Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

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Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Bharat Ratna

2nd President of India

In office
13 May 1962 13 May 1967
Jawaharlal Nehru
Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting)
Prime
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Minister
Gulzarilal Nanda (Acting)
Indira Gandhi
Vice President Zakir Hussain
Preceded by Rajendra Prasad
Succeeded by Zakir Hussain
Vice President of India
In office
13 May 1952 12 May 1962
President
Rajendra Prasad
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Zakir Hussain
Personal details
Born
5 September 1888
Thiruttani, Madras Presidency, British
India

(now in Tamil Nadu, India)

17 April 1975 (aged 86)
Died
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
(now Chennai)
Nationality
Indian
Political party Independent
Spouse(s)
Sivakamu, Lady Radhakrishnan
Five daughters
Children
One son
Voorhees College
Alma mater
University of Madras
Philosopher
Profession
Professor
Religion
Hinduism
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan ( listen (helpinfo); 5 September 1888 17 April 1975) was
an Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President of India (1952
1962) and the second President of India from 1962 to 1967.[1]
One of India's most influential scholars of comparative religion and philosophy,
Radhakrishnan built a bridge between the East and the West by showing how the
philosophical systems of each tradition are comprehensible within the terms of the other.
He wrote authoritative exegeses of India's religious and philosophical literature for the
English-speaking world. His academic appointments included the King George V Chair
of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta (19211932) and Spalding
Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford (19361952).
Radhakrishnan was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India, in
1954. Among the many other honours he received were the British Knight Bachelor in
1931 and honorary membership of the Order of Merit (1963), but ceased to use the title
"Sir" after India attained independence.[2] Dr Radhakrishnan believed that "teachers
should be the best minds in the country". Since 1962, his birthday is celebrated in India
as Teachers' Day on 5 September.[3] He was also awarded the Templeton Prize in 1975 in
recognition of the fact that "his accessible writings underscored his countrys religious
heritage and sought to convey a universal reality of God that embraced love and wisdom
for all people".[4]

Contents

1 Early life and education

o 1.1 Marriage
2 Career
3 Philosophy
o 3.1 Quotes
4 Awards and honours

5 Criticism
6 Works
7 Works on Radhakrishnan
8 References
9 External links

Early life and education

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born in a Niyogi Telugu Brahmin family [5] at a village
near Thiruttani India, 84 km to the northwest of Madras (now Chennai). His father's
name was Sarvepalli Veeraswami[6] and his mother's was Sitamma.[6] His early years were
spent in Tiruttani and Tirupati. His father was a subordinate revenue official in the service
of a local zamindar (landlord). His primary education was at Primary Board High School
at Tiruttani. In 1896 he moved to the Hermansburg Evangelical Lutheral Mission School
in Tirupati.[7]
Radhakrishnan was awarded scholarships throughout his academic life. He joined
Voorhees College in Vellore but switched to the Madras Christian College at the age of
17. He graduated from there in 1906 with a Master's degree in Philosophy, being one of
its most distinguished alumni.[8] Radhakrishnan wrote his thesis for the M.A. degree on
"The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions".[9] He was afraid that
this M.A. thesis would offend his philosophy professor, Dr. Alfred George Hogg. Instead,
Hogg commended Radhakrishnan on having done most excellent work.[citation needed]
Radhakrishnan's thesis was published when he was only 20.
Radhakrishnan studied philosophy by chance rather than choice. Being a financially
constrained student, when a cousin who graduated from the same college passed on his
philosophy textbooks in to Radhakrishnan, it automatically decided his academic course.
[10][11]
Later on he felt deep interest in his subject and wrote many acclaimed works on
philosophy, both Eastern and Western.

Marriage
Radhakrishnan was married to Sivakamu,[12] a distant cousin, at the age of 16.[13] As per
tradition the marriage was arranged by the family. The couple had five daughters and a
son, Sarvepalli Gopal. Sarvepalli Gopal went on to a notable career as a historian.
Sivakamu died in 1956. They were married for over 51 years.[14]

Career

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan drawn by Bujjai and signed by Radhakrishnan in Telugu as

"Radhakrishnaiah".
In April 1909, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was appointed to the Department of Philosophy
at the Madras Presidency College. Thereafter, in 1918, he was selected as Professor of
Philosophy by the University of Mysore, where he taught at its Maharaja's College,
Mysore. [15][16] By that time he had written many articles for journals of repute like The
Quest, Journal of Philosophy and the International Journal of Ethics. He also completed
his first book, The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore. He believed Tagore's philosophy
to be the "genuine manifestation of the Indian spirit". His second book, The Reign of
Religion in Contemporary Philosophy was published in 1920.
In 1921 he was appointed as a professor in philosophy to occupy the King George V
Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta. He represented the
University of Calcutta at the Congress of the Universities of the British Empire in June
1926 and the International Congress of Philosophy at Harvard University in September
1926. Another important academic event during this period was the invitation to deliver
the Hibbert Lecture on the ideals of life which he delivered at Harris Manchester College,
Oxford in 1929 and which was subsequently published in book form as An Idealist View
of Life.
In 1929 Radhakrishnan was invited to take the post vacated by Principal J. Estlin
Carpenter at Harris Manchester College. This gave him the opportunity to lecture to the
students of the University of Oxford on Comparative Religion. For his services to
education he was knighted by George V in the June 1931 Birthday Honours,[17] and
formally invested with his honour by the Governor-General of India, the Earl of
Willingdon, in April 1932.[18] However, he ceased to use the title after Indian
independence,[19]:9 preferring instead his academic title of 'Doctor'.

