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 A staunch believer of education, Dr. Radhakrishnan felt that the power to alleviate all the maladies affecting our society could be achieved by educating the people of our country. Read on to see what this great educationist did for the people of his motherland…
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, near Madras, in South India. He was a multi-faceted personality - scholar, renowned professor, orator, able administrator, prolific writer, well-known philosopher, diplomat, statesman and patriot. His contribution towards education is stupendous and he staunchly believed that education possessed the power to alleviate all the maladies affecting our society. He did not believe in education just for the sake of it.
On the contrary, according to him, it was more important to develop a proper bent of mind, the right attitude, a true spirit of democracy, which are the pre-requisites for building responsible citizens. He felt that, "Unless we have dedicated and committed teachers to take to teaching as a mission in their lives, a good educational system cannot be developed." The goal should be towards commitment to knowledge, advancement of learning, improving the quality of education and fostering of a strong relationship between the teachers and students.
Dr. Radhakrishnan felt that teachers should be the best brains in the country. He stressed on higher education and believed that it should provide able leadership in various fields like industry, commerce, administration, politics, profession, etc., and should train for self-development, fearlessness of mind, integrity of purpose and a clear conscience. As a tribute to this great teacher, his birthday has been observed as teachers' day - this reflects Dr. S. Radhakrishnan's love for and attachment to the teaching profession.
 He graduated with a Master's Degree in Arts from the Madras University. In partial fulfillment for his MA degree, Radhakrishnan wrote a thesis on the ethics of Vedanta titled "The Ethics of Vedanta and Its Metaphysical Presuppositions", which was a reply to the charge that the Vedanta system had no room for ethics. He felt that, "Religion must express itself in reasonable thought, fruitful action and right social institutions."
Today when there is such a drastic decline in the `quality of education' as well as in the `relationship between the teacher and the taught, this could help bring about a change in the education system. He requested the people to observe his birthday as "Teachers' Day" instead of celebrating it as his birthday.
Dr. Radhakrishnan opined, "Education is the process of giving the individual, knowledge and skills which he should apply in his life. Inculcating noble traditions, compassion and love in the individual in order to help him lead a full life should be the aim of an educationist.'' He was an embodiment of an ideal teacher and could hold his students spell bound by his teaching abilities.
He said, "A University is expected to be a place of higher learning where an individual is helped to acquire more knowledge, refine his culture and master philosophy. He should give up greed and selfishness and work hard with devotion. He, as a seeker of higher knowledge, sets aside his personal desires, and indulges in higher thinking and absorbs himself in nobler endeavours. A university is not a mere information shop, it is a place where man's intellect, will and emotions are disciplined. The university is a sanctuary of the intellectual life of the country, and pursuit of knowledge is the soul of the university".
 Higher education, he opined, should provide leadership in politics, administration, profession, industry and commerce. The universities should train minds to bring together material resources and human energies. Hence education should train for self-development, fearlessness of mind, integrity of purpose and strength of conscience. In short, education should be liberating and life-giving."
He was an expert in the study of philosophy and his lectures were immensely popular even abroad. In 1962, he was elected President of India. Even after occupying the highest office he remained a simple and modest person at heart. He donated three-fourth of his salary to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund every month. Dr. Radhakrishnan died of cardiac arrest on April 17, 1975.
(Based on Net resources)
Published
on 3rd September, 2002
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