Inevitable, therefore, was Radhakrishnan's inquisitiveness about the reigning divine force right from the start of his career as a philosopher. Lives such as this naturally draws our attention to an agent that is driving the vehicle of our lives from the realm of the beyond. As Radhakrishnan himself believed, such a journey cannot be solely human. The journey of a man born to obscure parentage in a small village to reaching world-renown as a statesman and a philosopher is miraculous. For those interested in 20th Century India, its academic culture in that century, its philosophy and politics, I recommend this book heartily. Of how important the President post really is. I did not know of the touching friendship between Nehru and Radhakrishnan. The fact that he has nothing in common with the self-proclaimed "conservatives" is proof of the hollowness of their convictions. Radhakrishnan was a Hindu, partly motivated by the tendentious and ignorant readings by Christian missionaries to set the record straight. In the biography, I found great reprieve from such arrogance. Who claim to uphold its ancient traditions and philosophies etc. We are currently led by people who claim to defend the honour of Bharat Mata. It is worth reading not just because of the philosophy, but politics. This book summarises the books he wrote, the philosophies that drove him, and also throws his less admirable traits into great relief. This man, whose lifespan stretched for 85 years and had incarnations of student, writer, teacher, philosopher, administrator, ambassador and politician "emerges as one of the most transformative personalities of the 20th century. One such person is Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and the best exposition of this refined scholar-statesman is written by his adoring, but unsentimental son. But the more I look at our first political leaders, the founders etc, the more I am inspired. Looking at India today - led by illiberal, dogmatic and intolerant leaders with scant respect for scholarship, one might be expected to be sceptical of this romantic saying. Martin Luther King Jr (as quoted in "The Malevolent Republic" by Kapil Komireddi) Is a land where the idealist and the intellectual are yet respected.
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