Being and Becoming: S. Radhakrishnan on Spiritual Values to Attain Shanti

S. Radhakrishnan saw India as a land where the spirit in human beings comes to the fore unbridled by fear or hatred, establishing unity with the entire creation in the love of God. India, since times immemorial, had seen the truth of being connected in a mysterious way to everything that constitutes the creation. He writes in his glorious work, Indian Philosophy Vol 1, ‘It is true that they were more intent on seeking the unity of things than emphasizing their sharpness and separation.’ (Indian Philosophy Vol 1 80). The realization of this mysterious bond was termed as Dharma. This is why, as a mother, India welcomed every race, every religion, every culture and custom in her ambit, sheltered them, and nurtured them, adding glory to human existence on earth.

Vanquishing others in the name of alien race, culture, and religion did not occur to her. Her Dharma extolling the virtue of realizing and living the mysterious connection with the entire creation empowered her to live organically and grow as a whole. Society, polity, economy, and households were not different units in her existence. These were the organs tied to the spine of spirituality serving the aim of human life in observing values while achieving Artha (money), kama (desires), dharma (righteousness), moksha (salvation). It was held, that a human being's final goal is to attain salvation and union with God through the profession, desires and swadharma -the law of one’s being.

She got energized by assimilating and building a living contact with everything. In this dharmic journey, she understood the real value of all (The Heart of Hindustan 12). She could see the entire life being metaphysically connected that could be mustered by love. Life in India thus became a celebration, not a struggle to redeem, restore, or reject.

More than a finite lifetime, she became interested in the soul's life and realized immortality as a worthy aspiration. Ideas, ideals and morality were more than mere philosophical issues to be debated, discussed and argued. They were seen as fundamental forces bringing the personality of human beings to fruition. Even today, in the 21st century, Indian homes rise to the chanting of eternalizing Sanskrit shloka from Brihadaryanka Upanishad,

Asto Ma Sad Gamaya

Tamso Ma Jyotirgamaya

Mrityor Ma Amritamgamaya

Meaning,

Lead me from unreal to real

Lead me from darkness to light

Lead me from death to immortality. (Recovery of Faith 94)

India's most significant contribution to the world of culture is the concept of non-cessation at death. It was then apparent for civilization and culture to pursue and invest in the glories of the spirit and tune their existence to the spiritual laws that govern it. Thus, even ordinarily, the Indians could dream of togetherness in non-violence. Life was to be cherished by making conscious choices asserting character. Success was not seen in gains, profits, money and abundance. But in transforming one's nature to reflect the indwelling spirit.

S. Radhakrishnan has explored these dynamics of India's rich, enterprising life. In his writings, we read the blueprint of the architects in great gurus and splendid rishis, saints and people of wisdom, who gave life to India and shaped her existence. This architecture has boldly stood the test of every time that challenged her life. He raised India by defending the Hindu religion and its vitalizing cultural complex built by its creative associations with cultures and faiths of the world. He taught, spoke and wrote for India to find glory in her discovery of truth and bejeweling wisdom. As a homage to his scholarly demeanour and contribution as a mentor who showed Indians the right path, his birthday, 5th September, is celebrated throughout India as Teachers’ Day. In his most illustrious work, The Hindu View of Life, Radhakrishnan observes and reminds Indians of their strength that made them bear all onslaughts on their culture and civilization; he writes,

The civilization itself has not been a short-lived one. Its historic records date back for over four thousand years, and even then, it had reached a stage of civilization which has continued its unbroken, though at times slow and almost static course, until the present day. It has stood the stress and strain of more than four or five millenniums of spiritual thought and experience. Though peoples of different races and cultures have been pouring into India from the dawn of history, Hinduism has been able to maintain its supremacy, and even the proselytizing creeds backed by political power have not been able to coerce the majority of Indians to their views. (Radhakrishnan 1)

Thanks to the recent developments in the field of brain sciences. The current century being the golden period for the brain sciences, many deliberations of the Upanishadic rishis have a ratification of the latest scientific research. Dr Jefferey Schwartz, in his signature work, The Mind and the Brain (2009), and Dr Daniel Seigel, in his work, Aware (2018), have recently discovered the mind as separate from the brain in the skull. Both are not synonymous. Mind, a mental force enveloping the human being, crafts the brain (Jefferey 295).

