Dr. S. RADHAKRISHNAN*

Humanist, Philosopher and Intellectual

Prof. HUMAYUN KABIR

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan had a remarkable career in many ways. Essentially a self-made man, he had risen to the highest office in the land through sheer merit. A pioneer in more senses than one, he achieved philosophical fame without the extraneous support of Western training or degrees. Till his time, European scholars had come and taught Indian and Western Philosophy to Indian students.

Many Indians had also gone to Western institutions to qualify themselves to teach in Indian universities Radhakrishnan was perhaps the first who, trained entirely in Indian universities, was invited to teach in a British university. As the first Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at the University of Oxford, he helped to build a bridge of unity for seekers after truth in Eastern religion and Western thought.

Radhakrishnan had achieved recognition the hard way. Starting life as an Assistant Lecturer, he rose steadily till he reached the highest position in the university world. A teacher in five and Vice-Chancellor in three Indian universities, he was rightly appointed Chairman of the first Universities Education Commission of Free India. Soon after he was appointed India’s Ambassador to the Soviet Union. This was followed by two terms as the Vice-President of India and then he reached the highest office which India can offer to any of her nationals.

The very first contact with Professor Radhakrishnan evoked a feeling of amazement at his phenomenal memory. Intricate philosophical points were disposed of without reference to any notes. Masses of facts were marshalled with the mastery of a consummate general. Quotations, references and statistics were repeated without any apparent effort of memory. The impression was strengthened with every repetition of the experience. Every time one listened to him, one wondered at the tenacious memory which ranged over such a vast field and yet can remember the minutest details in all their intricacies. His writings gave the same impression. The reader is overwhelmed by the volume and range of the Professor’s knowledge and the fact that all this burden of learning was carried without strain of effort.

He was one of the very few in India or elsewhere who retained their academic status and yet played a large part in shaping the destinies of the nation. Even while a teacher in a university. Radhakrishnan never stood apart from the political aspirations of the people. In speech and action he was one of the most eloquent interpreters of the Indian demand for freedom and at the same time retained the philosopher’s detachment and objectivity of view. When freedom came it was therefore natural that he was called to serve the nation in the political field. It is significant that he had never given up his intellectual approach.

The quality of his mind was that of a steel rapier. Sharp, precise and true, it cut through the masses of detail and isolated the essential elements unerringly. He penetrated to the core of an argument as easily as he unravels the tangled skein of a concrete human situation. A philosopher has been defined as one who picks out the fundamentals in the midst of masses of detail. In thought and in action, Radhakrishnan conformed to this definifion.

With all his intellectual brilliance, Radhakrishnan has an essential kindliness. This is an aspect which only they know who have had the privilege of coming into contact with him. The world outside was dazzled by his brilliance and impressed by his wit and humour. To his associates and pupils it was however his essential humanity which was most impressive. With his phenomenal memory, he never forgot any of his pupils. He recognized even casual acquaintances after the lapse of decades. Everyone who came into contact with him had the feeling that Radhakrishnan recognized and valued him as an Individual.

Plato rightly said that the world has no future till philosophers are kings and kings become philosophers. Never was this truer than 1962 (when Radhakrishnan became President of India) when conflicting ideologies sought to destroy all the achievements which human civilization had built up through the effort of centuries. Never was it more necessary to analyse with clear vision and judge with dispassionate detachment every issue brought before the public mind. Never have statesmen needed so much the disinterested wisdom which a philosophic temper alone can give. Never was there greater need for a humanist and a teacher to be in immediate contact with political problems which, if not handled with honesty. Integrity and judgment, might have destroyed a civilization in one common convulsion.

Man’s allegiance is divided today between the claims of freedom and organization. Unless these claims can be reconciled, the outlook is dark for man. Scientific and technical progress has achieved the physical unity of the world. There has unfortunately been no corresponding progress in the realm of moral values. A world united through the achievements of science is therefore administered by men and women divided emotionally and psychologically. In this world divided against itself, man’s knowledge has become a potent menace to his future.

Radhakrishnan’s contribution to the solution of the impasse lies in his insistence that the claims of individual enterprise and social security were not incompatible. He proclaimed equal devotion to the ideals of political liberty, economic equality and racial tolerance. They were to him different elements of one common good. It was fortunate that at a critical phase of man’s development–when the harnessing of nuclear energy opened the possibility of total advance or total annihilation for mankind–a philosopher, Intellectual and humanist was the symbol and representative of India’s nationhood.

* Dr. Radhakrishnan’s birthday (Sept. 5) is being celebrated all over the country as “Teachers’ Day”.

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