7 MARCH 1908, Page 28

The Transformed Hinduism. By the Author of " God the

BeautifuL" 2 vols. (Philip Welby. 55. net.)—Brahmanism, we are told, " has maintained its supremacy in India by its subtle compromising spirit, its universal toleration and receptivity." But it does not give way in the really important thing. "Worship and speculation are of little account conduct of daily life as interpreted by the caste system is everything." If the system could be broken down—a thing hardly possible to conceive —what then? Imagine a vast community suddenly deprived of that which has been the guiding principle in everything ! Readers may learn much from these two volumes. They are evidently the work of one who knows his subject well, and who writes in a strongly sympathetic spirit. If they can help towards bringing into existence "the Monotheistic Religion of Beauty" which we are to find in " Transformed Hinduism," so much the better. Hinduism as it exists at present, with the evils that are in esse, and others in posse, kept down only by the strong hand of authority, certainly needs " transforming." Whether" E. P. B.'s " little book will be able to accomplish what the Gospels have not done, we may doubt. We have no wish to discourage any sincere efforts for the bettering of the world. Their incurable defect is commonly their esoteric character. How would " E. P. B." deliver this message to an uneducated congregation?