Radhakrishnan's writings are dedicated to understanding the operation of this complex mind, body and soul. There is an entire branch of medical sciences that could be benefitted from the works of Radhakrishnan, studying the impact of the mind on the body as Indian culture seeks to observe deha as devalaya – the body is the abode of God (Faith Renewed 7). Following from the Upanishadic thought; he is convinced that the spirit- the being, is veiled by a mind that needs to be made stable and pure. The mind is stabilized in control of buddhi (intelligence), lighted by the spiritual laws of existence emanating from the Universal Self- the Atman. In his most exalted work, The Principal Upanishads, he explores the importance of buddhi being guided by the being. He puts it as,

If buddhi, vijnana, intelligence, has its being turned towards the Universal Self it develop intuition or true knowledge, wisdom. But ordinarily, intelligence is engaged in discursive reasoning and reaches a knowledge which is at best, imperfect, through the processes of doubt, logic and skilful demonstration. It reflects on the data supplied by manas or the sense mind with its knowledge rooted in sensations and appetites. (The Principal Upanishads 95) 

Upon reaching stability of mind, which needs to be anchored and purified by spiritual laws, values, or truths, the human being lives in the light of the soul. In his illuminating work, Indian Religious Thought, he says,

The yoga discipline is intended to train the mind to hear the mighty voice of the silence within. We then feel our identity with the universal self, the Atman (spirit) in us. (Indian Religious Thought 42)

In one of his books, he writes figuratively about the mind, imagining it to be like a stream capable of flowing towards negativity or positivity. If it mingles with the poison of negativity, it becomes poisonous. If it consumes amrita of positivity, it becomes fertile. He confirms with the illustration in the Gita about the mind that the mind is capable of constructing its own illusory world of Maya. If left free from the control of the buddhi, which is not illumined by the light of the soul, it becomes dark- ignorant. In that case, a human being lives a life lost in their illusory construct, bereft of reality. Thus, it is the mind which plays with the life of a human being. A buddhi lighted by the spiritual laws can restore the mind at the service of the spirit- the being. This state is famously addressed in India as Shanti. Radhakrishnan writes in Indian Religious Thought,

The highest life enjoined by the dharma follows naturally from vital faith in the reality of God. If the indwelling of God in man is the highest truth, conduct, which translates it into practice, is ideal conduct…By the mastery of the soul over the sense, clouds of hate and mists of passion dissolve, and he will be filled with shanti or serenity. He will remain calm in moments of great peril, personal loss or public calamity. With tranquility of soul, a steady pulse and a clear eye he will do the right thing at the right moment. (Radhakrishnan 57)

The Gita has consistently held that the Supreme has a two-fold nature, that of the being- the spirit and the becoming, para and apara. Reason, revelation, realization and spiritual experience alike bear witness to the reality of a being. It is spiritual in its essence, which is the ground of all that is, ‘whose shadow is immortality and death’. Yasya chayamrtam yasya mrtyuh (Rig Veda X, 121). It was experienced by Indian rishis that the being, the company of God could be had only in a shant state. That is why India as a country and culture has ever prayed for millennia for everyone on earth Peace! Peace! Peace! – Shanti! Shanti! Shantih! The prayer in Sanskrit goes as,

Sarve Bhavatu Sukhinah

Sarve Santu Niramayah

Sarve Bhadrani Pasyantu

Ma kascit Dukhabhag Bhavet

Om Santih! Santih! Santih!

Meaning,

Let all here be happy, let all be healthy, let all see the face of happiness, let no one be unhappy. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Without attaining the state of shanti, the entire system of the human being fails. Comprehension, perception, logic, and reasonable thinking all get obliterated, thus becoming a cause of error and, subsequently, of dukh. Such despair ends the existence of human beings into wretchedness.

Radhakrishnan comes up enchantingly in his speeches on his concept of spiritual laws that help in the process of becoming and Shanti. His collection of speeches delivered as the first Vice President and the second President of India, published by the Publication division of India, fills one with the strength of his great vision. Words in the speeches are crafted by his breath, giving veracity to the truth not taught but lived. Today, when we see ourselves beset by the chaos, insecurity, and destruction caused by wars in certain parts of the world, his words fill us with hope. While emphasizing the importance of operating through spiritual laws, he says, 'the true measure of a man is the truth in him'.

According to him, one of the primary reasons for the unrest, stress and tension in our times is that 'We have stopped being ourselves.' No doubt, at best, we just echo the powerful because we have not attained the singlehood of the mastery of our being. The human being is spiritual and natural at the same time. They have to undergo a process of becoming spiritual by taming the natural and making it reflect the divine within. Culture, therefore, is the taming of the animal within.

In his talk on the 'Need for Faith', he quotes Nehemiah, 'Neither was there any beast with me save the beast that I rode upon'. In Madras University speech, he cautions, ‘No man of violence ever came to a good end.’ His advice reckons with the wise dictum served by the Mahabharata, ‘By unrighteousness man prospers, gains what is desirable, defeats his enemies but perishes at the root’ (Occasional Speeches and Writings, Third Series, 1959-1962 159)

This root of the existence of human beings is investigated thoroughly in his writings filled with visionary appeal. In his inspiring work, Recovery of Faith, he brings the concerns of Geothe to the central focus, who emphasises the importance of 'belief and unbelief'. He says,

Belief and behaviour go together. If we believe in blood, race and soil, our world will be filled with Belsens and Buchenwalds (concentration camps). If we behave like wild animals our society will be a jungle. If we believe in universal spiritual values, peace and understanding will grow. (Radhakrishnan 14)

He has investigated the problem of losing the sense of these spiritual values, laws or truths in his works. The main obstacle, as per his diagnosis, for a person losing contact with self is the imprisonment by the mesh of technology. It forces us to live life away from reality. It was visible to Radhakrishnan that technology that has devised newer ways of economic organization has led to the loss of 'our singleness'. We act as a mass. The horrific incidents of mass murders of innocent people due to fake WhatsApp messages rocked India and the world numerous times. The top courts are shocked that highly educated people are increasingly committing crimes. Surprisingly, people fall easy prey to technological havoc. The answer is in his warning issued to us in Sanskrit, ‘sa arksaro viprit raksaso bhavati’, meaning, ‘the reverse of a literate is a demon.’

