Radhakrishnan memorial lecture at Shimla institute today
The Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla, will host the 27th Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Memorial Lecture tomorrow. The Institute will also inaugurate the newly established Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore Photo Gallery within the campus.
The lecture is being organised as part of the commemorative activities marking 60 years of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. The programme will be chaired by Professor Shashi Prabha Kumar, chairperson, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, while the memorial lecture will be delivered by Professor Arindam Chakrabarti, distinguished professor of Philosophy, Ashoka University, Sonepat. Prof Himanshu Kumar Chaturvedi, Director, IIAS, Shimla, will deliver the welcome address and introduce the chief guest.
The theme of this year’s memorial lecture is ‘Humanity as the Heart and Honey of All Living Beings: The Idealistic Realism of Bhadarayaka Upanishad’. The lecture will explore the philosophical interpretation of the Madhukaa of the Bhadarayaka Upanishad, drawing upon the Advaita idealism of Adi Shankara, the transcendental idealism of Immanuel Kant, and the humanistic philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore. It seeks to examine the relationship between idealism and realism while reflecting on contemporary global challenges such as political instability, economic inequality, and ecological crises, emphasising the continuing relevance of humanistic philosophical traditions.
Simultaneously, the institute will also inaugurate the newly curated Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore Photo Gallery. The gallery has been developed as a thematic visual space dedicated to the life, thought, and creative legacy of Rabindranath Tagore.
