Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Shri Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, to S Veeraswamy and Seetamma in Tiruttani, close to Tirupati in the Chittur district of the Andhra region. He did his school education in Tiruttani, Walajapet, and Vellore. He was a statesman, phylosopher and theologist. He was an educationist. he served as Vice-Chancellor to several Universities in India and abroad. He served as a member of the Constitution Assembly. He worked as Ambassodor to Moscow. He served Indian Republic as President of India. (డా. సర్వేపల్లి రాధాకృష్ణన్) (डॉ। सर्वॆपल्लि राधाकृष्णन)
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is honored by Indians by naming several Universities, colleges and schools across India.
Universities:
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan University (SRK University): Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Rajasthan Ayurved University: in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
Colleges and Schools:
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Government Arts College: in Yanam, affiliated with Pondicherry University.
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Govt. Degree College: in Dharampur, Himachal Pradesh.
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidyalaya: in Borivali West, Mumbai.
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan B. Ed. College: in Malda, West Bengal.
- Sarvepalli Radha Krishnan Institute Of Education: in Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Radhakrishnan relied on scholarships for his further education after schooling. He got his degree from Madras Christian College in 1907. He composed a thesis for his bachelor’s degree named “The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions”. And he did his master’s from the same institution, Madras Christian College. He claims that his aim was to engage in science and mathematics. However, because of monetary limitations, he pursued philosophy. Due to the accessibility of his older brother’s philosophy books.
Radhakrishnan’s philosophy was grounded in Advaita Vedanta. He defended Hinduism against what he called “uninformed Western criticism”, contributing to the formation of contemporary Hindu identity. He has been influential in shaping the understanding of Hinduism, in both India and the West, and earned a reputation as a bridge-builder between India and the West.
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan said, ‘The challenge of Christian critics impelled me to make a study of Hinduism and find out what is living and what is dead in it’. Radhakrishnan also said like this, ‘My pride as a Hindu, roused by the enterprise and eloquence of Swami Vivekananda, was deeply hurt by the treatment accorded to Hinduism in missionary institutions’.
Ethics of Vedanta
In his ‘Ethics of Vedanta’ he wrote, “it has become philosophic fashion of the present day to consider the Vedanta system a non-ethical one.” In his “The Spirit of Abheda” he argues, “In morals, the individual is enjoined to cultivate a Spirit of Abheda, or non-difference.” “Every other individual is to be regarded as your co-equal, and treated as an end, not a means.” “The Vedanta requires us to respect human dignity and demands the recognition of man as man.”
He says, ‘The Vedanta is not a religion, but religion itself in its most universal and deepest significance.’
Radhakrishnan stated that ‘Western philosophers, despite all claims to objectivity, were influenced by theological influences of their own culture’.
“Intuition”, synonymously called “religious experience”, has a central place in Radhakrishnan’s philosophy as a source of knowledge which is not mediated by conscious thought.
Radhakrishnan discerns eight sorts of experience:
- Cognitive Experience:
- Sense Experience
- Discursive Reasoning
- Intuitive Apprehension
- Psychic Experience
- Aesthetic Experience
- Ethical Experience
- Religious Experience
Advaita Vedanta
And he Classifies religions into five kinds. And he gives Advaita Vedanta the highest place in the hierarchy.
- The worshippers of the Absolute
- The worshippers of the personal God
- The worshippers of the incarnations like Rama, Kṛiṣhṇa, Buddha
- Those who worship ancestors, deities and sages
- The worshippers of the petty forces and spirits
He said, “Hinduism insists on our working steadily upwards in improving our knowledge of God. The worshippers of the absolute are of the highest rank; second to them are the worshippers of the personal God; then come the worshippers of the incarnations of Rama, Krishna, Buddha; below them are those who worship deities, ancestors, and sages, and lowest of all are the worshippers of petty forces and spirits.”.. “And the seers see the supreme in the self, and not the images.”
According to Radhakrishnan, Hinduism is a scientific religion based on facts. “if philosophy of religion is to become scientific, it must become empirical and found itself on religious experience”. He saw this empiricism exemplified in the Vedas: The truths of the Rishis are not evolved as the result of logical reasoning or systematic philosophy but are the products of spiritual intuition, drishti or vision. … Their utterances are not based on transitory vision but on a continuous experience of resident life and power. When the Vedas are regarded as the highest authority, all that is meant is that the most exacting of all authorities is the authority of facts.
Bridge between the East and the West
According to the historian Donald Mackenzie Brown, ‘Radhakrishnan had always defended Hindu culture against uninformed Western criticism and had symbolized the pride of Indians in their own intellectual traditions.’
Paul Artur Schillp praised Radhakrishnan like this, ‘Nor would it be possible to find a more excellent example of a living “bridge” between the East and the West than Professor Radhakrishnan.’
And according to Hawley:, ‘Radhakrishnan has been held up in academic circles as a representative of Hinduism to the West. His lengthy writing career and his many published works have been influential in shaping the West’s understanding of Hinduism, India, and the East’
He taught at Madras Presidency College, University of Mysore, University of Calcutta, Harris Manchester College, Oxford. He was Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1936.
He represented the University of Calcutta at the Congress of the Universities of the British colonies in June 1926 and the International Congress of Philosophy at Harvard University in September 1926. Another delivered the Hibbert Lecture on the ideals of life at Harris Manchester College, Oxford in 1929. His other noted books are, The Reign of Religion in Contemporary Philosophy, which was published in 1920 and also The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore.
He was also elected to the Constituent Assembly of India. Radhakrishnan represented India at UNESCO between 1946 – 52 and was later appointed as Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union, from 1949 to 1952. Then he was elected as the First Vice President of India in 1952. He was second President of India from 1962 to 67.
Andhra University
And he was instrumental establishing Andhra University. (He worked with Kattamanchi Ramalinga reddy in this Endeavour. ). He was Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. ( First the University was started at Vijayawada, then shifted to Visakhapatnam ).
Shri Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in his Convocation address of the Andhra University in 1932 spoke about Andhras like this, “We, the Andhras, are fortunately situated in some respects. I firmly believe that if any part of India is capable of developing an effective sense of unity it is in Andhra. The hold of conservatism is not strong. Our generosity of spirit and openness of mind are well -known. Our social instinct and suggestibility are still active. Our moral sense and sympathetic imagination are not much warped by dogma. Our women are relatively more free. Love of the mother-tongue binds us all.”
President of India
Later Radhakrishnan was elected President of India in 1962.
Teachers Day
His date of Birth September 5th is celebrated as Teachers Day by India.
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