Education has to be in the real sense. This is something India, in her New Education Policy 2020, should be aiming for. Knowledge gained must be reflected to be born into wisdom. Merely being educated enough to be able to earn a decent amount of money is not worthy of a human being. Education in disciplines of wisdom tradition peculiarly served by the training in humanities and arts makes a human being realize and live the ‘Truth, Beauty and Goodness’ within. These streams in the educational system train people to befriend themselves, enhancing the value of solitude. In befriending oneself, it is impossible one should lay prey to various debilitating tendencies, addictions or hurtful behaviour that is fast becoming the order of our day.

Becoming the being undergoes a struggle to do away with the non-being. This is often codified in Indic philosophy as Maya, the non-being. It has to be firmly dealt with through disciplined efforts. The first and foremost spiritual law humans deem to follow to curb Maya is adherence to truth. It sublimates the non-being. Radhakrishnan writes in his signature work, The Bhagwadgita, ‘Satya Rakshati’, that truth protects. Dharma in India has recognized that there is something even above religion, and that is the company of God. It has been considered the essential truth of a human being’s life. There is a tradition in India to seek the company of God in personal terms as a parent, a friend, a child, a spouse or a Guru. Religion is merely taken as a path to reform oneself to be capable of reaching to God for a company. It is not something to which one must necessarily belong to. No sense of creed, community, or institutional authority overrides the possibility of any individual seeking the company of God for oneself. For Indians, that is the ultimate goal they must attain.

For this reason, it was simple for Gandhi to pronounce, 'Truth is God and God is Truth’. Even Swami Vivekananda implored Indians to know the truth as the first and the last word of their religion. This perception of how truth leads us to the Ultimate comes from Mundaka Upanishad, where the rishis said,

Satyam Eva Jayate anartam

Satyena pantha vitato devayanah

Yenakramanty rsayo hy aota-kama

Yatra tat satyasya paramam nidhanam (Speeches and Writings, 64-67, 326)

Meaning,

Truth alone conquers, not untruth. By truth is laid out the path leading to the gods, by which the sages who have their desires fulfilled travel to where the supreme abode of truth is.

Mind the zone of thoughts and feelings as has been finally discovered by the sciences confirm the visionary statement made by Jesus Christ, 'Ye shall know the truth and truth shall make you free'. Nothing can rule over the mind of a person other than the truth. Human beings have an innate devotion to truth. Only a mind disabled by fear, anger, ego and illusions is incapable of accepting the truth. For ages, the rishis of India have taught 'Mano hi mahantam dhanam’ Mind is the greatest wealth (The Present Crisis of Faith 160). All education must aim at making the mind free and pure by truth.

Radhakrishnan blamed the absence of truth in thought owing to the caprice of the Indian mind as chiefly responsible for the loss of her freedom and wealth. Colonizing powers could rule over her not necessarily due to their own merits but the weakness of the Indian mind. He emphasizes that the ability to think by oneself is necessary to know the reality of being. Thoughts that go deep enough end in insight. Reason takes us deeper than reason, to the power and profundity of the human spirit. (Speeches and Writings, 1964-1967 326)

Radhakrishnan knows the clever ploy people adopt concerning truth to mislead the masses. Truth is today often referred to as 'Whose truth, yours or mine?'. We are damaging the culture with the impoverishment of thought- deep work and deep thought, a scarcity today that entertains such beliefs. This deformity has occurred in culture with the advent of technology that does not allow for comprehension by the individual due to a lack of focus. We are constantly forced to think in particular ways and impulsively dragged by gadgets. News that is circulated by the mass media is the only available information. As we cannot carry our own minds, we are losing the sense of uniqueness and unity with others. Self-mastery is the goal of no one today; facilities crowd our lives. (Recovery of Faith 20) A life moving away from truth never reaches the being. To bust the baseless argument of your truth or my truth, he quotes Adi Shankaracharya in the Bhagwadgita,

Yad visaya buddhir na vyabhicarati tat sat, yad visays vyabhicarati tad asat 

In the above statement, Adi Shankaracharya defines real (sat) as that in regard to which our consciousness never fails and the unreal (asat) as that in regard to which our consciousness fails. Radhakrishnan cautions us that the most basic of spiritual laws or values, ‘truth’, if neglected, leads to disability of the human mind falling prey to illusory thinking devoid of reality. Such a mind is controlled by things, depersonalizing a human being. Discarding the spiritual value of truth leads to the loss of perfection, happiness and the highest goal of life, which is to initiate the process of becoming to be shant to perceive and be in the company of God within.

