nanda Radha, Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language: Sym-
bols, Secrets and Metaphor (Spokane, Wash.: Timeless
Books, 1995); ———, Kundalini Yoga for the West: A
Foundation for Character Building, Courage, and Aware-
ness (Spokane, Wash.: Timeless Books, 1993); ———,
Mantras: Words of Power (Spokane, Wash.: Timeless
Books, 1994); ———, Realities of the Dreaming Mind
(Spokane, Wash.: Timeless Books, 1994).
Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli (1888–1975)
philosopher and political figure
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was one of the great phi-
losophers and thinkers of modern India. He wrote
prolifically and held distinguished academic posi-
tions in both the East and the West. As was the
case for many of his compatriots, he participated
in the movement for India’s independence and
held several distinguished positions in the new
government of independent India, including the
post of president of India.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was born on Sep-
tember 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, near Madras (Chen-
nai), in South India. His early years were spent
there and in Tirupati, both famous as pilgrimage
centers. As was the custom, he married young, at
the age of 16; he and his wife, Sivakamuamma,
had five daughters and one son. He graduated
with a master’s degree in arts from Madras Chris-
tian College in 1908. In partial fulfillment of his
M.A. degree, Radhakrishnan wrote a thesis, The
Ethics of the Vedanta and Its Metaphysical Presup-
positions, which was a reply to the charge that
the Vedanta system had no room for ethics. This
thesis was immediately published as a book, when
he was still only 20 years old.
In 1909, Radhakrishnan took a position in the
Department of Philosophy at the Madras Presi-
dency College. In 1918, he was appointed profes-
sor of philosophy in the University of Mysore.
Three years later, he was appointed to the most
important philosophy chair in India, King George
V Chair of Mental and Moral Science in the Uni-
versity of Calcutta (Kolkata).
Radhakrishnan represented the University of
Calcutta at the Congress of the Universities of the
British Empire in June 1926 and the International
Congress of Philosophy at Harvard University.
In 1929, he took a post at Manchester College,
Oxford, and from 1936 to 1939 served as Spald-
ing Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics at
Oxford. In 1939, he was elected fellow of the Brit-
ish Academy. From 1939 to 1948, he was the vice
chancellor of Banaras Hindu University.
S. Radhakrishnan later held distinguished
positions in government. He was the leader of the
Indian delegation to UNESCO during 1946–52
and served as ambassador to the Soviet Union in
1949–52. He was the vice president of India from
1952 to 1962 and the president of the General
Conference of UNESCO from 1952 to 1954. He
held the office of the chancellor at the University
of Delhi from 1953 to 1962. From May 1962 to
May 1967, he was the president of India. Sarve-
palli Radhakrishnan passed away on April 17,- In India, September 5 (his birthday) is cel-
ebrated as Teacher’s Day in his honor.
Radhakrishnan devoted his life to making
India’s philosophical and religious riches known
to the world. As had the great ACHARYAS of VEDANTA
before him, he translated and commented on the
UPANISHADS, VEDANTA SUTRA, and BHAGAVAD GITA;
all of those works remain in print.
Radhakrishnan, by training, was the rare phi-
losopher who could genuinely appreciate and
compare Eastern and Western philosophy. In
nearly every book he wrote he included detailed
comparisons of various philosophical views, with
the understanding that all spiritual paths have cer-
tain commonalities at their core. Part of his mis-
sion was to assess and evaluate both traditions on
their own terms. He always remained, however, a
true student of the Vedanta and saw the limits of
approaches that do not at some point transcend
the rational.
As did his compatriot MOHANDAS KARAMCHAND
GANDHI, Radhakrishnan believed in an India that
was spiritually aware and grounded in its ancient
Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli 343 J