Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/03/2026 - 10/03/2026
9:30 am - 6:30 pm
Location
Seminar Hall
Categories
Two days International Seminar on
“Darshana of Radhakrishnan: Eternal and Temporal”
scheduled on 09-10 March 2026
Concept Note
Sixty Years ago, Radhakrishnan gifted Rashtrapati Niwas to Indian Institute of Advanced Study which indeed is the crowning glory of his generosity and magnanimity. Needless to mention, IIAS is a premium Institute in higher research in the country.
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a seminal thinker; a visionary darsanika; a virtuoso orator; a writer with stylish vigour; an indefatigable translator and commentator and a prophetic soul. Added to this were the worthy intervention in public affair: the staunch patriot, the constructive educational administrator, the ambassador who won confidence in what was thought to be an un-congenial atmosphere, and finally the dignified presence for 15 years in Delhi as Vice President and then the President of India.
His reading of Hindu view of life provided the base for his Darsana of ideal of the way of life. His efforts to interpret Hindu dharma and restore its vitality promoted social concern and action. His conviction that Hindu Darsana at its best stood for a Dharma of the spirit which encompassed all routes to the same goal prepared the ground for spiritual bridges and world unity. The Darshan of Radhakrishnan is partly interpretative and partly constructive. It is both analytical and synthetic in its approach. He combines in him the ‘holy fervour’ of the philosopher of the contemporary period, he tends to dominate the world-thought through his deep conviction in the spiritual unity of mankind. He is of the opinion that there is one common purpose which runs through all apparent diversities of human existence. His vision of the universal spirit behind all human phenomena renders a new faith in man and infuses a new confidence in him. He believes in everything human and delights in the kinship of the spirit. Radhakrishnan presupposes of faiths, mental unity running through the entire gamut of great men. As a philosopher of life, he rejects the unwanted metaphysics and attempts to solve the day-to-day problems of life. Radhakrishnan’s Darshana is an inquiry into the nature of man, his origin and destiny. It is not a mere logical investigation of the particular phenomenon nor is it a verbal generalisation of the world as a whole. On the other hand, it seeks to give a general synthesis, taking particular groups into consideration. It even studies the individual instances with great care. Thus, it is a blend of both ‘instant’ and ‘abstract’, ‘particular’ and the ‘general’. Radhakrishnan sees life from inside as much as he contemplates the worlds form outside.
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Radhakrishnan is hailed universally as the greatest Darshanik-statesman of India. He is not only considered as the exponent of Hindu thought tradition but is viewed as the great world-champion of Dharma and Darsana in general. He firmly believes that spiritual souls can alone save the present man from ever-increasing miseries. The moral and the spiritual values are the dynamic forces of the universe. This is the Absolute Idealism of Radhakrishnan. According to him, no system can be substituted for the moral or spiritual ideal of man. Naturalism, humanism, materialism, pragmatism etc., cannot serve the cause of humanity. They are one-sided views of life.
Radhakrishnan owes so much to traditional Indian thought that he is rightly called as the ‘theologian of Human’ by Swami Aghedananda Bharati. In this living philosopher of India we witness the beginning of Renaissances. If we closely study his system which he himself calls ‘absolute idealism’ we discover many of the Upanishadic truths developed in the most original way. The conception of one Ultimate Reality associated with the ideas of ‘grace’ ‘intuitive experience’ and ‘self-realisation’ based on ‘self-surrender’ assumes an original status in the philosophy of Sarvepalli. The traditional Hindu ideals of elimination of misery from the affairs of men by selfless service are also the constituent elements of his system. Again, the metaphysical idea that both man and the universe are but the same expressions of the one ‘divine spirit’ called ‘Paramatman’ is also prominent in his idealistic metaphysics. To quote “Sa Mahatma Sudurlabhah (Geeta. 7.19), this statement of Geeta has been translated by Radhakrishnan as “Such a great soul is very difficult to find” which can be applied to Radhakrishnan himself and it almost is like an autobiographical statement”.
Radhakrishnan brought together two powerful living forces- pride in the past and faith in the future of Bharata. His work not only shows the influence of thought of other times and places, but is of interest to men and women everywhere even today.
This is the year wherein the Institute is celebrating its 60th Year, the writings of Radhakrishnan spanned for 60 Years and his works (critical, translated, edited) outnumber 60. In this background, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study is planning to have a two-day National Seminar on the “Darshan of Radhakrishnan : Eternal and Temporal”.
