A Truant Student, An Ideal Teacher!

By

Randeep Wadehra

“The truly great men are not the men of wealth, of possessions, not men who gain name and fame, but those who testify to the truth in them and refuse to compromise whatever the cost. They are determined to do what they consider to be right. We may punish their bodies, refuse them comforts, but we cannot buy their souls, we cannot break their spirits. Whoever possesses this invulnerability of spirit even to a little extent deserves our admiration.”
                                                                           ---------- S. Radhakrishnan.

He was the second son of a poor Brahmin couple. Born in the temple town of Tirutani his initial education was at the local Primary Board High School. Later on he joined the Hermansburg Evangelical Lutheran Mission School at Tirupati. He was clever enough to win scholarships but he was not studious. He would play truant and roam from village to village with no particular aim other than to escape the school’s confines. His waywardness once almost cost him an academic year when he was absent from the school on the day the forms for the Lower Secondary exams were to be filled. It was his headmaster who saved his career by filling the forms himself. Sounds like any other regular schoolboy? Well, you can say that. And yet you are way off the mark.

This was no ordinary lad. His dedication to the quest for knowledge propelled him to the topmost rung of modern philosophers. He also became the President of India and a much-respected figure in the international community of intellectuals. In fact, in the modern times he is that rare person who came close to Plato’s ideal of ‘Philosopher-King’. Held out as an example of what an ideal teacher ought to be, the Indian nation pays him annual homage by observing his birthday, the 5th of September, as the Teachers Day.

 Poverty remained a constant companion of Radhakrishnan even when he was married and earning scholarships. Things had come to such a pass that he had to borrow heavily and even face a lawsuit! However, his grit and innate faith in his own abilities helped him face the life’s vicissitudes with equanimity. But it was his intellectual integrity that saw him rise in the esteem of his peers, superiors and critics alike.

When he passed his first arts examination in 1904 with distinctions in mathematics, psychology and history he won a scholarship to study in the Christian College at Madras. His poverty forced him to take up philosophy instead of his favourite physical sciences as subjects for the BA course. Still, despite being a reluctant student of the subject, Radhakrishnan managed to win the best student award in philosophy, when he passed the BA course with first class honours.

In the age when only the Western Philosophy was considered supreme, Radhakrishnan had the courage of his conviction to propound and expound the ancient Indian philosophy – as embodied in the Bhagwat Gita and the Vedanta. This earned him scorn from the conservatives but appreciation from the progressives among his teachers and the British Press. One of his teachers, A.G. Hogg – whose disparaging remarks on “ the ascetic and otherworldly tendencies” in the Gita had provoked Radhakrishnan to write thesis on the book – was tolerant enough to give him guidance in writing the thesis! The same goes for William Skinner – the philosophy teacher to whom Radhakrishnan even dedicated one of his books.

Radhakrishnan’s writings had introduced new impulses into the national psyche – especially among the educated classes. Dignity and self-respect as well as independent thought were the virtues that he practised and preached. However, it is as educationist that he has had the maximum impact on the national thought processes. He felt that education, while covering a broad spectrum, should have depth. One may become learned and skilled, but if one does not have a definite aim in life, his life b

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