MONIKA KIRLOSKAR-STEINBACH TOLERATION IN MODERN LIBERAL DISCOURSE WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO RADHAKRISHNAN’S TOLERANT HINDUISM If we take any philosopher as a guru, if we treat his works as gospel, if we make of his teaching a religion complete with dogma and exegesis, we may become members of the congregation of the faithful, but we will not possess the openness of mind essential for a critical understanding of the master’s views. The true teacher helps us to think for ourselves in the new situations which arise (Radhakrishnan in Schilpp 1952: 8). Hindu toleration has been analysed from many perspectives. To name just a few: With their Roman Catholic backgrounds, writers like Halbfass (1981) and Oberhammer (1983) tried to trace inclusive Hindu toleration back to contacts external to the Hindu culture. Leftists like Thapar (1989) have attempted to ascertain whether Hindu toleration can be backed up by its history. More recently, Hatcher (1994) tries to contextualise the slogans used in what he calls Hindu humanism. This paper does not purport to stand in this tradition. Rather, it sets itself a smaller goal. It concentrates on an examination of arguments used to underline Hindu toleration by one individual, namely Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. This paper tries to show that there is a shift in the meaning of toler- ation. The traditional meaning of toleration, understood as endurance, is giving way to a more positive understanding of the concept. This is because the traditional meaning of toleration ill-fits with values like the intrinsic worth of human beings, universal rights, etc. Especially in pluralistic societies, endurance of the Other is becoming increas- ingly unacceptable; minorities and their defendants demand respect, acceptance, and appreciation of the Other. The first section delivers a framework of the general meaning of liberal toleration. Here, the shift in meaning will be highlighted. In the second section, I will try to situate Radhakrishnan’s views within this debate. 1 TOLERATION IN MODERN LIBERAL DISCOURSE 2 Toleration is a disposition of a person to endure or suffer something towards which she has a negative attitude. When the tolerator is confronted with diverging ideas or opinions, which she holds to be Journal of Indian Philosophy 30: 389–402, 2002. c  2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.