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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

Date: Tue May 6, 2003 7:02 am

Subject: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

http://www.sulekha.com/chpost.asp...ilosophy&show=0&cid=58005

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atlantis/3425/page290.htm

TRUE Religion lifts us out of our ruts and treats us as INDIVIDUAL,
not as units in a crowd or cogs in a wheel.

Those who are suspicious of free and personal religion and wish to
impose on ALL PEOPLE a divinely guaranteed dogmatic creed actually
wind up endangering the very interests of Truth and stability which
they claim they are so anxious to preserve. Extreme opposite ends
often meet and converge in this curved and bounded Reimannian
Universe of ours. Authoritarianism implies a sort of skepticism.
Affirming that Religion should be DEFENDED from human reason and that
God should be approached wearing glasses colored by faith, that it's
systems should not be examined too closely, Authoritarianism seems to
harbor a secret skepticism. Such Authoritarianism can have little
appeal in an age remarkable for its criticism of creeds of all shades
and varieties.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/09/08/stories/1308110q.htm

Aldous Huxley described Dr. Radhakrishnan as "the master of words and
no words."

http://www.liveindia.com/freedomfighters/11.html

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born in Tirutani on September 5, 1888
into a poor Brahmin family. His father Sarvepalli Veeraswami was
employed on a meagre salary in the zamindari. His mother's name was
Sitamma. It was difficult for adhakrishnan's father to educate him
with a meagre income and a large family to take care of.

Radhakrishnan went through most of his education on scholarships. He
initially went to school in Tirutani and then to the Lutheran Mission
School in Tirupati for his high school. He joined the Voorhee's
College in Vellore but switched to the Madras Christian College at
the age of 17. He chose philosophy as his major and attained a B.A.
and M.A. in the field. He was afraid that his M.A. thesis, "The
Ethics of the Vedanta" would offend his philosophy professor, Dr.
A.G. Hogg. Instead, Dr. Hogg commended Radhakrishnan on doing an
excellent job. Radhakrishnan's M.A. thesis was published when he was
only 20

Radhakrishnan was married to Sivakamuamma at the age of 16 while
still in Vellore. Radhakrishnan accepted an Assistant Lectureship at
the Madras Presidency College in 1909. While at the College, he
mastered the classics of Hindu philosophy, namely the Upanishads,
Bhagvad Gita, Brahmasutra, and commentaries of Sankara, Ramunuja and
Madhava. He also acquainted himself with Buddhist and Jain
philosophy. At the same time he read philosophical commentaries of
Plato, Plotinus, Kant, Bradley, and Bergson. Later on in his life, he
studied Marxism and Existentialism.

In 1914, in a strange twist of fate, Radhakrishnan met Srinivasa
Ramanujan, the mathematical genius. Srinivasa was leaving for
Cambridge for studies and had come to seek Radhakrishnan's blessings
because a goddess came in his dream and told him to do so before
undertaking the trip. The two never met again.

In 1918, Radhakrishnan was selected as Professor of Philosophy by the
University of Mysore. By the time, Radhakrishnan had written many
articles for journals of repute like The Quest, Journal of Philosophy
and the International Journal of Ethics. He completed his first
book "The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore." He believed Tagore's
philosophy to be the "genuine manifestation of the Indian spirit."

Radhakrishnan's second book, "The Reign of Religion in Contemporary
Philosophy" was published in 1920.

Radhakrishnan's books and articles, drew the attention of Ashutosh
Mookerjee, Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University. He nominated
Radhakrishnan to the prestigious George V Professor of Philosophy at
the Calcutta University, 1921. In 1923, Dr. Radhakrishnan's "Indian
Philosophy" was published. The book was in response to the request
made by Prof. J. H. Muirhead, to write a book on Indian philosophy
for the Library of Philosophy. Radhakrishnan accomplished this
mammoth task by producing a systematic and readable account of Indian
philosophy. The book was hailed as a "philosophical classic and a
literary masterpiece."

Radhakrishnan was called to Oxford University, England, to deliver
the prestigious "Upton Lectures" on "The Hindu View of Life." The
lectures were followed by an invitation to head the Department of
Comparative Religion at Oxford. A philanthropist, Spalding, created a
professorship for Radhakrishnan to teach Religion and Ethics at
Oxford.

