Philosopher, statesman, sage

By P. D. Tandon

"I want to meet the professor who reads 24 hours a day," said Stalin when he expressed his desire to see Dr Radhakrishnan at Kremlin. The philosopher, by his ability and shrewdness, had created an atmosphere in Moscow which endeared him to Soviet officials. If he succeeded admirably as our Ambassador in Moscow, it was because he knew, "how to function like an electric radiator exactly adjusted to the demands of the climate." This meeting made history and was the biggest scoop of Dr Radhakrishnan’s diplomatic career.

In the early years of his life, Radhakrishnan was a very poor man. He used to eat his food on banana leaves and not in a plate or thali, as he could not afford to buy either. Once he did not have the money to buy even the banana leaves. That day he carefully cleaned the floor, spread the food on it and ate it. His salary those days was about Rs 17 per month only and he had a big family to support. He had borrowed some money and could not pay even the interest on it. He had to auction his medals to meet his needs. This has been revealed by none else than his famous writer son S. Gopal.

Some of Dr Radhakrishnan’s dictums and pronouncements have become famous because of their logic, brilliance and grandeur of language. Here are some of his statements.

"Millennium is a time when all the heads will be hard, all the pillows soft."

"It takes centuries to make a little history, it takes centuries of history to make a tradition."

"Politics is never an art of obtaining political power. It is an essential branch of the art of promoting human welfare."

After World War II he wrote, "Peace is already lost during the winning of the war, since the same sort of men and same ideas and institutions that produced the catastrophe are to be allowed to dominate the peace table."

As long as you read the books of philosophers, you feel greatly impressed by them, but when you come in contact with them, you feel a little disillusioned. You find that they are visionaries and impractical men and live only in the realm of imagination, but away from the realities of life. But not so with Dr Radhakrishnan. He was practical and had insight into human nature. He was comfortable in the company of the learned, but had no contempt for those who had been kept bereft of higher education. It was true that he did not feel very much at ease with all sorts of men and enjoyed only the company of those who he knew intimately. In this connection C.E.M. Joad has an interesting incident to narrate. "I shall not easily forget dining in company with Radhakrishnan at HG Wells’ flat. Besides, Wells and myself, there was only one other person present. J.N. Sullivan, the well-known writer on scientific subjects. The talk was continuous, and eager, it included science, philosophy, the state of the world, the possible collapse of the western civilization. Radhakrishnan was for the most part silent. He sat there refusing one after another the dishes of an elaborate meal, drinking only water, listening. We others, knowing his reputation as a speaker and conversationalist were, I think, a little surprised at this silence, surprised and impressed not so much because what he did say was always to the point, but because his silence in such a discussion was a richer and more significant thing that any positive contribution he could have made."

Joad had described Dr Radhakrishnan as a liaison officer between the East and the West. By training and temperament, he was peculiarly well-equipped to reconcile the conflicts between the East and the West. Equally at home with Kant and Hegel, Shankaracharya and Ramakrishna Parmahansa, he was a citizen of the world. To the West, he seemed to be the typical western intellectual, while the East regarded him as a sage, rishi, who symbolised the ancient wisdom of the Orient. Dr Radhakrishnan wove spells not only in lecture halls but also in drawing rooms. As a conversationalist, he was always thought-provoking and scintillating, but he refused to monopolise the conversation. He was as good a listener as a talker. Though words came to him in a torrent, he knew the value of silence — which in his case was more eloquent than the rhetoric of brilliant men.

An independent man, if ever there was one, Dr Radhakrishnan did not hesitate to call a spade a spade if the occasion demanded it. His spirit of independence found aggressive expression in a famous encounter he had in 1942 with the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Sir Maurice Hallett. Dr Radhakrishnan, who had gone to Lucknow to protest against the closing of Banaras Hindu University, of which he was the then Vice-Chancellor, discovered in Sir Maurice an autocrat, who refused to listen to reason. The Governor lost his temper when the philosopher defended the students who had been punished for having participated in the struggle for freedom. Dr Radhakrishnan rose to the occasion. In words burning with indignation, he gave a bit of his mind to the Governor. During the 20-minute exchange of hot words, Dr Radhakrishnan forgot that his job was to lecture on Kant and Hegel. He had become the voice of Indian nationalism.

