In Search For God

God is My Adventure. By Rom Landau. (Nicholson and Watson. 10s. 6d.)

Tins volume is the religious equivalent of the 'In Search For' series. Mr. Landau is no fool ; he is out to make his book entertaining, and he succeeds. It is first-class reporting. Seldom is one given an opportunity of reading such good journalism. Moreover the book does more than provide entertainment. It is -excellent geography. It offers a map of the modern terrain belonging to some of the religious saviours real and fake. Mr. Landau up to a point knows

which are which—he is not deceived by outrageous impostors. His equipment consists of that rare combination of cynicism and religiosity which makes for super-reporting. He fully recognises the incredible clowning of Mil Mehet Baba, the " Perfect Master," as well as the real greatness of Count Keyserling : he does the latter a fine service—fascinating

is the appropriate adjective to describe the report of his second interview with that wonderful conversationalist and thunderer. But it seems that Mr. Landau claims more fOr his work than merely this. It is supposed to be not only an Intelligent Guide to religious teachers but itself a helpfully religious book. Yet this is not so. It is futile.

I do not use that last word insultingly or in haste : I state a fact. The following is from page 387 :

" The most revealing conclusion that I reached in the course of fifteen years of spiritual investigation is that all genuine teacheris are trying to find the same truth. Differences are caused only by differences in their states of consciousness, their origins, or in their methods. One of them, like Keyserling, may appeal above all to the imagination ; another, like Dr. Buchman, to the emotions ; Gurdjieff employs a most complicated system, and Krishnamurti's influence derives almost entirely from the beauty of his personality ; Ouspensky approaches truth like a surgeon, and Rudolf Steiner like a scientist who is also a mystic. But they are all trying to find—and then to sow the seeds of—the same truth."

That is the sort of hollow and meaningless statement which really does more harm to individuals and ultimately to whole nations than the brutal activity of hosts of armed men. Take it sentence by sentence. His most revealing conclusion after fifteen years' investigation (as if you could intel- lectually investigate God instead of learning to see and feel Him I) is that teachers are all out to find the same truth.

Heaven knows what he means by truth : one supposes that he means God : but did he think that they were out to find the Devil ? He goes on " differences arc caused only by the differences in their states of consciousness " Rte. ; that is differences are caused -because there are differences.

Follows a list of these teachers who are all trying to find and sow the seeds of the same truth : " One like Keyserling

appeals to the imagination ; another like Buchman to the emotions &c. We are told to place Mr. Buchman

(often called Dr. Buchman), who. carries out the grotesque task of giving young men of boy-scout mentality the illusion

of being converted, beside Keyserling with whom he has about as much in common as the great Ouspensky has with the great Steiner. And Krislmamurti, who for empty, involved verbosity stands unrivalled in the whole of recorded

time," is hung in the same academy simply because he has a nice face. It is impossible to squeeze a word of sense out of that paragraph. • Mr. Landau possesses the completely conventional mind that repeats without discomfort the endless lush phrases common to religious people who have not attained Religion such as " we can find true and lasting happiness only within ourselves and we must abandon the search for it in the world without "—shy no means a whole truth ; such as, " the principal command of all teachers irrespeetWe of their race, creed, or method, is that a man must ' know

himself ' "—while many modern seers realise that " forget thyself " is now a more fruitful command.; such as " this

book, is not intended to disturb the serenity of those who are unshaken in the faith they hold "—why not ? there are not two or three kinds of faith ; there is only one, and if it can be disturbed it isn't faith ; such as, " Whether his ideas were right or wrong seemed to me to matter little. It Was himself as a personality that counted spiritually "—a truly typical and shocking remark.

Mr. Landau asks us to believe that God is his adventure. But what steps did lie take ? Did he first acquaint himself with what Religion is ; then, having found by studying the mystics, that it is Vision attained through a more-than- rational instrument of apprehension, did he try to bring to birth that vision in himself, did he give himself up to the

great task of creating intuition and discovering that truth

? Not at all. Instead of that he trots round the world from teacher to teacher, some genuine, some fake, some maniac, asking them a few questions, seeing what clothes they wear, what food they cat, and so on. Not thus.