Teachers Day 2018: Our lives are greatly influenced by teachers who have helped us to change various elements of life; like our world view, career, perceptions on people and society, and many other things. Teachers, from nursery to university level, have the power to make or break lives with the power of their influence. To celebrate the lives of teachers who create significant changes in their students' lives, India celebrates National Teacher's Day on September 5 every year. In India, Teacher's Day is celebrated in honour of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was born on September 5, 1888, an Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President of India and the second President of India.
Since the year 1962, India has commemorated Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birth anniversary by paying tribute to its teachers and gurus with the Teacher's Day.
Teachers's Day 2018: 10 Important Points Students Should Know About Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
In India, Teacher's Day is celebrated in honour of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who was born on September 5
1. Dr. Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, in a middle class family in the pilgrim town of Tirutani. His father, it is said, did not want his son to learn English, instead wanted him to become a priest. However, a feature by Press Information Bureau says that, the talents of the boy were so outstanding that he was sent to schools at Thirupati and then Vellore.
2. Dr. Radhakrishnan joined the Christian College, Madras, and studied philosophy there later. Drawn by accident into the world of philosophy, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan by his confidence, concentration and strong convictions went on to become a great philosopher the country have ever produced. He was one of India's best and most influential twentieth-century scholars of comparative religion also.
3. According to Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, the main part of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's life was spent as an academic; he was a philosophy professor at Mysore (1918-21) and Calcutta (1921-31, 1937-41) universities and also held a professorship in eastern religion and ethics at Oxford (1936-52).
4. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was performed as vice chancellor of Andhra University and Benares Hindu University. He was also the chancellor of University of Delhi from 1953 to 1962.
Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: Academic, Teacher And Visionary
5. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was ambassador to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1949 to 1952 and vice president of India from 1952 to 1962 before his election as president of India. He was president from 1962 to 1967
6. As a philosopher, according to Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Radhakrishnan espoused a modern form of Hinduism that attempted to reconcile the world's religions.
7. Dr. Radhakrishnan moved beyond being a mere academic and sought to engage his philosophical and religious studies in the political and social developments of the contemporary context. He believed that, in India, the duty of a philosopher was to keep in touch with the past while stretching out to the future.
8. Among his works are: Indian Philosophy (2 vol.) The Philosophy of the Upanishads, Eastern Religions and Western Thought, East and West: Some Reflections, Religion in a Changing World, Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, Reign of Religion in Contemporary Philosophy, The Hindu View of Life, An Idealist View of Life, Kalki or the Future of Civilisation, The Religion We Need, Gautama the Buddha, India and China, Religion and Society, Education, Politics and War, Bhagavadgita, Dhammapada, The Principal Upanishads, Recovery of Faith, A Source Book of Indian Philosophy; 1957, The Brahma Sutra and East and West in Religion.
9. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is a Bharat Ratna recipient. He was awarded Bharat Ratna in 1954.
10. Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan nominated 27 times for Nobel Prize; sixteen times for the Nobel prize in literature, and eleven times for the Nobel Peace prize.
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