Once we focus on the truth, we naturally gain knowledge. Radhakrishnan feels that reflective people are not theoretical. They use the best of the theories to reach for the knowledge and truth merely as a raft, but the more capable ones do not depend upon it. Out of the knowledge of various disciplines, the knowledge of the self, the being, ‘adhyatma vidya’, is the highest. It makes us contemplate the good. In several instances, he mentioned that the sciences that have gained an edge over the humanities in the world's education systems are best capable of giving us power, not vision, strength and not sanction. It is the role of philosophy, arts and humanities to shape the character, mind and heart of a person. Human beings are here to admire and wonder, not to collect dull facts and figures. (Recovery of Faith 62)

He further elaborates that this kind of knowledge makes a human realize how they are the microcosm participating in all strata of the universe. (Recovery of Faith 136) In his work The Present Crisis of Faith, he mentions a famous saying in India, ‘anda and brahmanda’ the microcosm and macrocosm are akin to each other (The Present Crisis of Faith 187). He concludes in several of his masterpieces that this was the reason India could raise the notion of Dharma that fused the hearts and the minds of the people in the country equally. It could thus become the longest-living culture and civilization of the world, spanning over five millennia and still continuing. In his speech at the opening of Rabindra Bharti National Theatre at Hyderabad in 1961, he spoke about Dharma,

Dharma in India is religion for the whole of society- its roots reach deep underground, but its top touches the heaven, and India has not contemplated the top apart from the roots- she has looked on religion as embracing earth and Heaven alike, overspreading the whole life of man, like a gigantic banyan tree. To realize the One in the universe and also in our own nature, to set up that One amidst diversity, to discover it by means of knowledge to perceive it by means of love and to preach it by means of conduct. (Occasional Speeches and Writings, Third Series, 1959-1962 148)

Thus, religion for India was not in arguments, speculations, or codes to be imposed to make for a creed. Ideals were nursed equally by the people, ranging all activities and spectrum of life, from social, economic, political and personal to spiritual. Ideas and ideals provided by the Dharma united the people of India as one mind. Adherence to a common set of ideas and ideals sets the life for a common realization of wisdom in the spiritual values of Abhaya (fearless), Asanga (non-attachment) and Ahimsa (non-violence).

In his awe-inspiring work on Dhammapada, Radhakrishnan writes about spiritual values as the roots of Dharma.

The tree of civilization has its roots in spiritual values which most of us do not recognize. Without these roots, the leaves would have fallen and left the tree a lifeless stump. In the history of civilization, it has been the privilege of Asia to enrich the mind of the world with the noblest content of spiritual values. (Dhammapada Preface)

Even Buddha had observed that without spiritual values or laws, it was impossible to do away with ignorance and desire. Shila (good conduct) and prajna (wisdom) go together in Buddhism. In UNESCO Tagore centenary celebrations in Paris, 1960, he said about the values, whenever civilization decays and dies it is due to causes which produce insensitivity to human values. It goes down when our souls are deadened by greed and materialism. (Occasional Speeches and Writings, Third Series, 1959-1962 109)

India had clarity on the condition of the mind and its functioning where the spiritual values of Abhay, Asanga and Ahimsa played the chief role in reaching out to the being. Radhakrishnan explains their role in the becoming in the following words,

The marks of genuine religion are Abhaya or freedom from fear, expressing itself in harmony, balance, perfect agreement between body and soul, between the hands and the brain, and Ahimsa or love. Abhaya and Ahimsa, awareness and sympathy, freedom and love, are the two features, theoretical and practical of religion. The free individual does not suffer from any conflicts. He does not give way to anger and depression- not even to what is called righteous indignation. For those who are opposed to us are our brothers from whom we happen to be estranged, and they can be won over by love and understanding. (Eastern Religions and Western Thought 46)

Radhakrishnan emphasized the role of Ahimsa in all of his writings as necessary to keep the mind free from the feeling of hatred. A mind polluted by hatred is incapable of correct reasoning. Hence, the spiritual anchor of Ahimsa born out of Abhaya and Asanga (non-attachment) leaves a person free to be a conduit rather than a constructor of situations. Indian Brahmanic religion has aimed to make every soul a Brahmin capable of perceiving God by making the mind pure to reflect the eternal (The Philosophy of Hinduism 19). Schweitzer had famously observed that ‘Brahmanic mysticism has nothing to do with ethics. It is through and through supra- -ethical’ (Eastern Religions and Western Thought 102)

It has been a belief of the Indian religions that there is no inconsistency between aiming to reach God and following the most exalted ethics, morality or spiritual laws. It is popularly described as contemplation and action, two sides of the same coin, the yoga of Krishna and the dhanus of Arjuna, two movements combined. However, interestingly, he observes in his great translation of the Brahmasutra, ‘when one attains the spiritual level, he rises above the ethical, not that he repudiates it but he transcends it.’ Shankar also said,

