bring about the destruction of the Machine. He himself meets his own death in this heroic act. He had contemplated death. In setting the Water-fall's current free, he had found his own freedom. He returns to the womb of his mother, the waterfall Muktadhara.

"The tragic fate of the Crown Prince Abhijit is the key to the comprehension of the symbolism of the whole drama. Human progress is only possible, when men lift themselves high above narrow and selfish prejudices; when those who are the chosen leaders of humanity do not hesitate to renounce all earthly goods and to sacrifice life itself for the ideal. The fight between an exaggerated nationalism, (which tries to reach some merely temporary political success by injuring others) on the one hand, and the idea of the brotherhood of all men, on the other, find in several episodes in this drama a precise and perfect expression.

"For example, as a representative of a cheap form of patriotism, we see a schoolmaster appear on the stage with his pupils. He has made these pupils learn a pompous hymn of praise to the King Ranajit. By this method, the schoolmaster hopes himself to get a higher salary. He has also inflamed his boys with a fanatical hatred against the people of Shiu-tarai, because "they have a bad religion." He finds that their noses are not of the same curvature as those of their loftier neighbours of Uttarakut.

Therefore they must be "inferior". In his "over-zeal" he assures his pupils that the aim of all history is to secure the empire of the world for the dynasty of Uttarakut. He puts forward the divine right of the royal house of Ranajit to pursue this course of oppressing other people by all the means in its power, as a fact grounded on scientific data.

"The opposite view to this is expressed by the ascetic Dhananjay. His teaching does not meet with much success or understanding, but he tries to show that it is necessary to endure evil till it ceases by itself. Retaliation, or resistance of evil by evil, only provokes fresh evil.

"The figure of Dhananjay, the ascetic, bears a certain resemblance to the national leader of India, at the present moment, Mahatma Gandhi, who was recently arrested and imprisoned. But the Poet himself remarks in a note that he had already presented that figure of the ascetic, and many of the aphorisms he uses, in his play called 'Prayaschitta' ( Expiation) nearly fitten years ago.

"Rabindranath Tagore's new Bengali drama is thus rich in solemn episodes and spiritual allusion. The prose of the drama is often interspersed with songs in rhyme.

"In the present political circumstances of Indian life, the play of Mukta-dhara is certain to be received, in India, with a vivid interest. Only the future can determine to what extent it will be effective on the stage.

Lichen to the cherry tree
Clings like mournful memory.
Pale the lichen as a face
Seen when levin lights a place.
Feet of lichen slowly climb.
Going their way apart from time.

Lichen owns a lineage.

Older than the Golden Age.
When the world is doomed at last
Lichen will be clinging fast.
How looks it, brother cherry-tree,
The lichen that has covered me?

E. E. SPEIGHT.

ENGLISH.

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE: By Mahatma Gandhi. Ganesh & Co., Madras. 1922. Price Re. 1.

Both in conception and design, this collection of the Mahatma's Essays on Swadeshi, the boycott of foreign cloth, hand spinning, and the use of Khaddar must be pronounced to be admirably adapted to the purpose for which it is intended. The design on the cover, which is 'clothed in Khaddar', is a spinping wheel, and on the back is an extract from the Mahatma's message from Sabarmati Jail, with the headlines : 'Use Khaddar Save sixty crores annually.' The book is nicely printed in bold type and well bound and in 160 pages. It gives the whole theory and practice of handspinning. Srijut Dwijendranath Tagore, in his introduction, says: "Many critics and some friends of Mahatma Gandhi have found fault with his desire to introduce simpler methods of spinning and weaving and to do away with much of the complicated machinery of modern civilisation. ...Every civilisation in the history of man has reached a certain point after which there has been one possibility only for it and that was absolute relapse into semi-darkness in order to give place to a new and higher civilisation...now with regard to modern civilisation all the signs of the times show that it has failed lamentably and is gradually tottering to a dishonoured grave... In order that the spiritual civilsation of the future may have a real chance of growing in an atmosphere congenial to it, Mahatma Gandhi's demonstration of the right path should be welcomed. His emphasis on simplicity of life and on the simplification of the machinery of living must be realised as a supremely essential condition of the coming of the new era.'

TO MY COUNTRYMEN: By Deshabandhu Chittaranjan Das. To be had of the Ahimsa Asram, Triplicane, Madras.

Mr. C. R. Das's presidential address and other messages given about the time of his incarceration.

INDIA ON TRIAL : Published by the Ahimsa Asram. Triplicane, Madras. Price As. 10.

