Teacher par excellence

Whatever position he held — of President or Ambassador — Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan remained a teacher all his life, writes Arun Kumar Sharma

A great philosopher, prolific writer, excellent`A0orator, voracious reader, wise statesman, dynamic diplomat, an able administrator and, above all,`A0an educationist of extraordinary calibre, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5,1888 at a small place, Tiruttani, 40 miles to the north-west of Chennai. His lifelong commitment to education continued to influence the Indian academic community during the post-Independence period.

After obtaining his BA degree in 1906, Dr Radhakrishnan joined the master’s degree course and wrote his thesis on The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions, which was widely appreciated. In 1909, he joined the Department of Philosophy of Madras Presidency College and became assistant professor of philosophy. From 1918 to 1921, he worked as professor of philosophy at Mysore University. Thereafter, he moved to Calcutta University as King George Professor of Andhra University. In 1931, he became Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, and was later appointed as professor of Eastern Religion and Western Ethics, Oxford University, in 1936. Interestingly, Dr Radhakrishnan was the first Indian to be given such an exalted post.

In 1949, he was appointed Indian’s Ambassador to the USSR and he served in this capacity till 1952. During the same year, he was elected Vice-President of the Indian Union and ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In 1954, he was honoured with the Bharat Ratan, the highest civilian award of India, for his outstanding contribution to the fields of education and philosophy.

On May 12, 1962, Dr Radhakrishnan was elected President of the Indian Republic. The same year on September 5 his birthday came to be observed as Teachers’ Day. It was, indeed, a tribute to his close association with teachers. Whatever position he held — whether of President or Vice-President or even of Ambassador — Dr Radhakrishnan essentially remained a teacher all his life. Teaching was his first love. His success as a teacher lies in the fact that he extensively used comparative method of learning and teaching. This method made it easier for him to understand different subjects in their true perspective.

As an educationist, the contribution of Dr Radhakrishnan was massive. He was of the firm view that the purpose of education was to promote the spiritual resources of mankind, believing that the slums of the human mind —superstitions, greed, fanaticism, selfishness and ignorance — could be cleared up through the right type of education.

A man of extraordinary abilities, Dr Radhakrishnan was a prolific writer. He authored over three dozen books and nearly 100 articles. Indian philosophy, comparative religion, politics, education, psychology and culture were the main subjects on which he extensively wrote. The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions, The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, The Reign of Religion, The Hindu View of Life, The Religion We Need, The Heart of Hindustan, An Idealistic View of Life, Eastern Religions and Western Thought, Education, Politics and War and Religion and Society are his distinguished works which show the strength of his merit and scholarship.