This is indeed an ornament to us that, when there is the realization of Brahman, there is the destruction of all obligations and the accomplishment of everything that is to be accomplished. (The Brahma Sutra 165)

Radhakrishnan, therefore, hailed Mahatma Gandhi as the representative of the soul of India, an apostle of non-violence Ahimsa, Asanga, and Abhaya. A figure who truly represents the method of attaining shanti through spiritual values, thus reaching God, the being within, by becoming a conduit in the truest sense. All humanity recognized his greatness. He proudly quotes the London Times, 'No country but India and no religion but Hinduism could have given birth to a Gandhi' (Anand 61). Gandhi is the one who found out the immense role of Ahimsa in serving and maintaining the world order. Without it, we would have no good concerns to serve. Mystics, the ones who reach their being and become founded in the spiritual law of ahimsa, live for the welfare of all. Moreover, only in the welfare of all is the welfare of everyone possible. In his enlightening work The Adaptive Indian, he quotes Gandhi when he answered a question on how he would face an atomic bomb,

How will I meet the atom bomb? I will not go underground. I will not go into shelters. I will come out in the open and let the pilot see that I have not the face of evil against him. (The Adaptive Indian Identity and Ethos 97)

To reach this level of understanding of ahimsa, one has to pass through the preliminary stages of Abhaya and Asanga. Though Gandhi found Ahimsa as the best medium to instruct the soul of the wrongdoer he advised the wise dictum of Mahabharata, 'sastrad api, sastrad api’ (By scriptures or by arms), meaning the best method to meet a danger is to outrightly face it using the best principles of spiritual laws emphasized in the scriptures of the world. If that does not work the next best is to strike truthfully without allowing the mind to be made dirty by hatred for the wrongdoer. (The Adaptive Indian Identity and Ethos 97)

Lord Krishna in the Gita advises Arjun that if the mind longs to go by the desires which are not directed to truth or nobility, in that case, one must read what the scriptures say as they should have stood the test of times. Radhakrishnan writes in the Bhagwadgita,

We generally act according to our personal desire, then regulate the course of our conduct by reference to prescribed social codes and ultimately attain a deeper intention of life’s meaning and act according to its guidance. The prompting of desire, the guidance of the law (in the scripture) and the spontaneity of spirit are the three stages. (The Bhagavad-gita 391

Ethical conduct, which is an essential prerequisite of spiritual insight, is a significant investigation Radhakrishnan carries out in his writings. This leads us to his prescription for the right kind of education system. As wisdom wells in a human being on reaching the stage of shanti, where the mind is clear and stable and anchored by the spiritual laws, it becomes a mirror to the innermost being. Then, the mistaken belief that one is the source of action gets dropped. A realization that one is not more than an instrument connected to all life dawns. Radhakrishnan feels education must allow us this kind of growth.

Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM Kozhikode, in his recent release Leadership Chronicles, has explored how the indigenous system of education, the Gurukul, can bring morality and spiritual laws to reality rather than keep them as a mere content of the syllabus. He refers to the Gurukul system as the Active Learning Space. Having built it on the IIM Kozhikode Library grounds, the teachers and students are reminded of the old golden age of the Indian education system, which saw its last in 1835.

At IIM Kozhikode, the students and teachers sit under the Sun on the grass after removing their shoes, raising their emotions of worship. With this attitude to learning, where one is not the passive learner but an active participant in the learning process, a student becomes a free thinker, and a teacher is also a free thinker. At the same time, modern classrooms designed in the state of craft do not allow sunlight. The students sit together in one place, facing the teacher who acts under the pressure of authority; thereby, no actual teaching happens in the class. It is tragic imprisonment within their roles. The communication lacks, formulations dominate rather than deliberations. He writes,

Schools of the future will look a lot less like police lockups and a lot more like conversation hubs where learning will happen through small group projects. Learning will move from painful rote memorization to the quest for creativity, problem-solving ability, higher-order thinking and the sheer joy of discovery. (Leadership Chronicles 133) 

Radhakrishnan also says the same about education. Like Gandhi, he wants it to be activity-oriented and conducted in a natural environment. Some schools in New Zealand have already adopted the measure where the students plough, grow vegetables, feed themselves and live as a family with teachers, almost like the ancient Gurukul model of the education system in India. Spiritual laws can never appeal if the mind is always busy mastering facts without paying enough attention to listening to the God within. This aim requires the presence of nature and freedom of aspiration, not the disciplining of the class, where certain aspects go unquestioned and unexamined. Anything could not be believed just because someone with a higher education degree has uttered it.

