The world has produced many great leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Churchill, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, awahar
Lal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Yasser Arafat etc. All these leaders have influenced the people of the world to a great-extent with their high ideas and wonderful leadership quality. Among these leaders Dr. S. Radhakrishnan occupies a very high rank, whose Indian as well as Western philosophy made him a world fame philosopher. He was a real embodiment of the principle of simple living and high thinking. His saintly life and his deep knowledge have influenced me a lot.
Born on September, 1888, in Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Radhakrishnan got his education at Velour, Madras, etc. He started his career as lecturer and soon got the professorship. He was very popular among his students. When he took up the teaching job at Oxford, England, somebody remarked that he could emulate America's Wood-row Wilson's rise from professorship to presidentship. The prophecy came true when Radhakrishnan became the second President of the Indian Republic on May 13, 1962 after the retirement of Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
Dr. Radhakrishnan was an outstanding educationist and profound scholar of philosophy. He was a great orator too who visited many countries and delivered lectures. His lectures and studies on world religions influenced the whole world. Even when he was holding the highest office of the president of India, he was regarded as an outstanding educationist first and anything else afterwards.
No doubt his chief concern was academic pursuit, but p when he was given some assignments of political nature after ! India got independence, he proved himself par excellent. In 1949 he was appointed as the ambassador of India to Russia
und with his high calibre made it clear that he could be even t more successful as an ambassador. His sharp intellect and
g intense love for his countrymen won for him love, affection and admiration of everyone in India.
Dr. Radhakrishnan was a great idealist. But his idealism , was not divorced from real life. Instead it was in time with it j and therefore more applicable and understandable. He had great regard for the teachers and that every year September 5, his birth anniversary (1888-1975) is observed as Teacher's Day. He was of the opinion that teachers belonged to the noblest section of the society and they have great responsibilities on their shoulders. Hence they must be true, honest, meritorious, and hard-working. Radhakrishnan's career as a teacher was a role-model for the entire teachers.
Known as India's philosopher-president, Dr. Radhakrishnan has 18 publications to his credit including the Hindu View of Life and India Philosophy. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954. Thus, he was the true son of Mother India who served the land and its people with all his potentialities and intellect.