This is a collection of some of the Mahatma's messages culled from the Young India and the Navajiban and written on the eve of his arrest. The proceedings of his historic trial have also been given in full, and two appreciations by 'Pussyfoot' John

son and by the Rev. J. H. Holmes, who calls him the greatest man of the world today, have been printed at the end of the book. It is neatly printed and must be considered to be remarkably cheap at the price at which it is offered for sale.

GANDHI AND TAGORE: Seshadri & Son. 12, Venkataramier Street, Madras. 1922. Price As. 4.

This is a study in comparison, reprinted from the Standard-Bearer of Chandernagore and believed to be from the pen of Aurobindo Ghosh, and certainly in the high literary quality and critical ability which it reveals, quite worthy of him. The writer has seen neither of the two heroes of contemporary India, but "Every day I catch the inspiring echoes of their hallowed existence." "We cannot have Tagore for ourselves [only ]. He is a gift of the gods to humanity. Mahatma Gandhi is India's own saintly son... His soul is made of selflessness. Service is his daily bread, sacrifice his guiding star." "The idea that he has uttered cannot be arrested...Great men

perish, but greatness never." "Gandhi is good: Tagore is transcendental." "By the truth of his love has the Mahatma won the heart of his country. There we all acknowledge defeat at his feet" is Tagore's homage to Gandhi. According to Gandhi, the hungry millions of India must learn to live before they can aspire to die for humanity. One stands for India in transition, the other for India's culture soul. The concentration of all the available energies of the entire people in a vast and whole-souled national yoga, and not renunciation merely, is Tagore's solution of the problem of attaining Swaraj. "There are no two persons in the world whom I revere so much as Tagore and Gandhi. Long live Gandhi ! Long live Tagore I look up and see Tagore. I look ahead and see Gandhi. Glory to the land in which they are born. Vande Mataram."

WHAT THE STUDENTS OF OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE DONE (RUSSIA): Saraswaty Library. 9, Ramanath Mazumdar Street, Calcutta. 1922. Price As. 4.

This neatly got up pamphlet gives us the story of how Russian students organized themselves actively for political and economic freedom, and cheerfully sacrificed their young lives for their ideal, the fruition of which was thereby rendered inevitable.

FOR INDIA AND ISLAM : By Ali Brothers : Saraswaty Library. 9, Ramanath Mazumdar Street, Calcutta. 1922. Price Re. 1-8.

This closely but neatly printed book of 120

pages contains all the important speeches of the brothers Ali, and a full report of the proceedings of their trial at Karachi. It is a good compendium of the Khilafat cause, but if one may be permitted to venture a remark on this remarkably able presentation of the movement by its most prominent protagonist, Islam is much more in evidence here than India, and one wonders how far the extraterritorial and religious patriotism of Islam can be harmonised with the national patriotism of the Hindus for building up the India of the future of which we have all been dreaming dreams.

KRISHNA'S FLUTE By Prof. T. L. Vaswani. Ganesh & Co., Madras. Re. 1-8. 1922.

This is another book from the prolific pen of Prof. Vaswani. He takes up detached passages of the Gita as his text and expounds them in his own way. "Krishna the hero was essentially Krishna the lover. His love was given to all humanity. I look for the day when our 'nationalism' will be filled with this aspiration: When shall our race be one great Brotherhood?' As love of the family must fulfil itself by growing into love of the nation, so must 'nationalism' fulfil itself by growing into humanism. This note-the note universal-is sounded again and again in the Bhagavad-Gita."

APOSTLES OF FREEDOM: By Prof. T. L. Vaswani. Ganesh & Co., Madras. Price Re. 1. 1922.

The author takes as his text some of the pioneers of the noble band of men who have advanced the cause of freedom, e. g., Guru, Nanak, who preached the brotherhood of Hindus and Muslims, Abraham Lincoln, the emancipator of the Negro, Tolstoy, who laid down the law of non-resistance, Tilak, the Indian apostle of Swaraj (the chapters on Tilak, are the best in the volume), a Japanese patriot, and some Irish idealists, e. g., Pearse and Macswiney. Need less to say that the volume is full of inspiration for young and old alike and is sure to command a large sale. The printing, binding and general get up, as usual, are excellent.

POLITICUS.

INDIAN CURRENCY AND FINANCE By Mr. K. C. Mahindra, B. A. (Cantab ): S. Ganesan & Co., Madras. Rs. 3 and Ans. 8.

This monograph secured the Bomanji prize, offered by the Indian Merchants' Chamber and Bureau of Bombay. Unlike an ordinary prize essay, it is a valuable contribution to one of the most difficult branches of Indian Economics. Mr. Mahindra is not satisfied with barren criticism of the currency policy of the Government but sets forth a constructive scheme of monetary reform.