In modern buildings, even teachers feel stifled in making the students explore their minds due to space and time constraints. Radhakrishnan himself had made such an arrangement where his PhD students lived with him in his own house as in Gurukul. India must understand that wisdom and spiritual laws cannot be understood in classrooms that inhibit the opening of the mind out of fear, ego or loss of communication. This is why even the courts in India mentioned that an educated person is perhaps more of a criminal than an uneducated one. This shows education is lacking in the real sense. In his work The Present Crisis of Faith, even Radhakrishnan mentioned, 'the great crimes against civilization are committed not by the primitive and the uneducated but by the highly educated and the so-called civilized.' (The Present Crisis of Faith 140)

To attend this malady, we need to adopt the ancient precept of India, Gyanam Vigyanam Sahitam, meaning wisdom and sciences must be learnt together. Radhakrishnan was a chief votary of this ideal in the education system. He did not see the world of Art as a mere hobby, he felt it had a much greater role to play in the evolution of the human being (Search For Truth 155). As a visionary educationist, he could see that art and the humanities were precursors to all the capabilities of human beings. He saw it to be a preparatory course for the people pursuing sciences. In his work, Our Heritage, he mentions art, literature and thought explorers shape the minds and hearts of people (Our Heritage, 21) His views are today proved to be true by the world of brain sciences. Your Brain on Art, an international bestseller written by Dr. Susan Magsamen, proves this belief of S. Radhakrishnan as she quotes the findings of the American Art Therapy Association,

Artistic expression and the creative process enhance cognitive abilities, foster greater self-awareness, and help teens regulate their emotions. The arts help them with focus, problem-solving, decision – making skills, so when presented with health choices they make better ones as their brains are dramatically changing during critical developmental periods. (Your Brain on Art 109)

Brain sciences in the field of neuroaesthetics have done numerous studies that go on to prove the clear-witted statements of Radhakrishnan mentioned in his writings and speeches on the spiritual value of engaging with arts for spiritual development. Irish poet John O’Donohue once said, ‘Art is the essence of awareness’ (Your Brain on Art xiii). On the metaphysical importance of the arts in a speech at the Annamalai University in 1962, Radhakrishnan said,

Art itself is a means for the realization of the Divine. It is a means by which you are able to grasp the mystery of the Eternal. Art is not merely for the purpose of your entertainment or even education. It is there to produce in you a spirit of satisfaction, to make you different from what you happen to be. Art is not divorced from religion in sense of the term.

(Speeches and Writings 1962-1964 1992, 191) 

Further, in his address at Kabul University in 1963, while talking about Science and Religion, he said,

Artistic creation is something where you feel an experience, and you impregnate that experience with your own personal spiritual intensity and make it come alive- that is what art means. In our country it is said, art is that which transmits to you a sense of the eternal, a sense which is beyond the merely temporal. A sense of something which is non-temporal in this world conveyed to you by the achievements of the arts. (Speeches and Writings 1962-1964 1992 136)

It is indeed promising that scientists are discovering that the heart cells dance to music. They are also fascinated that art is responsible for meaning-making, where logic has a limited role. It informs us of the environment we are living in and our place in it. Thus, a sense of identity evolves, saving us from perishing in the pressures of life. Instead, in such a process of evolution, we find our roots and live purposeful lives, flourishing in our sense of the self. Thus, art has a very important role in our becoming and reaching the being. Nick, artist and founder of Art2Life, observes,

Art-making is, really, about feeling more alive in your life. The creative path is unfolding process of becoming ourselves and it’s a wonderful journey we get to take. (Your Brain on Art 185)

Out of all the arts, Radhakrishnan gives special importance to Literature, holding that all great literature is universal. Its purpose, according to Indian tradition, is visva sreyas, the good of the world. As there is just one real objective of all great literature, it is karuna or compassion. (Occasional Speeches and Writings, Third Series, 1959-1962 202) In his speech on presenting awards at Sahitya Akademi in 1966, he stated,

Literature has so many functions to fulfil, the most important being to change the minds and hearts of people- vicara parivartana, hrydaya parivartana. If we want to make new beings, new human beings, we must give them right ideas and the zeal and the enthusiasm to implement those ideals. Today the whole world is suffering from spiritual disintegration. People are losing faith; they are lost and live in a world of uncertainty. They do not know what to do, what is right or wrong…(Purpose of Literature) is not merely to produce stability, but to produce a ferment, to produce a kind of confusion of mind from which they will be able to rise to the achievement of some proper goal and purpose. All through, literature has done that work. (Speeches and Writings, Second Series, 1964-1967 204)

The latest observations made by scientists on the creative art of writing show that the brain itself is a natural storyteller; it continuously tries to conceptualize an idea by building a narrative. In 2010, at Princeton University, the brains of storytellers and listeners were mapped using fMRI. It was found that the neuronal firing and brain activity of the storyteller is mirrored by the listeners, resulting in a phenomenon recently understood as neuronal coupling. We could easily imagine this could be the process happening in the brains of the writers and readers which the scientists conclude is responsible for the comprehension by the story listeners. (Your Brain on Art 205) This scientific study concurs with ideas about the literature of Radhakrishnan, where he suggests that literary writers are the parents of a nation and builders of culture and community by gifting the race with a mind. Their art crafts a mind. Dr. Magsamen concludes about the role of art in her book Your Brain on Art in these memorable lines,

The arts by their very nature, reflect and inform the time in which they are created; they take the pulse of their time, but the artists have also been essential for forecasting the future, and serving as an early – warning system for society. (230) 

