News Release
SGI President Daisaku Ikeda Passes Away
Daisaku Ikeda, Honorary President of the Soka Gakkai and President of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), passed away due to old age at his residence in Shinjuku, Tokyo, on the evening of November 15. He was ninety-five.
President Ikeda was born in Tokyo on January 2, 1928. He was inaugurated as third President of the Soka Gakkai in 1960 and for almost two decades led the lay Buddhist movement in dynamic growth that also saw important international development. He became Soka Gakkai International (SGI) President in 1975 and Soka Gakkai Honorary President in 1979. He is survived by his wife Kaneko and his sons Hiromasa and Takahiro.
From the Chairperson’s Desk
Within each individual lies an infinite power and potential, which when channelized in the right manner, can steer our life as well as the society at large in the right direction. Our mind holds the entire power. in that sense, winning over self, over our mind is paramount.
As Rabindranath Tagore once said, “Most people believe the mind to be a mirror, more or less accurately reflecting the world outside them, not realizing on the contrary that the mind is itself the principal element of creation.”
How then can we win over ourselves and develop a strong mind of hope and victory?
It is here that a sangha, a community plays a crucial role. We all need a place where we can be ourselves, but simultaneously, also learn to be the best versions of ourselves. Where we can find people who are on a similar journey as us, and we inspire them, and they inspire us.
Bharat Soka Gakkai is such a community of believers, where each member keeps working on their own selves, while at the same time, supporting fellow members to eradicate disbelief from each of their life. It is a community of hope, where we refuse to give up, and inspire and encourage each other through innovative ways to achieve all our dreams and goals. It is also a community of creating change, where each member strives to develop an altruistic sense of self to contribute to our societies, and create a world which we are proud to live in.
As individuals feel empowered, they work joyfully to create value in society. ‘Soka’ means ‘value creation’. Therefore, at the heart of everything we do in BSG is to encourage individuals to lead lives for the betterment of society. We are striving to build a stronger, better world by creating value through one-on-one fostering and care, and engaging in peace, culture, education and sustainability focused activities.
As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in this world.”
Our members’ journey starts with the self and moves to the society.
We at Bharat Soka Gakkai are empowering as many individuals as we can and support them in their journey to bring out the infinite potential of their life, while at the same time, unleashing this power of the common person to affect a lasting change in society. Each person holds the key to create value, to hand build the society we can all be proud of.
Warm regards,
Vishesh Gupta, BSG Chairperson
UPCOMING EVENT
- 6th August 2023
- BSG Headquarters, New Delhi*
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About the Founding Presidents of Soka Gakkai
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871–1944) was the first President of the Soka Gakkai. He was a pioneering educator, author, and philosopher. He founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Society for Value-Creating Education), the forerunner of the Soka Gakkai on November 18, 1930, together with his closest disciple Josei Toda...
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Josei Toda (1900–58) was an educator, author, and entrepreneur. As the second president of the Soka Gakkai, he revived the organization after World War II, building it into a dynamic, popular movement...
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Daisaku Ikeda (born on 2nd January 1928), is a peacebuilder, Buddhist philosopher, educator, author and poet. He is also an avid photographer with a particular love of scenic landscapes and natural beauty. He is the third president of the Soka Gakkai – a lay Buddhist organization in Japan, and the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI). He is a recipient of over 400 honorary doctorates from around the world, including 20 from educational institutions in India...
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SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s
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WORDS OF WISDOM
" True love should be transformative, a process that amplifies our capacity to cherish not just one person but all people. It can make us stronger, lift us higher and deepen us as individuals. Yet, in the end, we can only partner with those befitting ourselves. The same is true of friendship. Only to the extent that one polishes oneself now can one hope to develop wonderful bonds of the heart in the future. "Daisaku Ikeda
