Book Reviews

THE SPIRITUAL DIALOGUE OF EAST AND WEST: By Jacques Albert Cuttat. (Max Mueller Bhavan Publications, Pp, 50, price not stated.)

This address given by the Swiss Ambassador in India was received here with particular interest, since it seems at first sight to be the same sort of activity that The Mountain Path is engaged in and particularly to be akin to the present issue with its theme of the two paths of jnana and bhakti. Really, however, there is a wide difference. The purpose of The Mountain Path is "to set forth the traditional wisdom of all religions and all ages, especially as testified to by their saints and mystics," but not in the framework of any supposed contrast between Eastern truth and Western truth. What is true is true and transcends all such contingent differences.

But there may be different levels of truth. So long as the ego or individual being is felt to be real, so long will the Self or Universal Being be felt to be other than it, in fact to be the God who created it and to whom it must return. This is obvious, because the ego can never claim to be eternal, infinite and omnipotent. Only when and in the measure to which a man, whether eastern or western, whether Hindu or Christian, can conceive of his own individual unreality can he conceive of Universal Being as the true Self of him.

Therefore what Dr. Cuttat calls the dialogue between East and West might equally well be called a dialogue between Advaitins and dualists in India. But it is unattainable, because the Advaitin knows that dualistic worship represents one stage of truth (truth as it must appear so long as the reality of the individual being is believed in) not only in theory but in its power to carry the worshipper to true mystic experience. Therefore on the one hand he cannot denounce dualism as doctrinally wrong or spiritually impotent, which he knows it is not, nor on the other hand can he recognise it as equivalent to Advaita and on the same level, which it also is not. In fact he is already situated at the outcome of the dialogue and therefore does not need to engage in it.

But for the dualist to recognise this hierarchical distinction would require an extraordinary degree of humility. It is remarkable how many Hindu bhaktas do in fact evince this humility; but one feels that it is the one outcome to the 'dialogue' which its Western proponents are determined to reject; and since it is the one true outcome the whole idea of a dialogue becomes superfluous. Only two other hypothetical outcomes might be envisaged: one that there are two different versions of ultimate truth, and the other that the East (or Advaita) is wrong and the West (or dualism) is right; the Western proponents of 'dialogue' always avoid saying which they favour, but it is not hard to guess. A point which makes one doubt whether they are really open to dialogue is their misuse of the term 'syncretism'. Rightly used, this means a patchwork religion made up of bits and pieces of existing religions and would apply to a movement such as Theosophism. Dr. Cuttat, however, uses it to include such an uncompromising opponent of syncretism as Rene Guenon. Guenon's standpoint was that each religion is an organic whole — doctrine, ritual and ethics — and must be followed strictly in itself as such, but that there is a universal truth underlying all religions. If the advocates of 'dialogue' deny this we are brought back once again to the question what purpose the dialogue can serve — what purpose other than proselytism. Perhaps they should examine their own minds more clearly first and decide whether they really are looking for a universal truth underlying the different doctrinal forms or whether their secret aim is not to convert Easterners to their doctrine. The only third alternative would be that they are agnostics.

A HISTORY OF ZEN BUDDHISM: By Heinrich Dumoulin, S. J. (Faber, Pp. 335. Price 42s.)

Zen is so much to the fore nowadays that many readers will be glad of a history of it. That of Father Dumoulin, S. J., is both erudite and well written. In fact an attractive book. Unfortunately he slips in occasional passages of egregious nonsense misinterpreting and denigrating Zen in particular and Buddhism is general, whether from unwillingness or inability to understand it is not for this reviewer to suggest. Without going far to seek, there is this one near the beginning of the book: "If, then, this historical setting gives rise to the conjecture that in the exercises of Hinayana Buddhism we are dealing chiefly with psychic techniques, so in the stages and systems of meditation we can readily recognise descriptions of mental states. Nowhere does a way open into transcendence." Actually it is impossible to read the poems of the early Arahats or the descriptions of them without seeing that they reflect the supreme transcendence. "He whose outflows are extinguished and who is independent of basis (for rebirth), whose pasture is emptiness, the signless and freedom — his track is as difficult to know as that of birds in the sky." (Dhammapada, 93, quoted from Buddhist Texts Through the Ages, Pp. 45, edited by E. Conze and others, pub. Bruno Cassierer).

To the above misrepresentation or misunderstanding, whichever it may be, Fr. Dumoulin S. J., adds for good measure: "Hinayana Buddhism achieves a spiritualising of Yoga by uniting its psychic exercises to a moral and religious quest for salvation, but it is unable to introduce any element of metaphysical knowledge." How any system can be 'spiritualised' without 'metaphysical knowledge' let the good father explain. Moreover one who considers himself competent to write on Buddhism should know that the 'quest for salvation' exists only in dualistic religions which stop short of the pure transcendence of Nirvana and therefore believe in an individual soul to be saved. And what leads him to suppose that Hindu Yoga stands in any need of 'spiritualising' by Buddhism or anything, else?

