An ode to Sarvepalli Radha Krishnan

Dr Sarvepalli Radha Krishnan’s birthday as “Teachers' Day", honouring the teaching community. Dr Sarvepalli Radha Krishnan, the second President of India, rose to adorn the highest office of the country from the noble profession of teaching by virtue of enormous knowledge, amazing erudition, wisdom, integrity, ethical principles, patriotism, philosophical genius, profound vision, spell-binding oration, humanitarian values and democratic principles.

Born in a poor family on September 5, 1888 at Tirutani, a hamlet around the border of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Radha Krishnan struggled a lot and with a steely resolve and ceaseless industry, he overcame many a hardship in his way of attaining education.

After acquiring MA Degree in philosophy, he started his teaching career at the Madras Presidency College as an assistant professor in the department of philosophy. Later, he was appointed as the professor of philosophy at Mysore University.

His amazing knowledge and enormous scholarship catapulted him to the posts of vice-chancellors at Mysore University, Calcutta University, Benares University, Andhra University and Delhi University culminating in his diplomatic career.

As an ambassador to the Soviet Union, Radha Krishnan won the heart of Stalin with his highly-impressive erudition and mesmerising oration and laid a strong foundation for strong and lasting relationship between India and the Soviet Union, proving his matchless, diplomatic prowess.

When Radha Krishnan was invited by many universities abroad to deliver lectures on Indian philosophy, he used the platform to talk about India's absolute need for freedom, displaying his patriotic spirit. With his numerous lectures delivered on Indian philosophy at various foreign universities like Oxford and Cambridge, Radha Krishnan placed Indian philosophy on the world map, revealing the perennial glory of Mother India to the western people.

As an extraordinary teacher who inspired and enlightened his students at various universities, Radha Krishnan won the love and admiration of his students. When Radha Krishnan was moving to calcutta on his next assignment from Mysore, his beloved students of Mysore University bid him farewell by taking him in a flower-decked carriage drawn by themselves to the railway station.

This memorable incident testifies to the pleasant fact that Radha Krishnan was virtually worshipped by his students as Gurudev-teacher as God. What tribute is greater than this one paid to the great teacher in Radha Krishnan. His love for his mother-country and his countrymen was so immense that he could not spare anyone who dared to ridicule and humiliate his country and countrymen.

For instance, during a dinner in London, a British citizen remarked that all Indians were black-skinned. With a quick repartee, Radha Krishnan gently replied to his comment by saying ," God once baked a piece of bread more than what was needed and out of it, he created "Negros "God's next experiment at baking was an under-cooked bread out of which he created " Europeans". And the Almighty tried a final experiment when he baked the bread to the ideal extent,resulting in the creation of "Indians".

When chaotic scenes were witnessed in the Rajya Sabha sessions presided over by Radha Krishnan as the Vice-President of India,the philosopher- statesman quoted slokas from the Gita, the Upanishads and the Bible to calm the members. He guided the Indian Prime ministers wisely as the president of India.

Though he was offered an opportunity to continue as the President of India for the second term when his term came to an end in 1967, he refused the offer. Radha Krishnan had no lure of high positions. He never hankered after high positions. High positions came crowning him.Whatever position he occupied in his life,he enhanced its dignity and brought glory to that position.

Radha Krishnan laid emphasis on humanitarian values, physical efficiency, intellectual alertness and moral values in education that should aim at the development of whole man. As an eminent scholar who made an exhaustive, comparative study of all religions, he assimilated the spirit of true religion and proclaimed, "Religion must express itself in reasonable thought, fruitful action and right social institutions."

The great Greek philosopher “Plato" visualised the progress of the nation only when the philosophers are the rulers. Dr.Radha Krishnan personified the Plato's ideal of philosopher-king. The great western philosopher and Nobel Laureate, Bertrand Russell proudly said that it was a great honour to philosophy when Radha Krishnan became the president of India. It is true that Radha Krishnan like Swami Vivekananda served as a living bridge between the East and the West.

The whole nation ever remembers with pride and deep gratitude, Dr.Radha Krishnan's noble services to the country as "the educationist, diplomat, statesman, philosopher-king, visionary, patriot and pays glowing tributes to this great teacher of the world on this "Teachers' Day"

By: Venugopala Rao Kaki