Our author has done well in emphasising at the outset a fact which is often forgotten by the public that "the concrete in the foundations" of our currency structure has up to this time been "Government convenience." (P. 9.) "The conversion of international currency into Indian currency and vice versa did not effect itself automatically at the desire of the holders but rested upon the convenience of the Secretary of State for India." (P. 8.) The main problem of Indian currency is, in our author's

opinion, the problem of good money, i. e., a currency which satisfies the condition of stability and elasticity. Now, the stability question has an internal as well as an external aspect. The internal stability means the stability of purchasing power "in terms of the local commodities in general" (p. 31 ). whereas external stability simply means stability of exchange. It is true that there is a very intimate relation between the two aspects of the stability problem ; and in these days of inflated paper currencies when the old mint pars of exchange have become matters of mere antiquarian interest in many countries, the relative purchasing power of the currencies of different countries determines their rates of exchange. But Mr. Mahindra has clearly shown that to a country like India the stability of the purchasing power of currency is far more important than mere stability of exchange.

Unfortunately the spirit of John Company still seems to sway the minds of our currency experts who look at the question from the standpoint of the export and import merchant rather than of the Indian ryot.

It is true that the ryot's interest is often made a convenient peg to support their arguments but the exchange problem which looms large before our currency authorities affects the ryot for good or for evil far less than is ordinarily supposed.

We fully endorse our author's remark that "stabilising the rupee in terms of commodities is the real problem; stability of exchange is a minor issue." (P. 105.)

While we agree with our author so far, we doubt whether it is now desirable to adopt his scheme of stabilization. Mr. Mahindra claims no originality for his proposal, which is based on the principles laid down in Prof. Fisher's Stabilizing the Dollar. There is now in America "a gold dollar of constant weight and varying purchasing power.' Prof. Fisher wants to introduce "a dollar of constant purchasing power and therefore of varying weight."

are

Some of the necessary requisites of the scheme (1) The withdrawal of gold coins from circulation, the circulating medium consisting only of paper

money:

(2) An accurate index number of prices;

(3) An impartial and efficient body of govern ment officials having a thorough grasp of the theory and practice of the monetary science.

The first requisite already exists in our country. On account of the recent fall in the price of silver, the rupee has again become a note printed on silver. But the determination of an accurate index number of prices is beset with many difficulties.

The Government of India has recently expressed its inability to construct an all-India index number to solve industrial disputes. Our main objection is that under Mr. Mahindra's scheme we shall purchase theoretical stability of our standard money in relation to goods at too high a price. We shall introduce a new element of instability in the gold basis of our currency,

The scheme would not check, as Prof. Fisher himself admits, violent fluctuations in prices, but small fluctuations which the scheme wants to remove,

does not cause serious inconvenience in our economic dealings.

Another objection to Mr. Mahindra's scheme is that it will leave the control of our currency in the hands of officers, many of whom are mere novices in currency management. The work in the currency department often forms a small link in the long chain of the official career of the Civil Servant. As soon as an I.C.S. officer has acquired sufficient experience in currency matters, he may be transferred to some other department where his experience will be of little use while his successor may have hardly any knowledge of even the theory of currency. It is not, therefore, surprising that our currency authorities should commit egregious blunders.

.The ultimate control over Indian currency is also "in the hands of those whose outlook is Imperial rather than Indian." As Mr. Mahindra aptly observes, the charge of 'Heads I win, tails you lose' against the India Office wherever Indian and English -or even Colonial-interests come into conflict is not an empty one despite vehement assertions to the contrary." (P. 10.) The sale of Reverse Councils from January to September, 1920, inspite of strong and repeated protests of the Indian public, shows the dangers of leaving the management of our currency in the hands of officials who are not amenable to public opinion. So long as our currency is not managed by real experts, solely in the interest of India, the less managed it is, the better for us.

In order to reduce governmental interference to a minimum, we suggest that the rupee should be made completely a token coin, valued at one-tenth of a gold sovereign and should remain a legal tender, say up to 10 while our standard currency should consist of gold sovereigns and gold notes, the latter issued, not by the State but by the Imperial Bank which should be more Indianised and made more reponsive to Indian public opinion. State-managed currency may, under proper safeguards, be a step towards ideal currency, but when these safe-guards are wanting, gold currency, involving less official interference, is preferable.

