Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

This blog is written as a response to a task assigned by Prakruti Medam, Department of English MKBU. In this blog there is discussion on Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and his philosophy.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian leader, philosopher, and statesman. He was the second President of India from 1962 to 1967, and before that, he was the first Vice President from 1952 to 1962. He also served as India’s ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1949 to 1952. Earlier, he was the Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University from 1939 to 1948 and of Andhra University from 1931 to 1936. Radhakrishnan is known as one of the most important scholars of religion and philosophy in the 20th century. He taught at the University of Calcutta and Oxford University, where he focused on Eastern religions and ethics.

Write a note on S. Radhakrishnan’s perspective on Hinduism:

In his book ‘The Hindu View of Life’(1962) Radhakrishnan has given his views regarding the Hinduism. It is a compilation of the various speeches that he has delivered at various places. According to Radhakrishnan, Hinduism is a view of life rather than a religion. During the Early 19th century the people of the world, especially the European world considered Hinduism to be a very conservative and superstitious religion. Radhakrishnan was an educationalist who had read the Vedas and the Upanishads thoroughly. He represents the ideas from that point of view that now the way Hinduism is generally seen by the world it is totally different from what it really is. 

Radhakrishnan represents the positive side of Hinduism to he western world and tries to rectify the image of Hinduism globally. He comes up with the concept of “Dharma”, in which he talks that in Hinduism the karma is the dharma, whatever we do in daily life is our dharma and then he gives this argument to the way of life. 

He comes up with the idea of the origin of the word Hindu that is related with the river Sindhu, where the whole community used to live. When western people called it Hindu, the word itself came into existence, otherwise there was no particular definition of Hinduism. He also argues that the term is related with geography rather than religiosity. 

In further argument he says that Hinduism is related with personal experience, rather than following any particular god. In which he argues that other religions have the singularity of God whereas in Hinduism there are so many Gods and Goddesses. He says that the religion is scientific, it does not belong to a blind faith and superstitions. He further argues that Hinduism has various sects that follow and worship various gods and goddesses. And the people give that liberty to the people that they can follow whatever sect of gods/goddesses. 

He also argues that there are two aspects of Hinduism, first is philosophical and second is practical. In practical terms the real world is considered that there are various aspects that we see outside that is a practical world. And another thing that falls under that is personal experience in which whatever we feel from within and understand yourself that is our philosophical aspect. He also talks about the four pillars of Hindu dharma that is 1.Dharma 2. Aretha 3. Kam and 4. Moksha. That according to this philosophy we should live our life. 

In the defense of the caste system he says that In the beginning of the caste system the intention was not to discriminate against the people but to organize the work in the society, to make people do their duties. It becomes rigid in the later part that what he wants to defend here. In the conclusion he says that there are certain aspects in Hinduism that are bad for the society and outdated but that should be removed from the world. 

Write a note on the contribution of S. Radhakrishnan in Indian Writing in English:

Radhakrishnan was an academician, philosopher and statesman. In providing the various aspects of Hinduism. During the early 19th century the image of Hinduism was not quite good. He had an in depth knowledge of Vedas and Upanishads, through which he tries to improve the image of Hinduism in the Western world. He has written various books related to the Hindu philosophy. ‘An Idealist View of Life’ [1932] and ‘The Hindu View of Life’(1962) are the groundbreaking works written by him. 

In the early 19th century very few Indian writers were expressing themselves in the English language. It gives the other the way to do the same. And he revisited the Vedas and Upanishad and made it famous during that time while the swadeshi movement was going on. He has given his views regarding these Indian ancient texts that have been forgotten during that time. He has written his understanding of Vedas and Upanishads to portray the new way for Hinduism. 

He was delivering lectures at foreign universities that are world famous. The lectures are compiled in his books that also give a good image of an Indian Academician who can articulate a high level of the English language in Hindu philosophy. He also contributed to The Radha Krishna Commission, a commission set up to look into the condition of Indian University Education and suggest improvements and extensions that may help in improving university education. 

According to Radhakrishnan, what is the function of philosophy?

According to Radhakrishnan the function of philosophy is to make people take it to a higher extent. In his experiences he says that people have various experiences at personal level and philosophical level. He says that the experiences that we have are based on the basis of our intuition. Knowing the philosophy of intuition is very important to understand the higher level of self. The philosophy is also related to fundamental questions. The basic philosophy of life how we can 

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan saw philosophy as a way to understand the world in a deep and meaningful way. He believed that philosophy helps us make sense of the big questions about life, reality, and values. It’s not just about collecting facts but about seeing how everything connects and finding the underlying truths that we can't always see directly.

Philosophy also plays an important role in helping people grow intellectually and morally. By encouraging critical thinking and reflection, it guides us in making thoughtful decisions and living ethically. Essentially, Radhakrishnan viewed philosophy as a tool for both understanding the world better and improving ourselves.

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