There is an important suggestion that the scientists wish to give regarding the practice of art. They say all the crucial developments in a person's spiritual, emotional, social, and scientific personality through the practice of art result from one's free venture into it. It may not necessarily be training in the arts that would give a person root to the centre of their being. They strongly recommend art for everyone by everyone. That is how we as a culture, community and society can share common values, ideas and ideals and practice them. Scientists have observed how art forges bonds of humanity,

We are ultra-social creatures who biologically evolved to belong to something greater than ourselves. We need one another, and without strong and lasting connections to family, friends, colleagues and neighbours, without the relationships we create over a lifetime, we cannot survive, let alone thrive. Supporting this core human imperative to live in a community is our unique ability to creatively share our thoughts, ideas and emotions. The success of our species comes down to this: Art creates culture. Culture creates community. and community creates humanity. We created stories. We sang. We danced. We developed myths and metaphors that passed on the moral and ethical values of the group. (Your Brain on Arts 202-203)

Thus, we see the evolution of the understanding of moral forces and ethical values through the practice of art. Radhakrishnan makes a fascinating comment, 'though morality commands conformity, all moral progress is due to nonconformists' (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 96). His views interestingly meet the exalted standards set by humankind in various periods in history. He says our great moral heroes have been like the artists working on the intuitive power of the soul, which is worked upon differently by scientists and artists. While the sciences discover a quantitative principle working universally, an artist gives birth to art through creative subjective contemplation which is a process of the travail of the spirit, a crystallization of a life process. (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 91) However, he warns that art becomes mechanical without the intuitive experience. It merely becomes a rehearsal of the old themes. Such art is an exercise in reproduction rather than a communication of the artist's intuitive encounter with reality.

Technique without inspiration is barren. Intellectual powers, sense facts and imaginative fancies may result in clever verses, repetition of old themes, but they are only manufactured poetry…difference in the kind of source itself’ (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 91) 

What true art meant for Radhakrishnan aligns with the recent scientific evidence. He believed it to be an expression of the whole personality where reflective powers are subdued by intuitive powers. (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 91) These intuitive, artistic powers can see the workings of the spiritual laws that build the ultimate vision. This is so much akin to Aristotle's theory. Art purges us of the impure, transforming a wicked into a nobler soul. Katha Upanishad also opines,

He who has not ceased from immoral conduct cannot obtain God through intelligence. Immoral conduct (duscharita) and spiritual life are incompatible since the eternal is pure and free of all evil (apahatapapma). The pure being can be apprehended only by those whose nature is purified (visuddhasattava, vitaraga)…the motive of the ethical practices is that of purging the soul of selfish impulses so that it may be fitted to receive the beatific vision…The perfecting of self is to pass from the narrow, constricted, individual life to the free, creative, spiritual life. (Eastern Religions and Western Thought 104-105)

In the modern education system, the arts have not been given importance akin to the sciences. This was evident in the times of S. Radhakrishnan. Therefore, in his book Religion, Science and Culture, he has stressed the equal development of both streams as necessary for the betterment of human beings. In the absence of one, we become handicapped. He says,

We have to reckon with the spirit of science, understand its limitations and develop an outlook which is consistent with its findings. Science will triumph over ignorance and superstition, and religion over selfishness and fear. (Religion, Science and Culture 108)

Not encouraging arts in education had a very negative impact. We are increasingly seeing conversations between people becoming coercive. Men and women are not able to recognise each other as companions. There is unwanted competition, struggle and insecurity between them. We see an unprecedented rise in crimes against women and girls child. The level of barbarity in such crimes is horrifying. We are now more than ever reminded of the great observation made by Radhakrishnan, 'it is when thought becomes perfected in intuition that we catch the vision of the real. The mystics the world over have emphasized this fact' (Indian Philosophy, Vol 1 176)

Arts themselves are getting dominated by the sciences. They need to be more intuitive. They have become mechanical and scholastic. In mimicking sciences, arts have discovered tools and theories that give them the penchant of working like the sciences, as if they are a kind of formula sciences use, but this tendency results in a loss of insight development. They have succumbed to the pressure of being commercially viable and wish to become money churners. We see this impact on the latest releases in the world of cinema and OTT series. Sex and violence that affect the reptilian part of the human brain, which is habit forming, is becoming a trend that is a big money grosser. Art in such works is not about 'truth, beauty and goodness'. It does not influence the brain and mind's higher thinking abilities. This is something that leaves the human culture damaged. In his magnum opus, An Idealist View of Life, Radhakrishnan talks about the use of intuition in both the sciences and the arts.