Whether ignorant or malicious, such a book is deeply to be deplored.

ZEN FLESH, ZEN BONES: By Paul Reps. (Charles E. Tuttle, Pp. 211. Price $ 3.25.)

The flavour of Zen is to be found far more in cryptic stories and dialogue than in expositions of doctrine. Nearly all writers on Zen sprinkle a few of these through their books. The first section of Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, of which the seventh imprint is just out, consists of 101 stories, many of which breathe the spirit of Zen.

The second section is a no less fascinating collection of koans with the commentary of Ekai, known also as Mumon, a great Zen Master of the 12th to 13th Century. In the introduction to this section Paul Reps rightly warns against regarding koans as conundrums and trying to find answers to them. "What is the right answer to a koan? There are many right answers and there are also none .... For the koan itself is the answer, and by the time there is a right answer to it Zen is dead." One is reminded of the Maharshi's saying of 'Who am I?': "No answer that the mind can give is right."

The third section consists of the famous Zen 'OxHerding' parable of the quest for the Self. It is set forth in ten admirable episodes illustrated by delightful woodcuts by the modern artist Tomikichiro Tokuriki.

It is rather surprising to find, as the fourth and last section of this book, a Kashmiri tantric text listing 112 techniques of sadhana. It records a highly interesting tradition but one quite different from what is known as 'Zen'.

FOCUS ON TUKARAM FROM A FRESH ANGLE. By S. R. Sharma. (Popular Book Depot, Lamington Road, Bombay7. Rs. 4.50)

Tukaram, who lived in the first half of the 17th Century, was one of the last and greatest of the Marathi poetsaints of India. An ecstatic and a bhakta, he received initiation in a dream from his Guru and later himself appeared to his disciples in the same way to initiate them. He loved singing the songs of saints; and his own poems (like all traditional religious poems) are made to be sung and remain widely popular to this day. Such gatherings for kirtan often carried the participants away into a state of ecstasy. It is said that at the end of his life his body simply disappeared, reabsorbed into Spirit.

He was one of those who won through to Jnana by sheer force of bhakti. He refused to be confined in either category. Sometimes he would definitely proclaim himself a bhakta: "I do not seek GodKnowledge. I shall ever desire dual consciousness. Thou shalt ever remain my Lord and I Thy worshipper." However, the following stanza shows how this duality was in fact the permanent Mystic Union.

"Between you and me there is no difference I was only joking about duality. You are my own form, I am Yourself in all certainty. I am within You and You take my service. I am immovable within You, and You are the power within me. You speak through my mouth and I feel bliss within You. Tuka says: names are very misleading."

Very interesting is his explanation of this. "The glory of the bhaktas is known to them only. It is hard for others to comprehend ... In order to increase the happiness of love in this world, they display duality without actually dividing. Tuka says: this is understood by those only who have experienced the Unity of Faith."

This is a queer, jumbled little book about the great poet-saint. Scraps of information and views of Tukaram and his great predecessors mingle with quotations and parallels with other saints, Sufi and Christian as well as Hindu. However, the sayings of Tukaram quoted in it are a rare treasure amply atoning for such faults.

GURU'S GRACE, AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MOTHER KRISHNABAI: Translated by Swami Ramdas. (Anandashram, Kanhangad, Pp. 255. Price Rs. 2.50)

In her very emotional autobiography Krishnabai, the 'Mother' of Anandashram, apostrophises 'Papa' at the opening of almost every paragraph: "Oh allpervading Papa!", "Papa, protector of the humble!", and so forth. She also says that she has realized her identity with Universal Being, so this 'Papa' must be identical with herself. When she says that 'Papa' in the form of certain troublesome visitors it the Ashram rejected the guidance of 'Papa' and that all this was only 'Papa's' lila or game, it is clear that by 'Papa' she means at the same time God Almighty and Swami Ramdas.

However, doctrinal considerations are far from being in the forefront with her. The book primarily tells the story of her tempestuous sadhana and her assaults on the ego and struggle for purity. It shows quite unintentionally what beauty and grace she brought to Anandashram and how she found her path in service to all who came there and taught others also to strive through service. But service did not mean submissiveness. We read how constantly she opposed the suggestions of 'Papa' (meaning here, of course, the human Ramdas) on questions of Ashram life and management. And it often turned out that she was right. Yet through it all one sees a loving and loveable disposition.

It would be interesting to have a sequel to this volume, describing developments in Anandashram and in Mataji's own life and outlook since the passing of Swami Ramdas.

SRI RAMADASA GITA: By M. R. Bhat (Anandashram, Pp. 160, Price Rs. 2.)