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The Sub-themes of the Seminar are:-
1. Radhakrishnan as a blend of Eastern Religions and Western Thought.
2. Humanism of Radhakrishnan
3. An overview of Educational thoughts of Radhakrishnan
4. Vedanta and doctrine of Maya, according to Radhakrishnan
5. As an interpreter of various Darshanas
6. Radhakrishnan as a World Teacher
7. Radhakrishnan’s thoughts on future of Civilization
8. Radhakrishnan’s thoughts on Hindu view of life
9. Radhakrishnan as an administrator and his foreign policy
10. Radhakrishnan as a translator with special reference to Bhagwad Gita
11. Radhakrishnan’s concept of Man
The luster of Radhakrishnan’s life has made him a legend in his native India and an honoured memory in the West. His words on intercultural understanding and world brotherhood for peace will resound through the ages. The prominent feature of our time is not so much the wars and dictatorships which have disfigured it, but the impact of different cultures on one another, their interaction and the emergence of a new civilization based on the truths of the spirit and the unity of mankind which is the need of the hour and hence in this background the two-day National Seminar on the “Darshana of Radhakrishnan : Eternal and Temporal” will be utmost significance for posterity.
The scholars who have done extensive study on Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan are invited to share their wisdom with full papers. This National Seminar is a owned venture of Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
To commemorate the 60th year of Indian Institute of Advanced Study, the Institute is organizing a Two-day International Seminar on “Darshan of Radhakrishnan: Eternal and Temporal” during the month of March 2026. We are pleased to invite you as one of our esteemed speakers in the IIAS owned International Seminar. In this context it is requested to submit the abstract of your paper by 07th February and the full paper by 20th February 2026. Guidelines for submission along with the concept note and themes are annexed for your kind information.
We are sure that your kind consent and participation will benefit the academic fraternity.
Call for Papers
A limited number of scholars of repute are invited for the IIAS owned Seminar. Those interested in participating should send (preferably by email) an abstract (300 words) of the proposed paper in English along with their C.V. (One page) directly to Convenor Dr. S. Ranganath Email: ranganath.sampatoor@gmail.com and co-convener Dr. Muktikant Mohanty, Email: mohanty.mukti@rediffmail.com and copy to the Academic Resource Officer, Indian institute of Advanced Study, Shimla on his Email seminar@iias.ac.in Tel: 0177-2831385 The abstract should clearly state the objectives, methodology, and relevance of the proposed paper including 4–6 keywords. The last date for submission of abstracts is 07th February 2026 by 05:00 PM. The Institute intends to send Invitation letters to selected participants by the 15th February, 2026. It is the policy of the Institute to publish the papers not proceedings of the seminars it organizes. Hence, all invited participants will be expected to submit complete papers (in English), hitherto unpublished and original, with citations in place, along with a reference section, to the Convener and copy to the Academic Resource Officer, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla– 171005 by 20th February, 2026.
Guidelines for submission Font- Times New Roman Font Size- 12 Paragraph spacing- 1.5
Bibliographical References
Bibliographical references should be in a consistent style. For detailed instructions we refer to either of the following 3 books: The Chicago Manual of Style, Hart’s Rules, or Butcher’s Copy-editing. Please cross-check references to see that each reference makes sense and matches the relevant bit in the main text.
Books
Single Author
Chaudhuri, Amit, Afternoon Raag, London: Heinemann, 1993. p72.
Surname, First name, Title of Book, Place of Publication: Publisher, (date) and page.
Multiple Authors
Basu, Tapan, Pradip Datta, Sumit Sarkar, Tanika Sarkar, and Sambuddha Sen, Khaki Shorts Saffron Flags (Tracts for the Times/1), Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 1993 and page.
Surname of first Author, First name of first Author and First name of second Author, Surname of second Author etc., Title of Book, Place of Publication: Publisher, (date) and page.
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Edited Volume
Single author
George, K.M. (ed.), Modern Indian Literature: An Anthology, Plays and Prose, Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1994 and page.
Multiple authors
Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin (eds), The Empire Writes Back [1989], London and New York: Routledge, 1995 and page.
Translated Volume
Kemal, Yasher (trans. from Turkish by Thilda Kemal), The Wind form the Plain [1960], London: Harvill Press, 1989 and page.
Paper in Edited Volume
Single Author and Single Editor
Masselos, J.C., ‘The Khojas of Bombay: The Defining of Formal Membership Criteria During the Nineteenth Century’, in Caste and Social Stratification among the Muslims, Imtiaz Ahmad (ed.), Delhi: Manohar Book Service, 1973.
Surname, First name of Author, ‘Title of Paper’, in Title of Book, First name of Editor Surname of Editor (ed.), Place of Publication: Publisher, (date) and page.