Radhakrishnan used his lectures as a platform to further India's
cause for freedom. He thundered, "India is not a subject to be
administered but a nation seeking its soul." He would graphically
describe the "shame of subjection and the lines of sorrow" apparent
on every Indian's face.

In 1931, Radhakrishnan was elected Vice Chancellor of the Andhra
University. The University was in a state of stagnation.
Radhakrishnan restructured the Honors and Post- Graduate teaching in
Humanities and Languages, and Science and Technology Departments from
scratch. By the time he left in 1936, he had transformed the
University into a robust and well-recognized institution.

In 1939, Radhakrishnan became the Vice Chancellor of the Benaras
Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh, founded by Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya.
The University was under pressure from the Governor, Sir Maurice
Hallet, to turn the campus into a war hospital in response to the
Quit India Movement launched by Gandhiji and the Congress.
Radhakrishnan rushed to Delhi and successfully persuaded the Viceroy,
Lord Linlithgow, to halt the Governor's action. The Governor instead
suspended financial support to the University. Radhakrishnan went
on "a Begging Pilgrimage," to collect funds from sympathizers and
philanthropists. When Malaviyaji retired from University work
completely, the Benaras Hindu University requested Radhakrishnan's
services for an indefinite period which Radhakrishnan acquiesced to.

After independence on August 15, 1947, Radhakrishnan was requested to
Chair the University Education Commission in 1948. The Radhakrishnan
Committee's suggestions helped mould the education system for India's
needs.

In 1949, Dr. Radhakrishnan was appointed ambassador to the Soviet
Union. The appointment raised many eyebrows because people wondered
what kind of an impression Radhakrishnan, a student of idealist
philosophy, would make on Joseph Stalin, an ardent communist. In
1950, Radhakrishnan was called to the Kremlin to meet with the
Premier. This was rather irregular. Radhakrishnan was accompanied by
Indian Embassy Minister, Rajeshwar Dayal and Soviet Foreign Minister
Andrei Vyshinsky and interpreter Pavlov. Radhakrishnan told
Stalin, "We had an emperor in India who, after bloody victory,
renounced war and became a monk. You have waded your way to power
through force. Who knows that might happen to you also."
Radhakrishnan was referring to Stalin's infamous "bloody" purges.
Stalin smiled and replied, "Yes, miracles do happen sometimes. I was
in a theological seminary for five years!"

On April 5, 1952, a few days before Radhakrishnan's departure for
India, Stalin called on Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan records Stalin's
face being bloated. Radhakrishnan patted him on the cheek and on the
back. Stalin said, "You are the first person to treat me as a human
being and not as a monster. You are leaving us and I am sad. I want
you to live long. I have not long to live." Stalin died six months
later. Radhakrishnan's legacy in Moscow was a firm and friendly
understanding between India and the Soviet Union. A relationship
which has flourished over the years and has become even stronger.

Radhakrishnan was elected Vice-President of India in 1952. The Vice-
President presides over the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) sessions, much
like the Speaker does in the Lok Sabha (Lower House). Often, during a
heated debate, Radhakrishnan would intervene with slokas from the
sanskrit classics or quotations from the Bible to calm the charged
atmosphere. Nehru commented later, "By the way in which Radhakrishnan
conducted the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha, he had made the
meetings of the House look like family gatherings!"

Dr. Radhakrishnan was honored with the Bharat Ratna in 1954. Around
the same time, an 883-page compilation titled "The Philosophy of Dr.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan" was released in America.

In 1956, Radhakrishnan's devoted wife, Sivakamuamma, passed away
after sharing 50 years of married life. The couple had five daughters
and a son.

After serving two terms as Vice-President, Radhakrishnan was elected
President of India in 1962. Radhakrishnan's tenure as President was
marked by the disastrous Indo-China war of 1962, his state visit to
the United States in 1963, the end of the Nehru-era with Nehru's
death in 1964, and India's victorious performance against Pakistan in
1965 under Lal Bahadur Shastri. Radhakrishnan guided each of the
Prime Ministers wisely and helped see India through those trying
years safely. Radhakrishnan refused to continue for another term as
President after his term ended in 1967.

At the age of 79, Dr. Radhakrishnan returned to Madras in May 1967 to
a warm homecoming. He spent his last years happily at his
house "Girija" in Mylapore, Madras.

Dr. Radhakrishnan died on April 17, 1975.

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