Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Philosopher, 1st Vice President of India, 2nd President of India (1888–1975)}}

| office              = 2nd [[President of India]]

| primeminister      = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]<br />[[Gulzarilal Nanda]] <small>(Acting)</small><br />[[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]<br />[[Indira Gandhi]]

| vicepresident      = [[Zakir Hussain (politician)|Zakir Hussain]]

| office2            = 1st [[Vice President of India]]

| alma_mater          = [[Madras Christian College]] ([[B.A.|BA]], [[M.A.|MA]])

| profession          = {{hlist|[[Philosopher]]|Academic|Professor}}

| awards              = [[Bharat Ratna]] (1954)<br>[[Templeton Prize]] (1975)

'''Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan''' ({{pronunciation|Svpr.ogg}} 5 September 1888&nbsp;– 17 April 1975) was an Indian academic, professor, philosopher, and politician<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lawhead |first=William F. |url=http://socionix.com/misc/books/PhilosophicalJourneyThe-LawheadWF.pdf |title=The philosophical Journey. An Interactive Approach. Fifth Edition |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=2009 |page=382 |author-link=William F. Lawhead}}</ref> who served as the first [[Vice President of India]] (1952–1962) and the second [[President of India]] (1962–1967).<ref group="web">[http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/fe0898/f2808981.html Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: The Philosopher President]. Press Information Bureau, Government of India</ref>

 

One of India's most distinguished twentieth-century scholars of [[comparative religion]] and philosophy,<ref name="Pollock">{{cite journal|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/mesaas/faculty/directory/pollock_pub/classics.pdf|author=Pollock, Sheldon |year=2011|title=Crisis in the Classics|journal=Social Research |volume=78|issue=1 |pages=21–48}}</ref><ref group=web name="IEP" /> after completing his education at [[Madras Christian College]] in 1911, he became Assistant Professor and later Professor of Philosophy at Madras Presidency College then subsequently Professor of Philosophy at the [[University of Mysore]] (1918–1921); the King George V Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the [[University of Calcutta]] (1921–1932) and [[Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics]] at [[University of Oxford]] (1936–1952) by which he became the first Indian to hold a professorial chair at the [[University of Oxford]]. He was Upton Lecturer at Manchester College, Oxford in 1926, 1929, and 1930. In 1930 he was appointed Haskell lecturer in Comparative Religion at the [[University of Chicago]].<ref>''The Madras Mail'', Saturday, 8 February 1936, page 9</ref>

His philosophy was grounded in [[Advaita Vedanta]], reinterpreting this tradition for a contemporary understanding.<ref group=web name="IEP" /> He defended Hinduism against what he called "uninformed Western criticism",<ref name=brown153/> contributing to the formation of contemporary Hindu identity.<ref>{{cite book|author=Flood, Gavin D. |title=An Introduction to Hinduism|url=https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo|url-access=registration |date=13 July 1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-43878-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/introductiontohi0000floo/page/249 249]}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Hawley">Hawley, Michael. [http://www.iep.utm.edu/radhakri/ "Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888—1975)"]. ''[[Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]''</ref>

Radhakrishnan was awarded several high awards during his life, including a knighthood in 1931, the [[Bharat Ratna]], the highest civilian award in India, in 1954, and honorary membership of the British Royal [[Order of Merit]] in 1963. He was also one of the founders of Helpage India, a non profit organisation for elderly underprivileged in India. Radhakrishnan believed that "teachers should be the best minds in the country". Since 1962, his birthday has been celebrated in India as [[Teachers' Day]] on 5 September every year.<ref group=web name=BharatRatna>{{cite web|title=Padma Awards Directory (1954–2007)|url=http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/PadmaAwards1954-2007.pdf|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs|access-date=26 November 2010}}</ref>

He is the only [[President of India]] who could not attend the [[Delhi Republic Day parade]] due to his ill health.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQAuAQAAIAAJ&q=For+the+first+time+in+18+years,+the+President+of+India+could+not+take+the+salute+at+the+Republic+Day+parade+in+New+Delhi |title=Asian Recorder|date=1967|language=en}}</ref>