He was the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. In 1936

Radhakrishnan was named Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the
University of Oxford, and was elected a Fellow of All Souls College. In 1939 Pt. Madan
Mohan Malaviya invited him to succeed him as the Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu
University (BHU).[20] He served as its Vice-Chancellor till January 1948.
When India became independent in 1947, Radhakrishnan represented India at UNESCO
(194652) and was later Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union, from 1949 to 1952.
He was also elected to the Constituent Assembly of India.
Radhakrishnan was elected as the first Vice President of India in 1952.[14] He was elected
as the second President of India (19621967). When he became President, some of his
students and friends requested him to allow them to celebrate his birthday, 5 September.
He replied,
"Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my proud privilege if 5 September is
observed as Teachers' Day."
His birthday has since been celebrated as Teachers' Day in India.[21]
Along with Ghanshyam Das Birla and some other social workers in the pre-independence
era, Radhakrishnan formed the Krishnarpan Charity Trust.

As President of India, Radhakrishnan made 11 state visits including visits to both the
USA and the USSR.[22]

Philosophy
Radhakrishnan stated that Western philosophers, despite all claims to objectivity, were
influenced by theological influences of their own culture.[23] He wrote books on Indian
philosophy according to Western academic standards, and made all efforts for the West to
give serious consideration to Indian philosophy. In his book An Idealist View of Life, he
made a powerful case for the importance of intuitive thinking as opposed to purely
intellectual forms of thought. He is well known for his commentaries on the Prasthana
Trayi namely, the Bhagavadgita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutra.

Quotes

It is not God that is worshipped but the authority that claims to speak in His
name. Sin becomes disobedience to authority not violation of integrity.

"Reading a book gives us the habit of solitary reflection and true enjoyment."

"When we think we know we cease to learn."

"A literary genius, it is said, resembles all, though no one resembles him."

"There is nothing wonderful in my saying that Jainism was in existence long

before the Vedas were composed."

Awards and honours

The Bharat Ratna in 1954[3]

Radhakrishnan was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1931.[17]
Elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1938.
He was awarded Order of Merit in 1963.
He received the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1961.
Awarded the Templeton Prize in 1975, a few months before his death. He donated
the entire amount of the Templeton Prize to Oxford University. In 1989, the
university instituted the Radhakrishnan Scholarships in his memory. The
scholarships were later renamed the "Radhakrishnan Chevening Scholarships".
[citation needed]

Criticism
Radhakrishnan is considered one of India's nationalist leaders, a group of individuals
characterised by some scholars as having made extravagant claims on behalf of Oriental
civilization.[24]

Works

Indian Philosophy (1923) Vol.1, 738 pages. Vol 2, 807 pages. Oxford University
Press.
The Hindu View of Life (1926), 92 pages
An Idealist View of Life (1929), 351 pages

Review: E.A. Burtt (Cornell University), The Philosophical Review, Vol.

44, No. 2, (Mar., 1935), pp. 205207

"Those who have read the author's previous volumes or have heard him speak are
accustomed to associate with him warmth and vigor of style, penetrating flashes
of keen analysis, and detailed familiarity with past and present philosophies in
both east and west. In these respects none will find the book disappointing."

Eastern Religions and Western Thought (1939), Oxford University Press, 396
pages
Religion and Society (1947), George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London, 242 pages
The Bhagavadgt: with an introductory essay, Sanskrit text, English translation
and notes (1948), 388 pages
The Dhammapada (1950), 194 pages, Oxford University Press
The Principal Upanishads (1953), 958 pages, HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Recovery of Faith (1956), 205 pages
A Source Book in Indian Philosophy (1957), 683 pages, Princeton University
Press

Review: E.A. Burtt (Cornell University), The Philosophical Review, Vol.

67, No. 3, (July 1958), pp. 411412

"I believe this is the first time I have written a review when no negative criticism
of any kind seemed to me warranted. ... No one interested in Indian thought who
does not expect to master the original materials can dispense with this book."

Religion, Science & Culture (1968), 121 pages

Works on Radhakrishnan
Several books have been published on Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan:

Schilpp, Paul Arthur (1992) [1952, Tudor]. The Philosophy of Sarvepalli

Radhakrishnan. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 81-208-0792-8.
Murty, K. Satchidananda; Ashok Vohra (1990). Radhakrishnan: his life and ideas.
SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-0343-2.
Minor, Robert Neil (1987). Radhakrishnan: a religious biography. SUNY Press.
ISBN 0-88706-554-6.
Gopal, Sarvepalli (1989). Radhakrishnan: a biography. Unwin Hyman. ISBN 004-440449-2.
Pappu, S.S. Rama Rao (1995). New Essays in the Philosophy of Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan. Delhi: South Asia Books. ISBN 978-81-7030-461-6.

References

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