Prof. M. Ramakrishna Bhat has made a Sanskrit Gita of the teachings of Swarni Ramdas in fourteen chapters, each chapter comprising the answer to a doctrinal question. This is here printed with an English verse by verse translation. It is orthodox and inspiring upadesa. It is doubtless in full agreement with the teaching of Swami Ramdas, although the emphasis is far more on metaphysical exposition and less on pure bhakti than was usual in the actual talks of the Swami.

THE FLUTE CALLS STILL: By Dilip Kumar Roy and Indira Devi (Indira Niloy, Hari Krishna Mandir, Poona16, Price Rs. 6.50.)

The first part of The Flute Calls Still comprises a series of letters in which Indira Devi tells of her sadhana as a disciple of Dilip Kumar Roy and incidentally describes the growth of the Hari Krishna Mandir over which they jointly preside. The second part is also composed of letters but this time by Dilip Kumar Roy. Their main theme is Indira's ecstatic trances and visions of Sri Krishna. In these she often becomes identified with Mira Bai who sings through her ecstatic songs of love for Krishna. Many of these are rendered into English verse by Dilip Kumar Roy.

An air of love and purity pervades the book. One feels that Hari Krishna Mandir must be a very joyful place. And there is an atmosphere of uncompromising integrity. In nothing does this show more clearly than in the refusal of the joint gurus of the institution to claim Realization, despite trances, visions and miracles. In view of all the dubious claims that are made these days, such abstention shows true nobility.

Indira Devi, it should be said, is reluctant to speak about her visions and experiences and does so only on the insistence of her guru, Dilip. Her reluctance seems praiseworthy.

- Arthur Osborne.

TOLERANCE, A STUDY FROM BUDDHIST SOURCES: By Phra Khantipalo. (Rider, Pp. 191, Price 25s.)

It is a surprising fact that tolerance, handmaid of coexistence, extolled by so many of our presentday secular leaders as the supreme virtue, is a word completely unknown to the ethical systems of the world's great religions.

Phra Khantipalo, a young English bhikkhu resident in Thailand, admits at the beginning of his introduction that there is no exact equivalent for the world in the early Pali scriptures. The nearest we get to it is 'patience'. Had he exercised a little more patience he might have written a less intolerant book. Had he taken the trouble to study a little more deeply, to reflect a little more thoughtfully on the great traditions of antiquity which he condemns so glibly, he might (who knows?) at least have learnt to tolerate them.

Everybody admires the remarkable record of nonviolence which has characterised the propagation of Buddha Dhamma down the ages. It has had its doctrinal battles, internal and external, and today, alas, is being exploited like other religions for political and nationalistic ends, but even those who cannot subscribe to the author's intolerant assertion that it is the sole repository of doctrinal truth will readily admit that with regard to actual violence its hands are cleaner than those of any of its competitors in the field. We can only regret that Phra Khantipalo, whose book reminds us painfully of certain nineteenth century Christian missionaries, has performed such a singular disservice to the dhamma he aspires to serve.

Like many a good missionary before him, Phra Khantipalo has cast a broad glance at the religious customs and beliefs of those outside the fold for the sole purpose, it seems, of holding them up to ridicule and contempt. Nothing has escaped his zealous eye, from beef-eating and wine-bibbing in the Vedas to the persecution of Christian mystics by the Church hierarchy. Like many a good missionary before him, he has torn three quotations from the Holy Qur'an out of their context to support the popular Western image of Islam — sword in one hand, Qur'an in the other.

Part of the author's difficulty seems to arise from a fear that any recognition of another's point of view must inevitably result in a woolly syncretism. One cannot help suspecting that as a Buddhist missionary, he must, like his Christian rivals, have run up against the Neo-Hindu claim that all religions are one and found it a particularly tiresome nut to crack. We sympathise with him here, but surely it is not necessary to be a syncretist in order to recognise the essential validity of all ancient traditions, taking into due consideration their historical and geographical contexts. We still remain free to regard our own particular orthodoxy as the best — at least for us. It does, however, require more sympathetic understanding and reflective study than the author seems prepared to give to the subject.

As Phra Khantipalo cannot bear to tolerate those whom he considers less tolerant than himself, it seems a pity that he did not maintain a noble Aryan silence. Might we suggest that he reread Appendix 11 of his book, entitled The Compassionate Character of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Disciples in which he has assembled a number of pertinent and memorable texts we would all do well to ponder. Or again, there is the quotation from the Upasaka Sila Sutra with which he opens his introduction:

When you see men in disharmony try to create harmony.
Speak good of others and never of their faults,
Cherish a good mind even for your enemy.
Hold to the mind of compassion and regard all beings as your parents.

Is this really what he is trying to do?

LAST DAYS OF THE BUDDHA: A Translation of the Maha Parinibbana Sutta by Sister Vajira and Francis Story. (Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Ceylon, Pp. 100, Price not stated.)

Students of Buddha Dhamma have long been in need of cheap reliable translations from the Pali Canon and will welcome the present series, in pamphlet form, made by such recognised scholars as the Theras Nyanaponika, Narada, Soma and Nyanamoli.