Creative work is not blind imitation or mechanical repetition. It is synthetic insight which advances by leaps. A new truth altogether unknown, startling in its strangeness, comes into being suddenly and spontaneously owing to the intense and concentrated interest in the problem. When we light upon the controlling idea, a wealth of unco-ordinated detail falls into proper order and becomes a perfect whole. Genius is extreme sensibility to truth. Scientific discovery is more like artistic creation in its reaching out after new truth. (An Idealist View of Life 126)

The intuitive ability used at this level shall solve most of our social, political, economic, environmental, and other crises. A famous writer Chinua Achebe said, ‘Art is man’s constant effort to create himself a different order of reality from that which is given to him.’ (Story of Consciousness 7). Art cannot remain limited to habit-forming pleasures. It must be explored. Today, popular art is more sensual than soul-touching and searching.

Radhakrishnan thus leads us to a significant emphasis in his writings, which is the ultimate solution to most of our problems. This is about the treatment of women. Hindus have realized since the beginning that 'respect for women' is a significant spiritual value. Women have been seen as a bridge to reality, the ultimate spirit, a 'sahadharmini’ of man (Occasional Speeches and Writings 1952-1959 575). In his book Search for Truth, he writes, 'Women, after all, are much nearer to the roots of Reality than men' (87). He has held in his writings that women, by the gifts given by nature, are more sensitive, emotional and spiritual. The same is perfectly proved by the brain sciences today. In his book, The Hindu View of Life, he calls their life 'tapahpradhanya’, meaning a life capable of reaching great heights of self-control and self-denial, chief of spiritual merits. Further in the book, he mentions that women are naturally superior to men (63).

In his book Unleash the Power of the Female Brain, Dr. Amen has written that the emotional part of the brain, the Limbic region, is larger in women. The prefrontal cortex- the crown of the human brain, responsible for thought, decision-making, and focus acts as a brake on the reptile brain, is also bigger in women (31). This makes her genuinely interested in spiritual, religious, cultural and philosophical things. He writes that the restraint that women are capable of is a compliment to them; Tagore also has mentioned in his essay 'Woman and Home' that her ‘cadence of restraint' are the poetry of life (Creative Unity 82). Thus, women become much more responsible for cultural matters. In his general introduction to a special edition of Kalidasa's works sponsored by Sahitya Akademi, he writes, ‘The wife does not belong to the husband but makes a whole with him. The wife is the root of all social welfare (Speeches and Writings, 1952-1959 575)

In his essay, 'Woman' in the collection Personality, Tagore said, 'For woman's function is the passive function of the soil, which not only helps the tree to grow but keeps its growth within limits. (Personality, 1464). Similarly, Radhakrishnan also opines, the main contribution of women on earth shall always be that she makes us. She is the mother of the human race. Therefore, we must understand that what she receives will be served to generations. If we treat her well, her presence shall nourish us, and her refined abilities will shape us. If she is ill-treated, then everyone in the society suffers; she is the one we have our roots in. Crimes against her are crimes against humanity. This is the reason why he says that Hinduism has accorded women an exalted position. To the extent that we name the goddess first out of respect before the gods, like Sita- Ram, Radha- Krishna, and Uma -Mahesh.

Radhakrishnan regrets there have been times in India when women were not treated well, as men took pride in power and subjugated them. More than the injustice done to them by men, Radhakrishnan is anxious that women must not devalue their immense importance and mimic men. In his excellent book, Religion and Society, in the essay, ‘Women in Hindu Society' he writes,

Women as mothers are more directly sensible of the inequity and injustice of the present order and can bring about far-reaching change of spirit, and work into the new style of life. Then will the new Man be born. (Anand 89)

Like Tagore, Radhakrishnan hopes that women may someday help God by delivering His message of love, thereby activating the spiritual laws, making it more important than power, which has engulfed the lives of human beings and thrown it into misery and cruelty. Her capacity to love shall enable her to act as the guardian of the individual, saving lives for the worth of their life and heart and not because of their usefulness. She might thus prepare the ground for the work of the nobler, saintly souls who burn to enact the spiritual laws, thus saving the world. By enacting the spiritual laws, they create models for us so we could imbibe them. While paying homage to Swami Sivananda in 1963 at Hyderabad, he recited a Sanskrit Shloak,

Santo bhumim tapasa dharyanti,

Meaning,

The saints, by their tapas, sustain this world…A saintly life is the highest expression of eternal truth. People may discuss it, may talk about it, but only they are entitled to teach it to others who have known it for themselves and who have practiced it. (Speeches and Writings, 1962-1964 157)

In the 21st century, if we hope to live by the beautiful dream of the Rig Vedic rishis who said, ‘Walk together; seek in concord; Let your minds comprehend alike, let your efforts be united; let your hearts be in agreement. Let your minds be united, that we may all be happy’ (Rig Veda, X, 191), then we must realize that this is possible through only spiritual values. The buddhi (intelligence) must face the Atman, the being, and seek the light of spiritual values, truths, or laws from there. Only then can the mind be anchored and stabilized to be harnessed in the process of becoming establishing shanti on getting infused by the being, leading humanity on the path of Peace through understanding. Albert Einstein, while reflecting on the importance of understanding between human beings, wrote in his work Ideas and Opinions,

Understanding of our fellow -beings is important. But this understanding becomes fruitful only when it is sustained by sympathetic feeling in joy and sorrow. (Ruhela 1)

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