appreciation of all the various aspects of Vemana’s work. But at the same time, it must be conceded that it is less than fair to Vemana and to Telugu Literature to concentrate on his philosophy, to the exclusion of every other aspect in an attempt to introduce his work to the wider English-reading public.

The Introduction by Prof. R. Subba Rao, which deals briefly with the life and poetry of Vemana, tends to redeem the inherent lopsidedness of the treatise. Nevertheless the Telugus will continue to feel the need for a separate and adequate presentation of Vemana, the poet and satirist. It is to be hoped that the Hyderabad Telugu Academy will sponsor such another publication in the near future.

SANSKRIT

Sri Ramalinga Pratishtha (A Short Narrative Poem in Sanskrit): By Srimathi Bellamkonda Kanakamba. (Published by Viswanatha Venkateswarlu, Durga Agraharam, Vijayawada. 2. Price Re. 1.)

This short poem of 65 verses is a laudable attempt on the part of the author, and, as the well-known Sanskrit scholar and poet Sri Kasi Krishnacharya points out in his Preface, a convincing proof of the vitality of our classical language. For, even in these days of its admitted decay and neglect, it is employed by members of fair sex noted for their natural delicacy and refinement of imagination and expression as the medium of their original literary compositions. The talented lady is to be congratulated for winning the compliments of such a fastidious scholar as Sri Krishnacharya for the sweetness of her diction and the melody of her versification.

But perhaps the chief merit of the composition lies in the quality of imagination exhibited in the handling of the theme. According to the Ramayana, as the victorious hero was returning home with his consort on the Pushpaka, he indicates to her the spot on which he had built a temple to Lord Mahadeva before crossing to Lanka. From this a beautiful story is developed, of the building of the temple by Sri Rama to propitiate the Lord, the invitation he extends to Ravana as the fittest person to install the idol in the temple by virtue of his well-known devotion to Siva, and the acceptance of the invitation by Ravana. The intriguing situations are utilised with admirable skill, and the opportunities for fine characterisation they provide are fully exploited by the poet, who depicts the magnanimity of the noble rivals who are able to sink all petty considerations of self-interest and prestige and mutual animosity, in their common devotion to the Lord.
M.S.K.