The translation of a sacred text into dignified contemporary prose always presents difficulties, and the Pall Canon with its rigid structure, abundance of technical terms, stock phrases and paragraphs and addiction to the passive voice is no exception.

What to do with such phrases as 'Four constituents of psychic power' which, unexplained, is as meaningless in English as in the original? Or with such oft-repeated phrases as "choice food, hard and soft," which sounds singularly unappetising to the modern Western ear.

Sister Vajira, a German lady who, as her introduction shows, is not altogether at home in the English language, can hardly be blamed for doing nothing about them at all. She shows a strong preference for the language of the King James Bible, but not consistently. In any case it seems rather odd that while the Churches are busy trying to escape from the Authorised Version modern Buddhists should be still in its thrall.

The designation of Ambapali, the Buddha's courtesan disciple, as "the mango lass" inevitably sets us wondering what Bobbie Burns would have made of this remarkable lady. An interesting speculation but hardly conducive to our concentration on the text.

But let us not be ungrateful. Sister Vajira has obviously been at pains to give us a reliable, reverent rendering of this important sutta and on the whole it reads quite well.

- R. F. Rose

MYSTICISM IN WORLD RELIGION: By Sidney Spencer. (Pelican Rooks Pp, 363, Price 7s 6d. Madras Agent: Orient Longmans)

Pelican Books obviously knew their man when they invited the Reverend Sidney Spencer to tackle the formidable task of surveying the whole field of mystical experience in historical religions in a paperback volume of little more than 350 pages.

The author, one time principal of Manchester College, Oxford, and now a Unitarian Minister, has a formidable knowledge of his subject, ranging from the numinous experiences of so-called primitive peoples to the exalted testimonies of the great masters — Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, Greek, Jewish, Christian and Muslirn. Avoiding all generalisations and apparently free from all personal bias, he is at great pains to present us with all the facts and let them speak for themselves. The fifty pages devoted to Hinduism, for instance, embrace the Upanishads, Gita, Vedanta (Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva) the bhakti cult of Vaishnavism, Kashmiri Shaivism and Shaiva Siddhanta. His treatment of other religious traditions is equally comprehensive.

Inevitably a book of this kind has rather the character of an encyclopaedia, but the warm sympathy the author feels for his subject raises it above the level of a simple book of reference. It is refreshing to find such scholarly accuracy going hand in hand with an open-minded freedom from prejudice and special pleading. His method may not please certain pandits and theologians who are loath to allow salvation to those outside the fold, but even they will be hard put to it to find fault with his presentation of the data.

Somebody once said: "The study of comparative religion has left me only comparatively religious." The Reverend Sidney Spencer has clearly not suffered from this occupational hazard. Nor, we feel confident, will his readers.

AT HOLY MOTHER'S FEET: (Teachings of Shri Sarada Devi), By her direct disciples. Translated from the Bengali, with an introduction by Swami Nikhilananda. (Advaita Ashram, Almora, Pp. 383, Price Rs. 5.)

Sarada Devi emerges from these reminiscences of her disciples in all her simplicity and greatness. She stayed very much in the background during Sri Ramakrishna's lifetime, considering it a great privilege to be able to serve him and his disciples and content with a life of hard work and worship. However, after his death she was recognised as a guru and blossomed out as the Holy Mother, even though, on her own admission, her remembrance of her true nature was spasmodic, not constant.

What strikes one is the great love that she showed to all who came to her for help, the human, sensible and truly spiritual approach to their problems and her great forbearance in the face of personal trials. When her mother had reproached Sri Ramakrishna, saying that, by celibacy, he was depriving her of the sweet sound of being called 'mother', he had replied that she would have so many sons that her ears would tingle with the sound of 'mother'; and so it was.

There is no doubt that real power flowed through her as a guru. Simple and unlettered as she was, speaking no language but Bengali, she became a teacher and mother to learned and ignorant alike, not only Hindus but foreigners. To all of them she gave real affection and solace. Her path combined karma marga and bhakti. When her disciples were not performing ritual worship or saying invocations she liked them to be working. She did not approve of idleness or even of long hours of meditation. At one with Sri Ramakrishna, she was at the same time his greatest bhakta.

Parts of these reminiscences have appeared from time to time in the periodical 'Prabuddha Bharata', but it is good to have them gathered together into a single book. An excellent biographical introduction by Swami Nikhilananda increases its appeal.

- Unnamulai

THE TEMPLE AND THE HOUSE: By Lord Raglan. (Routledge and Kegan Paul, Pp. 218. Price: 30s.)

