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REYTEWS 293

the Indian Iraditions in relationship to contemporaneous examinations of arehelypal human responses. One summary of the meanings inherent in this double axis is stated by Raimon Panniker : “....in the present moment of conversion, nonę of the cultural and religious traditions of mankind, by themselves or in isolation from each other, ean ofTer a satisfactory solution to the problems of the human condition nor to the destiny of Man” (sic). Appropriately, the poet Keshav Malik reflects upon what lies at the interior of the self, and which, in fact, is the core focus of the entire volume. It is the longing to return the ‘personal vertical self, the ‘psychic elements in the individual\ a condition as old as consciousness in humanity. And S.C. Malik, in the same vein, focus es on the creative individual, in search of a relationship with a fell tolality.

It is always exciling to leam morę about the symbolic manifestations of the unfolding First Principle, expressed in India in protean forms. One gets the impression that the diversincations are infinile and today are very much part of the psychic responses of the rural and a majority of other people who still are in genuine connection with what they perceive as the sacrcd, on many differing levels. The continuum is alive and well; it has always bccn so. And for royalty and the tcachers, for the patrons and the receptive devotee, studio-trained artists created majestic works of art, about which we are instructcd here:

Jim Masselos studics temporal time in the Gita Govinda paintings at Sydney. T.S. Maxwell*s evcr morę complex represcntations of Viśvarupa Visnu as “God incorporaling or radiating the univcrse at the heart of which he stands" deepens our undcrstanding. Mudri in lext and ritual is demonstrated by Bettina Baumcr to be one way the interconnectedness of all the Indian disiplines is manifeslcd. John McKim Malville^fs descriptions of Vijayanagar as cosmic city, mirroring the macrocosm, and Devangana Desafs study of Krsna LfIS, with focus on Laksmana Tempie at Khajuraho, also speak about the godhead / world fusions. A charming piece about God Brahmfi is illustrated by Aditya Malik with a traditional story, identifying Brahma as fertility divinity and creator, the associations meldcd.

Although some of the other conlributors also deal with the godhead, they stay within a morę conventionalized descriptive/historical perspective by no means out of place in the volume*s holistic approach, as they add new materiał for ever morę complex integration. In an effort to reveal hitherto neglected artistic excellence, Ratan Parimoo inlroduces many examples of Hinglajgarh sculplures. Lokesh Chandra and S.D. Singhal have collecled examples of beautiful medieval Indonesian Buddhist bronzes. The museologist Ranjit Makkuni anticipates new interdisciplinary exhibits, aided by modern technology.