One of the most striking things about Dr Radhakrishnan was his versatility. And very few in India can claim such a magnificent record of success as was his. His powerful mind, his power of speech, his command over the English language, his dedication to work and his mental alacrity greatly contributed to his success in life. He had the wisdom of a sage, detachment of a philosopher, maturity of a statesman. Whatever in life he touched, he adorned. His ability to adapt himself to circumstances was remarkable. He was a remarkable personality who at once impressed and inspired.

Make life worth living

By Suneeta Chahar

"SUCCESS is relative. The more the success, the more the relatives." These words leave an everlasting impression on the mind. How very true! There is no yardstick for measuring success. When people start flocking around someone, it’s a fair indication that he or she has become successful. If one is not influential then one is avoided like the plague. The higher one goes up the ladder of success, the greater the number of relatives one acquires. For everyone it becomes "Ghar ki baat".

All those people who have not bothered about you for decades become so affectionate that you become doubtful whether you had formed a correct opinion about them in the past. They frequent the place so much that there is no time left for the immediate family. They descend upon you at all odd hours. If you refuse to receive them or attend to them, you will be called arrogant or they will say "You have changed".

No. The successful person has not changed. He has been the same throughout. Success might have given him more confidence, maturity and the opportunity to serve more people but it has not affected him otherwise. It’s the other people — the relatives — who have changed, who have revised their opinion of him. They have now bothered to acknowledge his existence because he is worth acknowledging. He has become an asset row. It is astonishing how shameless these people are. One suddenly becomes their "darling", "i.e. honey" or "cookie". The poor chap does not know what has hit him.

Why don’t people ever realise that the successful relatives do not need them but the unsuccessful or poor relatives could do with their help? People never help the needy, but keep pestering the influential ones. Once the good relation ceases to be on the chair, he ceases to be a relation because, once again, he is no more an asset. Now all his shortcomings, which they had ignored until recently, will be highlighted. And the moment he is on the chair again they will become his relatives all over again. Why must they be relations of the chair alone? Can’t they survive without it? But it’s not survival which is in question but cashing in on the position.

Come to think of it, the relations do not have any choice in the matter because in the present set-up nothing gets done without using influence. In order to secure a favour one has to frequent the better placed even if one has differences with him. One has to suffer the better placed that is need of the hour. These are the ways of the world. One has either to swim with the tide or drown. Only a few have the courage and stamina to swim against the tide.

Sometimes even a father tries to be civil to his successful son. It’s not a film or fiction, but a part of life.

No one is interested in either your health or your problems. Their impatience shows in their actions. How rightly has someone remarked that one should tell one’s problems to the enemies alone because they are the only ones really interested in knowing them. Your suffering gives them happiness and sadistic pleasure.

In today’s world the child has to prove himself even to his parents in order to be acknowledged. Your acceptance by relatives depends solely upon your success. According to our scriptures, a child can be bad but there is never a bad mother. That is not true of today’s age. One often sees mothers torturing their own flesh and blood. At such moments one’s faith in humanity gets shaken. But, when God closes one door, He opens the other. Some good souls who have no interest in you, may restore your faith in humanity. Their words and affection heal your wounded soul. At such a time in life one breaks ties with blood relatives and forges bond with new relations. This gives one immense pleasure because there is no clash of interests and they accept one as one is. It is said, "Blood is thicker than water but bad blood is cancerous." It kills one everyday, scars one’s soul — even though the wounds are not visible.

One often wonders why is there so much enmity among people? Why does the acceptance come only after the success? Why is everybody willing to believe the worst of you? By the time they realise they are wrong, the harm has already been done.

So much water has already flown under the bridge that it’s never the same again. In this materialistic age, we should take out time to be considerate, kind and loving, share our joys and sorrows, be one another’s strength in crises and make life worth living. Emotions fill colours in our life, without them the days will be dull and dreary. We should try to fill ours as well as our near and dear ones’ lives with colours of rainbow and make life worth living.