The author of this stimulating book provides a new approach to the question of the progress of societies in general and of the origin of houses in particular. Examining the currently accepted theories on the subject, Lord Raglan proves, with the help of a large mass of data assembled in the course of his purposive career, that houses did not start with primitive constructions for shelter as usually propagated, but represent modified editions of the original temples and palaces — 'Cosmic buildings' as he terms them — which were designed according to the then prevailing conceptions of the Cosmos. The shape of the houses changed from round to square with the change of ideas about the shape of the universe. These buildings were erected as dwelling places of the Gods, with due architectural provision for their functional activities. They were guarded from external pollution and visitations of evil spirits through various rituals.

The kings as earthly representatives of the Gods fashioned the palaces on those models and in due course the institution of the dwelling place spread downwards in society, and outwards (from the Capital) in the provinces, keeping intact most of the features of the temple.

The author surveys the customs obtaining in a large number of societies, all over the world, especially relating to marriage, the hearth-fire, births and deaths in the house etc., and presents a thesis which should go a long way in modifying and revising many of the longheld notions in the matter.

Lord Raglan's corrective conclusions on the theories of progress are welcome. History is not all progress, all the time (P. 197). Some of his statements, however, are open to question, e.g., "There is nothing natural in human culture in any of its manifestations ... Nobody supposes languages to be natural." We do. Linguistic studies do point to an intimate relation between human feelings, emotions, states of mind and the sounds and vocables from which the original languages came to evolve.

THE BHAGAVADGITA: By R. D. Ranade. (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chaupatty. Bornbay7, Pp. 321, Price Rs. 10.)

Books on the Gita continue to multiply but few among them have the maturity of thought and unity of vision that underlie Dr. Ranade's exposition. A philosopher himself, trained in the ways of the logical intellect, the author weighs the contributions and the shortcomings of every notable theory advanced by scholars on the Gita and offers his own study of the scriptures in terms of God-realisation.

The work is divided into five parts and deals with the subject in a historical survey. Dr. Ranade first studies the relation of the Gita to the Upanishads, the Sankhya and the Brahma Sutras; he examines the different meanings given to the same terms and the varying connotations of certain key conceptions, such as Avyakta, Kaivalya, Asvathha, in the Gita vis-a-vis the other ancient texts.

He then proceeds to expound the viewpoints of the Acharyas Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva and others. He pays special attention to Jnaneshwara, particularly to what he calls his doctrine of "asymptotic approximation to Reality" which holds that there can never be complete identity of status between the seeker and God.

The third and fourth parts cover the various theories of modern scholars — Western and Eastern — and the author's own interpretation, in terms of modern thought, showing how the Gita leads the being through a mental and moral discipline towards the Gates of the Spirit opening on a supreme Beatitude.

A most useful addition to Gita literature.

CONQUEST OF THE SERPENT: By C. J. Van Vliet. (Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad14. Pp. 179, Price Rs. 3.00)

The legend of the serpent standing guard at the door of a priceless treasure is to be found in almost all the traditions of the world. The precise meaning given to the symbol, however, varies from place to place; our author interprets it as the serpent of sexuality standing in the way of the wealth of spiritual consciousness. Leaving aside for the moment a deeper perception which identifies the treasure with Immortality, as also the question whether it is not ego in general rather than sex in particular which is the hurdle met by the seeker in his quest for the spiritual goal, we are at one with the writer in his analysis of the role of sex in evolution, the necessity of continence, his rebuttal of the superficial arguments by a section of medical opinion against celibacy and the innumerable ways in which sexual purification contributes to the higher development of man.

The ancients of India were never tired of advocating the ideal of Brahmacharya for those who sought a life higher than that of the senses. Retas, when conserved, changes automatically into ojas; that part of the life-force which formulates itself into reproductive energy and normally goes out of the system converts itself, if restrained, into a life-building dynamism and, at its highest, feeds the brain in the form of a radiant energism. That is how sex-conservation results in the heightening of the life-potential which can be developed by spiritual pressure into a power which can hold its own against the onslaughts of disease, disintegration and eventually even death. The author's remarks on the necessity of complete control over sex in practices based on the awakening of Kundalini or when one enters into the occult spheres of life are based on irrefutable yogic experience and deserve to be pondered over by all practitioners of this line of yoga.

The book is rational, persuasive, balanced.

SADASIVA BRAHMAN and VOICE OF TAYUMANAVAR: both by Shuddhananda Bharati: THE YOGI AND HIS WORDS: Compiled by Swami Satyananda and others. (Shuddhananda Library. Yoga Samaj, Adyar. Madras20.)

Sadasiva Brahman was a most remarkable Avadhuta of the South in the 18th century. He was deeply learned in the ancient lore and his works in Sanskrit, notably the Atma Vidya Vilasa, are gems of spiritual wisdom. Saint Tayumanavar, another luminary in the religious firmament of Tamil Nadu, was his contemporary and he received from Sadasiva Brahman the potent message of Silence.

Sri Shuddhananda Bharati writes in these booklets briefly but passionately about the lives and teachings of the two saints.

The third book issued by the Shuddhananda Library, contains, besides a life-sketch of Sri Shuddhananda Bharati, compilations from the lavish tributes paid to him by various friends and admirers and extracts from his talks on all subjects.

