Vijaya Dharma Simi, his Life and Work. By A. J.
Sunavala. (Cambridge University Press. 5s. net.)—This short biography of the learned and pious Indian monk who has brought about a revival among the Jains is curiously interesting. The Jains are a very ancient religious body, possibly as old as the Buddhists. They number only 1,250,000, out of the 315,000,000 people in India, but they have retained their separate identity through the ages. Vijaya Dharma Suri, who was born in 1868 in Kathiawar, has put new life into his community both by his missionary tours and by his educational work. The biographer insists that Jainism is not hostile to other creeds. It places non-killing (Ahimsa) first of its five cardinal precepts ; the others are truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy and freedom from greed.
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