Though gold has lost its old stability of value it is not impossible to restore that stability by an international agreement. One objection against gold currency is the loss involved in the actual circulation of the yellow metal. Prof. Keynes tells us "that it is extravagant to use gold as a medium of exchange," but in a country where more than half the revenue of the central government is spent in maintaining not a very efficient army and where crores have been and are being spent in playing the Great Mughal at Delhi, a little "extravagance" in currency matters may be easily pardoned. If proper facilities for convertibility into gold are given, the circulation of gold notes is also bound to increase, reducing the actual use of go'd as a medium of exchange. The danger of the gold in circulation being hoarded to a large extent, is also quite imaginary.

Those who object to gold currency on the ground of economy should note that a single official blunder in a managed currency may cause greater loss than the loss due to the actual circulation of gold coins. The sale of Reverse Councils in 1920, apart from the loss of about 36 crores of rupees (the proceeds of the sale of £55,382,000 Reverse Councils in 1920 amounted to Rs. 46,93,55,857 only) to the

Government itself, is, to a great extent responsible for the present slump in our trade and the ruin of many Indian merchants. The persistent demand of the Indian public for gold currency is therefore not so 'foolish' and 'unreasonable' as it appears from the standpoint of economic theory.

It is not possible to examine in detail all the problems, especially the elasticity problem of Indian currency discussed by Mr. Mahindra. We congratulate him on his scholarly production which, we hope, will meet with the recognition it deserves from all those who are interested in Indian currency. J. C. SINHA. DRAMATIC DIVERTISSMENTS: By V. V. Srinivasa Iyengar, B. A., B L. Everyman's Ltd. Rs. 2.

The art of social portraiture has never been a conspicuous feature of Indian Drama, romanticism having always excercised a profound fascination on the Indian dramatist to the exclusion of everything else. The royal author of Mrichchhakatika, it is true, portrayed with admirable vividness the pulsing life of the ancient city of Ujjain, but it is unique in the annals of Sanskrit literature and the tradition never struck root in the land. The theatrical companies of to-day in the country have unfortunately not made much of an advance in the matter and we must therefore extend a specially cordial welcome to this volume of bright social sketches of South Indian life. The author is a well-known figure in the social life of Madras, and is one who for the last two decades has laboured hard for the resuscitation of Indian Drama through the premier dramatic association of the Southern Capital, the Suguna Vilasa Sabha. The sketches reveal keen and penetrating powers of observation; a sense of subtle humour expressed with an almost Meredithian refinement-though he has also occasionally sought delectation in farce-and also a certain underlying profundity of outlook on the social problems of the day. One of the most serious obstacles which the Indian dramatist has to face in the delineation of the social environment through the medium of English is with regard to the incongruity of making his characters speak the foreign tongue in circumstances in which one is almost certain that the language spoken could not have been English. Mr. Srinivasan has minimised such incongruities to the utmost, and what is more interesting, while the conversation of his characters is in racy English, it also seems to come out most naturally from their lips. This writer would like to mention the interesting fact, not so much for recalling a personal reminiscence, as for complimenting the sketches on their dramatic qualities that he has seen most of them acted on the stage with remarkable success-the volume is therefore not only for the appreciation of the student in the closet, but also for the play-goer and stage-manager. We have great pleasure in recommending the volume to educated Indians all over the country and to foreigners who wish to have glimpses of Indian social life. The Hon'ble. Mr. Justice Coutts-Trotter of the High Court of Judicature, Madras, writes an appreciative foreword to the book.

A SOUL'S POSY : By Zero. Panini Press, Allahabad. 8 as.

A small pamphlet of reveries and reflections in poetic prose. P. SESHADRI.

BAHAI THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE: By Horace Holley. Approved by Bahai Committee on Publica tions. Published by Brentano's, New York. Pp. 212. Price not known.

"In 1844 a Persian named Mohammed Ali, then twenty-four years old, announced publicly that he was the forerunner of a Manifestation who, after a certain interval, would declare himself to be that 'Ancient', that 'Lord', that Alpha and Omega' foretold by all the prophets and that from him would emanate a new cycle of spiritual civilization encircling and uniting the world.

Nineteen years later, in 1863, Hosein Ali, a Persian prince of purest Aryan lineage, announced himself as the Manifestation declared by Mohammed Ali. The title by which Hosein Ali has since been known is that of Baha' O'llah, or the Glory of God. The title of Mohammed Ali is that of El Bab, meaning the Door, or Gate.

Baha O'llah passed from the flesh in 1892 at the Turkish prison city of Acca, Palestine, leaving as the last of his works a covenant or Testament, designating his eldest son Abbas Effendi, as his spiritual successor among men responsible for and able to carry on his function and purpose in the world. Since that date, Abbas Effendi has been known by that title of Abdul Baha or Servant of the Glory. ( Pp. 26—27.)