SADHANA FOR SELF-REALIZATION: By Swami Pratyagatmananda Saraswati and Sir John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon) (Ganesh, Madras, Pp, 127, Price Rs. 6.)

Professor Pramatha Natha Mukhopadhyaya as he was known in his purvasrama was one of the stalwarts in the early years of the present century who spearheaded the cultural and religious renaissance of the nation. He was among the first — along with Sri Aurobindo and other eminent figures — to join the National Council of Education which was founded to reorientate education on lines suited to the genius and needs of the country. He wrote at length on Vedanta, interpreting its profound thought in terms of modern science, and projected this ancient knowledge on the pragmatic mind of the day. He did Yeoman service by guiding and collaborating with scholars like Sir John Woodroffe and Indian colleagues in the resuscitation of the Tantric tradition of this land, till then thoroughly discredited for a variety of reasons.

That is not all. He not merely wrote and taught, but also lived what he believed. In his own life he took steps to give a practical shape to the high knowledge that was given to him and built up an inner edifice that is now happily casting its glow of Light, Power and Joy on all who come in its environs.

Sadhana for Self-realization is a fine summary of his efforts in the sphere of sadhana to bring home to the world of seekers the practical bearings of the Tantra, especially the Shakta Tantra. The bulk of this volume is from the pen of Swamiji. Only a small section (on Mantras) is from Sir John Woodroffe.

It is a selective compilation from his writings pertaining to sadhana, spread over a number of decades. Though he says that the book is not new, still the long Introduction he has written to preface the selections sets a new key and opens out new vistas in the appreciation and utilisation of Tantra, Mantra, Yantra, Kundalini — subjects that have received more than adequate treatment in his pages.

- M. P. Pandit

THE SECRET OF CHINESE MEDITATION: By Charles Luk (Rider & Co., London, Price 35s.)

Upasaka Lu K'uanyu (Charles Luk) has given us another valuable book to add to our gratitude for the three volumes of "Ch'an and Zen Teaching," and in many ways it presents an increased maturity and clarity of expression. Its title "Meditation" and the Table of Contents listing six methods of "Self-cultivation" will sufficiently warn those who follow the great Masters for whom such an approach was diametrically opposed to the direct awakening which they represented, but the book must be appraised for what it teaches and should not incur reproach for what it does not.

This teaching represents Ch'an as generally found in the East today, and I think in many respects also the Zen of Japan, for there is a general abandonment of the direct approach and a tacit acceptation of the long way round, via a supposed "self", for those who regard themselves as unfitted to undertake an immediate displacement. They choose to assume that we in the West are in the same condition and Mr, Luk repeats here what I have heard from the mouths of so many, but there are those among us who think differently and who maintain that we are as fresh to this inspiration, and as ready to tackle the vertical ascent, as they themselves were a thousand years ago.

Mr. Luk gives us a portion of the famous Surangama Sutra, which we so lamentably lack, dealing with twenty-five approaches to "enlightenment", discussed in the presence of the Buddha by the most eminent Bodhisattvas. This probably rather late Sutra is highly regarded in China, and this important section is a valuable acquisition which serious Buddhists will greatly enjoy.

Thereafter he gives us extracts, lucidly commented by himself, on the 'methods' employed in Ch'an as described by well-known Masters — all, of course, of the later periods — followed by those employed by the admirable Pure Land school, by the scholarly T'ien T'ai (Tendai) school, and by the later Taoists, with a description of authentic experiments, and a chapter on Chinese yoga which he himself generously demonstrates to some of his friends.

To those who fight shy of it, not wishing to be distracted from their practice of non-practice or direct seeing, one may say that they will miss much valuable and interesting information; one may ask them who there could be to be distracted, and assure them that they too may benefit by this work.

In view of the modest dimensions of the volume the publishers may be taken to task for printing so many extracts in painfully small print, excessively trying to the eyes and detrimental to appreciation. Another inadequacy, for which also Mr. Luk is certainly not responsible, is the description of the frontispiece as "The embalmed body of Ch'an Master Wen Yen." The Chinese Masters were never embalmed, and are not now. In extremely rare cases, their funerary jar being opened after three or five years, the body has been found to be intact. It is then lacquered or gilded and preserved in the posture in which the Master died. Such bodies do not at all resemble mummies or the embalmed. Such gratuitous interpretations surely should not occur in print?

Readers' grievances should be voiced in notices of books, and those who have reacted against Mr. Luk's constant reiteration of the redundant expression "pure and clean" will again suffer, though perhaps less often. The Chinese word means "pure", pure means "unmixed", and when — as nearly always — it is applied to Mind it merely implies "devoid of objects". Another grievance of which one has heard a good deal is the introduction of the prefix "self". Such a careful and conscientious translator as Mr. Luk, and he is that above all else, must be convinced that self is implied, but readers no doubt find it difficult to forget that in the Diamond Sutra the Buddha is said to have stated — fifteen times I think — that there is no such thing. To Mr. Luk the prefix probably refers to the nature of the noun to which it is attached, as for instance, "selfnature" meaning the self or nature of nature rather than the self of the object, but it may be wondered whether ingenuous readers realise that?