Single Authors and Multiple Editors
Salomon, C., ‘The cosmogonic riddles of Lalan Faqir’, in Gender, Genre and Power in South Asian Expressive Traditions, A. Appadurai, F. Korom, and M. Mills (eds), Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991 and page.
Surname of Author, First name of Author, ‘Title of Paper’, in Title of Book, First name of first Editor Surname of first Editor and First name of second Editor Surname of second Editor (eds), Place of Publication: Publisher, (date) and page.
Paper in Journal
Single Author
Bouiller, V., ‘The Nepalese State and Gorakhnathi Yogis: The Case of the Former Kingdoms of Dang Valley, 18th-19th Centuries’, Contribution to Nepalese Studies, 20 (1), 1993, pp. 29-52.
Surname, first name, ‘Title of Paper’, Name of Journal, Volume number (Issue number), (date), pp. 000-0.
Multiple Authors
Murty, M. N. and R. Ray, ‘A Computational Procedure for Calculating Optimal Commodity Taxes with Illustrative Evidence from Indian Budget Data’, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 91(4), 1989, pp.655-70.
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Surname of first Author, First name of first Author and First name of second Author Surname of second Author, ‘Title of Paper’, Name of Journal, Volume number (Issue number), (date), pp. 000-0.
Paper in Edited Journal
Single author
Gaborieau, Marc, ‘Life-Cycle Ceremonies among Converted Muslims in Nepal and Northern India’, in Islam in Asia, Yohanan Friedmann (ed.), vol. I, South Asia, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1984 and page.
Unpublished Papers/Mimeographs/Discussion Papers/Working Papers
Chander, P. and L. Wide, ‘Corruption and Tax Compliance’, mimeo, New Delhi: Indian Statistical Institute, 1989.
Surname of first Author, First name of first Author and First name of second Author Surname of second Author (1991), ‘Title of Paper’, mimeo, Place: Organization, (date).
Newspaper: Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper (City and Province/State of Publication, if not Included in Name), Date of Publication. https://doi.org/DOI Number or Name of Database.
Website/URL:
With author:
Author Last Name, First Name. “Page Title.” Website Name, Month Day, Year. URL.
Example: Schallhorn, Cathlyn. “Chicago.” Britannica, December 17, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/place/Chicago
Full Note: First Name Last Name, “Page Title,” Website Name, Month Day, Year, URL.
o Example: 1. Jack Caulfield, “A Step-by-Step Guide to the Writing Process,” Scribbr, April 24, 2020, https://www.scribbr.com/academic-writing/writing-process/
If there is no author or date:
Bibliography: “Title of Page.” Website Name, accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
o Example: “About the UvA.” University of Amsterdam, accessed July 24, 2018. http://www.uva.nl/en/about-the-uva
Full Note: “Title of Page,” Website Name, accessed Month Day, Year, URL.
o Example: 1. “Catholic News Agency,” accessed March 25, 2025, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/
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Citing blog posts and blogs
Citing blog posts and blogs Blog posts are cited like—quotation marks; the title of the blog, in italics; the date of the post; and a URL. Blogs that are part of a larger…clear from the titles, the word blog may be added in parentheses after the title of the blog. Blog posts can often be cited in…2. William Germano, “Futurist Shock,” Lingua Franca (blog), Chronicle of Higher Education, February 15, 2017, https://www…
News sites and blogs
News sites and blogs Titles of news websites and blogs, like the titles of newspapers and other…along with the title. Titles of articles and blog posts should be placed in quotation marks (untitled posts…Wasted Food; “Food Waste Stump Speech,” in Wasted Food, a blog by Jonathan Bloom Huff Post; “The Best and Worst…
Titles for websites, blogs, and social media
Titles for websites, blogs, and social media Whether they are mentioned in the text or…quotation marks) may be used for generic or descriptive titles. Blogs are treated like periodicals, their titles set in italics…Merriam-Webster.com CMOS Shop Talk; the Shop Talk blog YouTube. The IIAS, Shimla will be glad to extend its hospitality during the seminar period and will reimburse, rail or air travel (economy class) expenses from the place of current residence in India, or the port of arrival in India, and back. Kindly ensure booking of tickets through IRCTC/Ashoka Travels/Blamer & Lawrie as per Govt. of India specifications.
Looking forward for your kind consent at the earliest.
Prof. Himanshu Kumar Chaturvedi
Director, IIAS, Shimla
Dr. S Ranganth
Convenor
E-mail- ranganath.sampatoor@gmail.com
Mob. No.- 9886290420
Dr. Muktikant Mohanty
Co-convenor
E-mail- mohanty.mukti@rediffmail.com
Mob. No.- 9438448694