The book is divided into three parts.

The first part, The Cosmic Trinity, deals with the source of Bahaism in its three founders. The brief chapters concluding the first part have special references to the relation of Bahaism to some established body of opinion, such as Christianity, Judaism, Christian Science and to current problems under the head of Science, Politics and Economics.

Part two is a compilation from the utterances of Baha O'llah and Abdul Baha, selected from every possible source.

Part three contains two important Bahai documents. In conclusion, a Reading List is added which includes all books known to the author as being strictly Bahai in origin or theme."

The Bahai movement is full of meaning. The Spirit of the Age is manifesting itself in many ways and who will deny that it is a manifestation of the same spirit. The movement is deserving of an attentive examination.

We have read the book with interest.

POSITIVE RELIGION: By J. C. Ghosh, M. A., B. L., M. L. C. Published by H. L. Banerjee at the Calcutta Law Press, Bhowanipur.Pp. 676. Price not known.

The book is divided into 15 chapters under the following heads :-( 1 ) Introduction, (ii) Examination of different systems of Religion, (iii) Philosophy and Religion, (iv) Science and Religion, (v) The Mystery of Pain, (vi) The Mystery of Evil, (vii) The Evolution of the Good, (viii) Definition of Positive Religion, (ix) God and Self, (x) Prayer and Worship, (xi) Mysticism, (xii) The Positive Rule of Right Conduct, (xiii) Woman and Positive Religion, (xiv) Religion and Common Life and ( xv) The Life Eternal.

Our author's Positive Religion is to be sharply distinguished from Auguste Comte's Positive Religion which he considers to be a "travesty of the name". He has "laboriously gone through the objections of philosophy and science to the belief in personal God

and religion and" has "found that God and the close relationship of man and God are real and that man feels the necessity of worshipping and loving the Father and the Lover above all lovers. Such belief and consciousness of such relationship constitute religion. It has been attempted in these pages to prove that they are based on sure foundations of the facts of life and of science and not on revelations, fancies and specious arguments. A religion having such a foundation can surely be termed positive" (p. 429 ).

The book is written in non-technical language hy a man of wide reading and liberal ideas, and will be profitably read by a wide circle of readers.

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF SAINT JOHN OF JERUSALEM: By E. M. Tenison. Published by the Society of S. S. Peter and Paul 32 George Street, Hanover Square. Pp. 119. Price 5 shillings.

It contains a history of the order from its earliest foundation in A. D. 1014 to the end of the Great War of A. D. 1914-1918.

GOSPEL OF GANDHI By T. C. K. Kurup, M. A., LL. D., Bar-at-Law, Editor, Madras Review. Published by the Madras Review office, Madras. Pp. 135. Price Rs. 2-8.

The book is divided into sections under the following headings-Introduction, Gandhi's Personality, Philosophy of Life, A Christ-like Life, Love of Humanity, Philosophy of Jail Life, Satyagraha or Truth Force, Passive Resistance, Conception of Duty and Conclusion.

The author differs "from Mahatma Gandhi wholeheartedly both on politics and on economics" and has "avoided in this book all reference to politics."

According to him "Mahatma Gandhi is the greatest teacher that descended on Earth since Gautama Buddha and Jesus Christ" and "the basic principle of Mahatma Gandhi's teaching is Renunciation in Action."

THE GAYATRI : By P. T. Srinivasas Iyengar. Printed by Srinivasa Varadachari & Co., Madras. Pp. 43. Price As 6.

The booklet deals with the text of the Gayatri, its authorship, meaning and uses, rival Savitri mantras, the Sandhya rite, the Gayatri Vidya, etc.

THE BUDDHA'S PATH OF VIRTUE: A TRANSLATION OF THE DHAMMAPADA: By F. L. Woodword. M. A. With a foreword by Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam. Published by the Theosophical Publishing House, Madras and London. Pp. 102.

There are 423 verses in the Dhammapada but in the translation, the last verse is numbered 421. It is due to the fact that the verses 360 and 361 of the original have been numbered 360 in the translation and the verse 386 has not been translated. These mistakes have been corrected in the "Errata." The translation is metrical and fairly accurate. IN THE SIKH SANCTUARY: By Prof. T. L. Vaswani. Published by Ganesh & Co., Madras. Pp. 95. Price Re. 1-8.

Author's political ideal preached through Sikhism. MESSAGE OF THE BIRDS: By Prof. T. L. Vaswani. (My Motherland series. ) No. 2. Pp. 78. Price Re. 1.

"The Message of the Swaraj movement," published on the 18th May, 1922 ( the Gandhi Day ).