"Merits" and "vows" are other awkward words — absurd when applied to Bodhisattvas who by definition are rid of self, and "passions" for Klesha merely raises a smile in people who do not spend their lives alternating between towering rages and unappeasable lust, or on the other hand may lead them to think that they must be on the verge of "enlightenment". In pointing out the above cases I am not in fact singling out Mr. Luk, as might appear to be the case. No doubt he would reply that it is not for him, a foreigner, to invent new technical terms in English. Personally he is to be absolved from all reproach, but it is time that English translators supplied him with a rational list of technical terms, and ceased apparently to consider that it is the business of a translator to demonstrate his own pedantry rather than to reveal what his author was seeking to make clear. The abolition of jargon is urgently needed if Buddhist teaching is to develop in the West, for it misleads students reading from the 'guest' position, confuses them, and delays their comprehension indefinitely. When the meaning of technical terms is far removed from the implications concerned, even reading from the "host" position, which Mr. Luk so admirably recommends, will not always prevent a reader from being misled.

There are too many stimulating statements in this book for quotation to cover them, but readers will be struck by such lines as Han Shan's (15461623) "Ordinary people mistake Ch'an for a doctrine, without knowing that Ch'an is but the selfmind which is beyond birth and death". (p. 56). And Tsu Pai's (15431604) "The secret of Ch'an training lies in your mind's ability to realise the oneness of all contraries such as adversity and prosperity, etc., and if you can achieve this your awakening will be imminent". (p. 62).

Anyone carefully reading the later detailed descriptions of the effects of some of the so-called "meditation" techniques is likely to realise what an impassable gulf separates all this from the pure and inspiring revelation of a Shen Hui, a Huang Po, or a Hui Hai. Perhaps the most extraordinary feature in this book is the Taoist chapter in which, after a brief but brilliant analysis of the opening verses of the Tao Teh Ching, probably the clearest exposition that exists in English, Mr. Luk passes without comment to quoting a modern dissertation on Taoist "meditation" that is as far from his introductory exposition as chiropody is from the Beatitudes.

With each new volume we are more deeply indebted to Mr. Luk, who was the first, after John Blofeld, to bring Ch'an to us. It has been a revelation to many, and he has many friends among us in consequence. The field is large, and much more awaits us, the choice among which, we may hope, will fall now to the early and most authentic Masters whose spoken doctrine is what we need whatever we may imagine that we want, and we may now be confident that he can do it, for his scholarship and the profundity of his understanding have clearly been demonstrated.

- T. S. G.

COSMIC THEOLOGY: The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy of Pseudo-Denys: An Introduction. By Dom Denys Rutledge. (Routledge & Kegan Paul, Pp. 212. Price 32s.)

The Pseudo-Dionysius (or -Denys), writing as though a disciple of St. Paul's but thought to have lived actually in the fourth or fifth century, has been one of the most influential of all Christian mystics. Most widely known, because most universal, is his Mystical Theology. The far less known Ecclesiastical Hierarchy is, however, also of immense value to members of the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches (it was written before the schism between them), and of theoretical interest to others, since its purpose is to point out the wealth of symbolism in the Church hierarchy and sacraments. This is shown as a system through which the Divine Light is canalised down to men and, in a simultaneous reverse movement, men are brought back to the Source of Light. In an age when ritual is apt to be ignorantly decried there can be few books which will so demonstrate its potential profundity.

A review of an earlier book by Dom Rutledge in The Mountain Path remarks on his absurdly vituperative attitude towards Hinduism.¹ It must be said that the present book, dealing with Christian mysteries only, is sober and profound. Even here, however, one wild statement creeps in. That is his suggestion (on page 26) that a Catholic liturgical renewal may be the bond of reunion between East and West. What can that mean except that Protestants in the West and Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and others in the East are all expected to become Catholics? This looks like the daydreaming of a monastic recluse.
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1 - The Search of a Yogi, reviewed in The Mountain Path of April 1964.

THE GENTLEMAN SAINT, ST. FRANCIS DE SALES AND HIS TIMES: 1567-1633: By Margaret Trouncer. (Hutchinson, Pp. 2401 Price 21s.)

This life of St. Francis de Sales is tailored to suit pious Catholics and they will love it. Others also will find much worth reading in it if they can persevere beyond the Little Lord Fauntleroy impression of the early chapters. His most characteristic work seems to have been the perilous one of giving spiritual direction to highsouled ladies. A man must indeed be a saint to avoid falling into at least one crevasse on such a path. There is great beauty and nobility in his life as indeed in these ladies also. For them he founded the Order of the Visitation, intended for ladies who were not robust enough to endure the rigours of the older contemplative orders — though in the early days their life seems to have been rigorous enough.

