- Teachers’ Day is a special day for the appreciation of teachers.
- Traditionally, in India Guru Purnima is observed as a day to venerate teachers but since 1962 the birthday of the second president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (5th September) is also celebrated as Teacher’s Day.
- World Teachers’ Day: On 5th October, established by UNESCO in 1994.
Why Do We Celebrate Guru Purnima?
- Guru Purnima is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan by the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists on the full moon day in Ashadh (July-August).
- According to Hindu traditions, on this day Ved Vyas (author of Mahabharata) was born; thus this day is also celebrated as Vyasa Purnima. Also it is said that Guru Purnima was the day that saw Shiva become the Adi Guru, or the first Guru by transmitting knowledge of Yogas to Sapt Rishis.
- According to Jain traditions, Mahavira (24th Tirthankaras) got his first disciple Gautham Swami on this day. In honour of Lord Mahavira and Other gurus after him, people practicing Jainism have celebrated this day after since.
- As per Buddhists, Guru Purnima is celebrated to commemorate the first ceremon of Gautam Buddha at Sarnath after his enlightenment.
Then why do We Celebrate Teachers Day on 5th September?
- When Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishan took the office of the second President of India in 1962, his students approached him to seek permission to celebrate September 5 as a special day.
- Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan instead made a request for them to observe September 5 as Teachers’ Day, to recognise the contribution of teachers to the society.
- The opinion of Dr. Radhakrishnan for the teachers was that the right kind of education could solve many ills of society and the country.
Information About Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan:
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is one of the most inspiring teachers and educators in the history of India. The first Vice President and the second President of the country was a reputed educator. Dr. Radhakrishnan taught Philosophy at Madras Presidency College, University of Mysore, University of Calcutta and University of Oxford. He was also a lecturer in comparative religion at the University of Chicago. On September 5 every year, we mark his birth anniversary as Teachers’ Day. The day gives us an occasion to acknowledge the importance of teachers in our lives. On this day, as Indians pay tribute to Dr Radhakrishnan, we also express gratitude to all the teachers who have played a role in shaping our future.
- Born: 5 Sep 1988
- Died: 17 April 1975
- When India became independent in 1947, Sarvepalli represented India at UNESCO (1946–52) and was later Ambassador of India to the Soviet Union, from 1949 to 1952.
- He was also elected to the Constituent Assembly of India.
- Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was elected as the first Vice-President of India (1952-1962), and elected as the second President of India (1962–1967).
- He received his Knighthood in 1931.
- He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954.
- Sarvepalli tried to bridge eastern and western thought, defending Hinduism against “uninformed Western criticism”, but also incorporating Western philosophical and religious thought.
- He was nominated sixteen times for the Nobel prize in literature, and eleven times for the Nobel Peace Prize.
- He is the only President of India who could not attend the Delhi Republic Day Parade due to his ill health.
- He served as the professor of philosophy at Mysore(1918-21) and Calcutta(1937-41) universities.
- He wrote 16 books in total, mostly on Hindu philosophies and was nominated multiple times for the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize as well. Some books are as follows : The Philosophy of Ravindranath Tagore, An Idealistic view of Life, Indian Philosophy, Eastern Religions & Western Thoughts etc.
Golden Words of Dr. Radhakrishnan
- When we think we know, we cease to learn.
- The worst sinner has a future, even as the greatest saint has had a past. No one is so good or bad as he imagines.
- God lives, feels and suffers in every one of us, and in course of time, his attributes, knowledge, beauty and love will be revealed in each of us.
- Man is a paradoxical being — the constant glory and scandal of this world.
- God is the soul of all souls – The Supreme Soul – The Supreme Consciousness.
- True teachers are those who help us think for ourselves.
- Teachers should be the best minds in the country.
- We need not seek a cause or a motive or a purpose for that which is, in its nature, eternally self-existent and free.
- The ultimate self is free from sin, free from old age, free from death and grief, free from hunger and thirst, which desires nothing and imagines nothing.
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