I D Soni
(a) His life :-
Servapalli Dr. S. Radhakrishanan, a great servant of humanity, an awakener of East and West, a great thinker, a lover of peace, a great man and above all a great teacher was born on 5th September, 1888 at a small place Tiruttani in Chittor District of Madras Presidency forty miles in the north of modern Tamal Nadu (Chennai) in an average respectable family. His father Servapalli Veera Swami and Smt. Sitamma were pious human beings. His ancestors had migrated 150 years ago from the Andhara fishing village of Servapalli about 200 miles in the north and the name of his village “Servapalli” became his surname.
His wife Smt. Sivakama was not an educated lady. His personal life is a good role model for others to be emulated. He was teetotaller and loved solitude, music and books. He was tall and dark, largely muscular, eyes bright and aquiline nose, his hair turned grey and white soon. Due to the retirement of his father and grinding poverty, he gave private tuition and incurred debts to support his brothers and mother but did not beg at the cost of his integrity.
(b) His achievements :-
5th September is observed as Teacher’s Day to pay warm and hearty tribute to that great hero – a great soul. His ideals, particularly, about true education are worth considering, worth implementing in the whole system of education. This truly great man of India, has emphasised that this, verily, is true knowledge, the service of humanity. This is true knowledge, the service of eternal values of life, the service of God, the service of the poor and lowly.
Philosophy of Radhakrishan
(i) Guard our scholars :-
Mere intellectual learning, mere pedantry does not take us to God. Life eternal cannot be realized by knowing the meanings of texts, not by brain power, not by the study of many books; but we can learn the truth only by understanding a churning of our mind, understanding a laceration of our whole nature. It is not easy but it is possible for everyone to attain it. If some people have attained it, they are the heralds for the rest of humanity. They are the elder brothers, so to say who tell us “what is possible for me is possible for you. I am not made differently. The same God who dwells in me dwells in you too.” So it is that many metaphyscians and thinkers have searched for a vision of true greatness, a vision of good men, saints, etc. If their stories are listened to by young children, if they patiently go through their tales of woes overcome by attainment of joy, unconsciously the mind is moulded. We will see that an impression is made. All influence is not deliberate, not conscious. It is more often unconscious than conscious. By surrounding people, surrounding young children with examples of true saintliness and great goodness, we unconsciously permeate their minds, perfume them, colour their minds with a desire for attaining similar positions, similar achievements. The child is an imitative being, first and foremost. Whatever we say it will do. If we put before it the ideals of great character, not of military victory, not industrial power, not intellectual eminence, but true saintliness, people who have suffered for humanity, who have laid down their lives that other people may live, if that kind of idea is put before them, I have no doubt that the idea will have some kind of influence on the young people’s minds. It is, therefore, necessary that in every school and in every home a little space must be left for the individual to be alone with himself, to examine himself. It is necessary for him to listen to the stories of the great saints and the sages of this world. That will make a tremendous impression on the minds of young people.
(ii) True Guru :-
After all, the guru is one who removes our spiritual blindness. Otherwise, he is not a guru; he is one who merely talks. He may pick-up something and then say he is a pandit. It is not that. The Upanishads tell us that a Brahmin should give up his pride in scholarship, his pride of learning, and become like a little child ….. a little child which is enfranchised, which is completely emancipated from any kind of pride, prejudice, or provinciality in religion or in any other matter. The little child does not believe in caste, in its own religion; but we people indoctrinate the child, give him false ideas and make him behave as if he belongs to a superior category. A true guru is he who gives the right ideals to young children. The sense of equality is necessary postulate of the reality of the Supreme.
(iii) Tradition by which India lives :-
Tradition, by which this country lives, is not a memory of words. It is an abiding in spirit. It is an illumination of the soul. That is what our tradition has been, perpetually recreating itself as new challenges occur. It is a living tradition. There are three great ideals which constitute our great tradition. They are ‘Abhya’, ‘Ahimsa’, ‘Asanga’ non-attachment. Abhaya is a thing for which human beings try. Hegel, a great German Philosopher, trying to characterise different countries with which he was familiar, said, “Persia stands for Light; Greece for grace; Rome for Empire; India for dream”. India dreams for a higher life, for a fuller life, for a richer life, a nobler life. Perfection has been the ideal of all people in this country. They are not satisfied with things as they are.
How best can we grasp that reality? What are the methods which are open to us? We need educational institutions wherein there is utter devotion, by surrendering to the Supreme, by singing his praises, and glorifying His name and going about doing everything in this world in the Name of the Divine, we will be able to get at that ultimate reality. “Bhakti” – devotion – that which calls upon us to surrender ourselves. That is the way in which we can grasp the reality, the easiest way in which we can grasp it.
There are so many methods by which it can be grasped. The easiest is the method of devotion. When once we have a grasp of that reality, immediately we will have humility. We will not have spiritual pride. We will feel that we have encountered in our ultimate moments of insight, in something which cannot be expressed in words or phrases. Let us work together. Let us all go together in this pathway towards the attainment of the ultimate reality.
Abhya is one of the things on which all our prophets laid the stress. Not merely our prophets, other prophets also. “Be not afraid”, Said Jesus. “Be not afraid”, Krishna says to Arjuna. So to get rid of fear is the ultimate thing.
Ahimsa follows naturally. If we feel that the whole world is enlivened by the supreme reality, that there is not one individual in this world who has not got his roots in reality, whether he is conscious of it or not, if we are able to realise that, we will feel it is not our right to impose any kind of suffering on anybody. In the Dhamma-pada it is said: Victory breeds hatred; the conquered live in sorrow.” There is no point in our trying to inflict pain on other people. The question of friend and foe does not arise when we are at the top level.
Our differences need not give rise to discords. They need no produce conflicts, estrangement, misunderstanding – these things may be there but they have to be got over. Ahimsa is not merely a thing which concerns peace and war. It deals with our everyday life. Ahimsa in that sense of the term is non-violence in our daily life, in our daily behaviour.
All men are brothers, all women are sisters. Are we practising brother-hood? Are we true to it in our daily life? I must say that we admit God in theory, deny Him in life. We utter praise of God, we visit temples, we go to churches, we chant hymns but we do not practise religion.
Asanga, nonattachment is another ideal of Dr. Radha Krishanan. We are here and pass away. We are tenants. No individual is immortal. No nation is immortal. All things are subject to the law of time and if we are to work in this world, we have to work in a spirit of utter detachment. We have to undertake things, not because we hope to succeed, but because those things are right. Work here and do our best not caring for the cost and consequences. We have been called upon to do something for this world and for this life. Make life better, make it nobler and make it richer, doesn’t matter if in the process we have to lay down our life. Whatever be the cost, whatever be the sacrifice we are called upon to do, the right thing is asanga – non-attachment.
Our efforts are dispersed, our aims are trivial, we are unable to hold ourselves together, to possess ourselves, be peaceful and restful. Why? Because we are not living truly human lives; we are not able to sit still, to be alone. It is not possible for us. We have caught ourselves up in that kind of tendency.
Abhaya, ahimsa, asanga – these are the great ideals which have come down to us. Let us stick to them.
The author is President Home for the
Aged & Infirm, Ambphalla, Jammu.
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