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. Though a scholarship holder, he was wayward. His refractoriness 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. Radhakrishnan was cited as an example of what an ideal teacher ought to be, the Indian nation pays him annual homage by observing his birthday, the September, 5 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. His intellectual integrity 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 theBA course. Despite being a reluctant pupil 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 western philosophy was considered supreme, Radhakrishnan had the courage of his conviction to propound and expound the ancient Indian philosophy — as embodied in the Bhagvadagita 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 Bhagvadagita had provoked Radhakrishnan to write a thesis on the book — was happy to be his guide in writing the thesis!

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 was as an educationist that he 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 becomes blind, blundering and bitter. Therefore it is vital that education should give not merely learning and skill but endow one with a definite purpose in life.

The philosopher had clear idea of what a teacher’s role ought to be. To quote him, "No true commitment of knowledge can be achieved if the teachers do not play a progressive role. What the teachers do, students follow. So they set the example. The teachers are in charge of the pupils at an impressionable period of their lives. Young pupils, in primary schools and secondary schools, come to them to be moulded. Love of pupils is the first essential quality of successful teacher. More than intellectual efficiency, it is that attitude, that emotional attitude of true love for pupils."

He stressed the point that the teacher’s work is not limited to the classroom or the syllabus. A student’s personal problems must also receive the teacher’s fullest consideration. Radhakrishnan emphasised the role of character in a nation’s progress. According to him destiny is character. Only a teacher can help build a student’s character by installing healthy values in him, and lead him to a fruitful tryst with destiny. Elsewhere he avers, "If education is to help us to meet the moral challenge of the age and play its part in the life of the community, it should be liberating and life-giving. It must give a basic meaning to personality and existence and equip us with the power to overcome spiritual inertia and foster spiritual sensitivity."

In fact, Radhakrishnan considered education as "a second birth". The teacher gives the spark that enables students to develop a new outlook on life and become an entirely different, albeit improved, person from what he was earlier.

Whether it was the Presidency College at Madras, the college at Rajahmundry where he had a stint as teacher, the Maharaja’s College in Mysore, or the Calcutta University, Radhakrishnan was extremely popular among his students. They listened to his lectures with rapt attention. When he left Mysore for Calcutta, the students converted the occasion of his departure into a farewell function.

To quote from his son S. Gopal’s biography of the great man, "That scene has become a part of the history of Mysore city. The horses were detached from his carriage and students in harness pulled it to the station. There the platform was wreathed with flowers and the compartment packed with roses. Almost the whole university, faculty and students, turned up to see Radhakrishnan off. The traffic on all roads leading to the station was held up for hours and the crowd was such that other passengers found it extremely difficult to get through. As the train pulled out hours late, to resounding cheers, Radhakrishnan, like many others present, was moved to tears." Can there be a better example of teacher-student relationship? How many of today’s teachers can boast of similar command over their pupils’ esteem?