He was above all a saint of love, directing souls through loving sympathy. His books were expositions of the mysteries of Divine Love, the author tells us. She is very careful not to get out of her depth in speaking of them. His letters were exuberant with love. The scripture which particularly endeared itself to him was the Song of Solomon.

Yet he was virile and intrepid at the same time. To slip into Calvinist Geneva in disguise, as he did in his youth, in the hope of converting one of its great men to Catholicism was something like slipping into Stalin's Moscow to convert a member of the Politbiuro to democracy. He was unsparing, towards himself. To his charges also his love never made him soft or lenient.

- Sagittarius

IHYA 'ULUM UDDIN, The Revival of Religious Sciences: By AlGhazali. Translated by Bankey Behari. (Mata Krishna Satsang, Vrindaban, Pp. Ll and 432, Price Rs. ic.)

The customary reference to Al-Ghazali as the St. Thomas Aquinas of Islam hardly does him justice, for he did far more than stabilise Islamic theology: he made Sufism respectable in the eyes of the orthodox. No one has ever performed this service in Christianity, with the result that Christian mysticism and esoterism have never been accepted fully and without reservation by the guardians of the letter of the doctrine.

It is interesting to see what a pervading influence Christianity had on Sufism and on Al-Ghazali in particular. The doctrine is, of course impeccable, but the general tone, deprecating marriage in favour of celibacy and property in favour of mendicancy and claiming to be a miserable sinner is far less Quranic than Christian.

Not the least interesting feature about this abridged translation is that it is by a Hindu Sadhu and published by the Mata Krishna Satsang at Vrindaban. The English of it is far from perfect, but it is a labour of love and that it has been done at all is laudable.

- Abdullah Qutbuddin

(1) JAPJI; (2) ESSAY ON JAPJI: Both by Pritamdas Karamchandani, Pp. 110 and 345, Price Rs. 2.50 and Rs. 6. Available at Manjahad Darbar, 3rd Road, Khar, Bombay.

The Japji of Guru Nanak is a song of remembrance and self-consecration, sumiran and saran. It is the Gita of the Sikhs, the central hymn of the Granth Sahib, which is the sacred scripture of the followers of Nanak and Govinda Singh. In 38 Pauris or steps it brings out the disciplines of karma, bhakti and jnana margas which lead the devotee to a life of purity, unity and divinity. It turns the soul God-ward and its repetition cleans the mirror of the mind.

Lt. Colonel Karamehandani has done a great service in compiling the above two volumes of commentaries and explanations on these sacred verses. The first is a clear annotation of the text and the second an elaborate treatise on it, containing references to the Gita and the Qur'an and to Western thinkers such as Spinoza, Kant, Schopenhauer, Jung, James, etc., as well as to Shankara and Ramana Maharshi. The greater part of it is composed of Vedantic discussions with Dharmadas, under whom he studied.

The author argues convincingly that the phenomenal world is illusion, the soul or Self the unique Reality, and God the pure Self of all. Liberation comes by love, prayer, japa, dedicated service or Vedantic sadhana of discrimination.

The first of the two books gives us the original text of the Japji in devanagari script as well as the translation. The second gives gem-like translations from Guru Granth, Kabir, Ravidas and the Gita. It is a pleasure to study them and to contemplate the sacred Japji which says: "Chant God's Name in the ambrosial predawn: the bud of your soul shall open petal by petal into a fragrant flower. Conquer mind and you will conquer the world."

- Yogi Suddhananda Bharati

JOURNALS

We have received copies of the inaugural issue (January /February, 1964) of a bi-monthly cyclo-styled newsletter entitled The Path Divine published by 'The Universal Self-Realization Centre' of Durban, South Africa. This refers to The Mountain Path and The Call Divine and is devoted mainly to the teaching of Ramana Maharshi.

We have also received the July Issue of the small monthly newspaper Christian Yoga World from San Francisco, California. This is the organ of a group run by Father Subramuniam. The issue received contains an article on Ramana Maharshi. In general the paper explains the truths of Hindu teaching and the underlying unanimity of the religions.

We have received the first issue of Guru Vani, the annual journal of Shree Gurudev Ashram. Gavdevi-Ganeshpuri, P.C. Vajreshwari. Dist. Thana, Maharashtra State. This ashram, about 55 miles outside Bombay, perpetuates the influence of the late Swami Nityananda through the person of his successor, Swami Muktananda. Impressions of both are here given from a wide range of devotees, including persons eminent in politics, law and other fields of activity, mostly in English, some also in Hindi and Marathi. They are on a remarkably high level and of real spiritual interest. The English in which they are written is also on a high level. The general getup and appearance of the annual are admirable. The editors are to be congratulated on launching this fine new annual.