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born in a [[Telugu language|Telugu]]-speaking  [[Niyogi|Niyogi Brahmin]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zNCDF7wm8R4C&q=Sarvepalli+radhakrishnan+Niyogi&pg=PA136|title=How to be a Good Teacher|first=Rupal|last=Jain|date=10 April 2013|publisher=Pustak Mahal|via=Google Books}}</ref> family, in [[Tiruttani]] of [[Chittoor District]] in the erstwhile [[Madras Presidency]] (later in [[Andhra Pradesh]] till 1960, now in [[Tiruvallur district]] of [[Tamil Nadu]] since 1960).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/children/remembering-an-educator/article19609361.ece | title=On Teachers' Day, remembering an educator of the students| work=The Hindu  | date=2 September 2017 | last1=Subramanian | first1=Archana }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=India. Parliament. Rajya Sabha|title=Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: a commemorative volume, 1888–1988|year=1988|publisher=Prentice-Hall of India|isbn=978-0-87692-557-7|url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/publication_electronic/Sarvapall.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/happy-teachers-day-10-things-to-know-about-india-s-philosopher-president-sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/story-dDTInmWZtlf08olIIhX99N.html | title=Teachers' Day: 10 things to know about India's 'philosopher President' Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] | date=5 September 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/publication_electronic/Sarvapall.pdf|title=Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan A Commemorative Volume|editor=Sudarshan Agarwal|website=Rajyasabha.nic.in|access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/children/remembering-an-educator/article19609361.ece | title=On Teachers' Day, remembering an educator | work=The Hindu| date=2 September 2017 | access-date=29 July 2018| last1=Subramanian | first1=Archana }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/orissareview/2010/september/engpdf/1-4.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128200049/http://odisha.gov.in/e-magazine/orissareview/2010/september/engpdf/1-4.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 November 2016|title=The Great Indian Philosopher |publisher= Internet Archive|access-date=7 July 2018}}</ref> His father's name was Sarvepalli Veeraswami and his mother's name was Sarvepalli Sita (Sitamma). His family hails from [[Sarvepalli]] village in [[Nellore district]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]]. His early years were spent in [[Thiruttani]] and [[Tirupati]]. His father was a subordinate revenue official in the service of a local [[zamindar]] (local landlord). His primary education was at K.V High School at Thiruttani. In 1896 he moved to the Hermansburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission School in [[Tirupati (city)|Tirupati]] and Government High Secondary School, [[Walajapet]].{{sfn|Sarvepalli|1989|p=11}}

[[File:President John F. Kennedy with Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, in the Oval Office (1).jpg|thumb|right|Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan with US President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office, 1963]] Radhakrishnan was awarded scholarships throughout his academic life. He joined [[Voorhees College (India)|Voorhees College]] in [[Vellore]] for his high school education. After his F.A. (First of Arts) class, he joined the [[Madras Christian College]] (affiliated to the [[University of Madras]]) at the age of 17. He graduated from there in 1906, and also finished his Masters from the same college.

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 to Radhakrishnan, it automatically decided his academics course.<ref>{{Cite book | last =Schillp | first =Paul Arthur | year =1992 | title =The Philosophy of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan | publisher =Motilall Banarsidass | isbn=9788120807921|page=6}}</ref>{{sfn|Sarvepalli|1989|p=14}}

Sarvepalli wrote his bachelor's degree thesis on "The Ethics of the Vedanta and its Metaphysical Presuppositions".{{sfn|Sarvepalli|1989|p=17}} It "was intended to be a reply to the charge that the [[Vedanta]] system had no room for ethics."{{sfn|Murty|Vohra|1990|p=112}} Two of his professors, Rev. William Meston and Dr. Alfred George Hogg, commended Radhakrishnan's dissertation.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} Radhakrishnan's thesis was published when he was only twenty. According to Radhakrishnan himself, the criticism of Hogg and other Christian teachers of Indian culture "disturbed my faith and shook the traditional props on which I leaned."{{sfn|Murty|Vohra|1990|p=112}} Radhakrishnan himself describes how, as a student,{{quote|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. My pride as a Hindu, roused by the enterprise and eloquence of [[Swami Vivekananda]], was deeply hurt by the treatment accorded to Hinduism in [[Timeline of Christian missions|missionary institutions]].<ref name=brown153/>}}

This led him to his critical study of [[Indian philosophy]] and [[Indian religions|religion]]{{sfn|Murty|Vohra|1990|p=112}} and a lifelong defence of Hinduism against "uninformed Western criticism".<ref name=brown153/> At the same time, Radhakrishnan commended Professor Hogg as 'My distinguished teacher,'<ref>{{cite book |last1=Radhakrishna |first1=Sarvepalli |title=My Search for Truth|page=19}}</ref> and as "one of the greatest Christian thinkers we had in India.'<ref>{{cite book |last1=Radhakrishnan |first1=Sarvepalli |last2=Schilpp (ed.) |first2=P.A. |title=Reply to Critics, in, The Philosophy of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|page=806}}</ref> Besides, Professor William Skinner, who was acting Principal of the College, gave a testimonial saying "he is one of the best men we have had in the recent years", which enabled him to get the first job in Presidency College. In reciprocation, Radhakrishnan dedicated one of his early books to William Skinner.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gopal |first1=Sarvepalli |title=Sarvepalli Radhakrishna: A Biography |date=1989 |publisher=Oxford India|page=15}}</ref>

===Marriage and family===

Radhakrishnan was married to Sivakamu,<ref group=note name=skspell>Radhakrishnan's wife's name is spelled differently in different sources, perhaps because a common Telugu spelling is Sivamma. It is spelled ''Sivakamu'' by Sarvepalli Gopal (1989); ''Sivakamuamma'' by Mamta Anand (2006); and still differently by others.{{citation needed|date=December 2011}}</ref> a distant cousin, at the age of 16.{{sfn|Sarvepalli|1989|p=12}}  As per tradition the marriage was [[arranged marriage|arranged]] by the family. The couple had five daughters. Two of them have been recognised as Sumitra and Shakuntla.<ref>https://vitorr.com/details?detail_id=21237</ref> They also had a son named [[Sarvepalli Gopal]] who went on to a notable career as a historian. Sivakamu died on 26 November 1956. They were married for over 52 years.

