S. Radhakrishnan was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He was the first Vice President of India and the second President of India. He is one of India's best and most influential twentieth-century scholars of comparative religion and philosophy. He had always defended Hindu culture against uninformed Western criticism and had symbolized the pride of Indians in their own intellectual traditions. He believed that Hinduism is a scientific religion based on facts apprehended via intuition or religious experience. His philosophical approach is marked by a range of thought and depth of perception. He does not think of Hinduism in isolation but in the modern context. He emphasizes the relevance of the value of Hinduism in a world that is by conflict of ideas.
His work “The Hindu View of Life” is a relic in the world of philosophy and it is based on the Upton Lectures delivered at Manchester College, Oxford. It is his analysis of the basic concepts underlying the Hindu attitude to life. It is divided into four chapters.
The first chapter “Religious Experience, Its Nature and Concept “gives us a vivid account of the essential characteristics of Hinduism. Actually the term 'Hindu' was geographical and did not refer to a religion. It is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, the historic local name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. It refers to the land of the aboriginal tribes and many other communities with different systems of worship and belief who live across the River Indus. By the end of the 12th century and early 13th century, Hindustan emerged as a popular alternative name for India, meaning the "land of Hindus". As per Hinduism Religion is a felt inner experience of the entire personality. Religious experience is of a Self-certifying character. Religious faith is not a matter of blind acceptance religious experience is stated and confirmed in intellectual terms.
Faith is a matter of spiritual conviction. Hinduism admits points of view other than its own. Devine relation is not the prerogative of any individual or community. It is available to all. This truth has been recognized in Hinduism. Hinduism does not characterize ideas about God as true or false. It recognizes the fact that mankind seeks god at different levels and in different directions. It is appreciative of human effort to seek God. Hinduism has graded different levels of worship. Hindu saints see God in the self and not in images. Temples and religious centers alone should not be counted to be the places of prayer and worship. They should become capable of providing spiritual direction to the Hindus.
In the second chapter “Conflict of Religions: the Hindu Attitude” Radhakrishnan explains how every group within the Hindu fold is allowed to enjoy its freedom and preserve its individuality. It is not the group that we belong to that counts. What matters are we and our evolution. Hinduism calls upon everyone to think clearly and steadily about the ultimate purpose and mystery of life. It does not seek to interfere with the individual’s way of thinking .it makes allowances for errors of judgment and weakness of understanding. It does not lay down a single uniform method nor does it seek to establish a stereotyped system of belief and worship.
A known fact of Hinduism is that it has no common creed and it has not prescribed a uniform system of worship. The early Aryans' worship consisted of the worship of forces of Nature. This gives a way to imagine worship. Hindu worship is primarily an individual act rather than a communal one, as it involves making personal offerings to the deity. Worshippers repeat the names of their favourite gods and goddesses and repeat mantras. Water, fruit, flowers, and incense are offered to god.
The third chapter “Hindu Dharma” is a discussion of the two aspects of Hinduism, the philosophical and the practical. There are two sides to Hinduism, the philosophical and the practical. Some objections to the conceptions of Hindu epics are raised. Ethical system and relations are dismissed as irrelevant in view of the doctrine of Maya which repudiates the reality of the world. Radhakrishnan says that the Upanishads emphasize the relative reality of the phenomenal world. All things in the world are of value as they contribute to the realization of the self. Eswara (Lord Shiva) held the world as Maya. The real will qualify to be called real only when it is exempt from all change and is ever-enduring. The ultimate purpose of life is liberation from the cycles – birth –death – rebirth.
Coming to the practical side of Hinduism, Radhakrishna says that Hinduism is merely a way of life rather than from a thought. Life according to Hinduism is regulated against a four-fold scale -Dharma, (righteousness), -Artha, (wealth)- Kaama (Desire)- and Moksha,(Spiritual Freedom). It will be seen that Artha and Kaamaare interposed between Dharma and Moksha, suggesting that the fulfillment of material needs is subject to Dharma and final goal of life is spiritual liberation.
The fourth chapter Hindu Dharma-II focuses on the caste system in India. Though the caste system has been exploited and is a symbol of exclusiveness, it was originally designed to foster cooperation, tolerance, and trust. The institution of caste is man-made and has no divine sanction. It is meant to regulate social function. The caste system is based on the principle of division of function. Each caste has its social purpose, its code, and tradition. Each group enjoys freedom in matters of food, customs, marriage etc. The foster castes, –Bramhana, Kshathtiya Vaisya, and Sudhara were not meant to work at cross purposes. They were meant to form part of an organic whole. Thus the complementary character of the caste system was emphasized.
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