He was the [[Vice-Chancellor]] of [[Andhra University]] from 1931 to 1936. During his first convocation address, he spoke about his native [[Andhra Pradesh|Andhra]] as,  

His birthday has since been celebrated as [[Teacher's Day]] in India.<ref group=web>{{cite web|url=http://www.festivalsofindia.in/td/index.aspx |title=Teachers' Day |publisher=Festivalsofindia.in |access-date=2 October 2012}}</ref>

Along with [[Ghanshyam Das Birla]] and some other social workers in the pre-independence era, Radhakrishnan formed the Krishnarpan Charity Trust.

"Intuition", <ref group=web name="IEP" /> synonymously called "religious experience",<ref group=web name="IEP" /> has a central place in Radhakrishnan's philosophy as a source of knowledge which is not mediated by conscious thought.<ref name=sharf1998/> His specific interest in experience can be traced back to the works of [[William James]] (1842–1910), [[Francis Herbert Bradley]] (1846–1924), [[Henri Bergson]] (1859–1941), and [[Friedrich von Hügel]] (1852–1925),<ref name=sharf1998/> and to [[Vivekananda]](1863–1902),<ref name=Rambachan1994/> who had a strong influence on Sarvepalli's thought.{{sfn|Murty|Vohra|1990|p=179}} According to Radhakrishnan, intuition is of a self-certifying character (''svatassiddha''), self-evidencing (''svāsaṃvedya''), and self-luminous (''svayam-prakāsa'').<ref group=web name="IEP" /> 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.<ref group=web >{{cite web |url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2010/September/engpdf/1-4.pdf|title=The Great Indian Philosopher : Dr.Radhakrishnan|publisher=State Govt. Of Orissa }}</ref>

According to Radhakrishnan, ''intuition'' plays a specific role in all kinds of experience.<ref group=web name="IEP" /> Radhakrishnan discernes five sorts of experience:<ref group=web name="IEP" />

**[[File:Order of Merit (Commonwealth realms) ribbon.png|70px]] Member of the [[Order of Merit (Commonwealth)|Order of Merit]] (1963)

* A portrait of Radhakrishnan adorns the Chamber of the [[Rajya Sabha]].<ref>http://164.100.47.194/loksabha/PhotoGal/PhotoGalleryPicture.aspx?GalID=4&CatDesc=Rajya%20Sabha%20Chamber%20and%20its%20Inner%20Lobby</ref><ref>https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/picture_gallery/dr_radhakrhishnan_1.asp</ref>

*1933–37: Nominated five times for the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]].

* 1962: Institution of [[Teacher's Day]] in India, yearly celebrated at 5 September, Radhakrishnan's birthday, in honour of Radhakrishnan's belief that "teachers should be the best minds in the country".<ref group=web name=BharatRatna/>

* ''The philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore'' (1918), Macmillan, London, 294 pages

* ''[https://archive.org/details/Sarvepalli.Radhakrishnan.Indian.Philosophy.Volume.1-2 Indian Philosophy]'' (1923) Vol.1, 738 pages. (1927) Vol 2, 807 pages. [[Oxford University Press]].

* '' The Hindu View of Life'' (1926), 92 pages

* ''Eastern Religions and Western Thought'' (1939), Oxford University Press, 396 pages

* ''[[The Principal Upanishads (book)|The Principal Upanishads]]'' (1953), 958 pages, HarperCollins Publishers Limited

* {{cite book |last=Murty |first=K. Satchidananda |author2=Ashok Vohra  |title=Radhakrishnan: his life and ideas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x6FsaptULgAC&q=radhakrishnan&pg=PP1 |year=1990 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-0343-3}}

* {{cite book |last=Minor |first=Robert Neil |title=Radhakrishnan: a religious biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2LzRkWABC6sC&q=radhakrishnan |year=1987 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-88706-554-5}}

* {{cite book |last=Gopal |first=Sarvepalli |title=Radhakrishnan: a biography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ryluAAAAMAAJ&q=radhakrishnan |year=1989 |publisher=Unwin Hyman |isbn=978-0-04-440449-1 }}

==Notes==

==References==

<ref name=Rambachan1994>{{Cite book | last =Rambachan | first =Anatanand | year =1994 | title =The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas | publisher =University of Hawaii Press}}</ref>

==Sources==

===Printed sources===

===Online sources===

[[Category:Neo-Advaita]]