Daisaku Ikeda and a global Buddhist movement

He's considered the natural successor of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr for his lifelong dedication to the principles of non-violence and compassion and is a spiritual leader who advocates the principle of Human Revolution. Daisaku Ikeda leads a worldwide movement of Buddhism in 192 countries across the globe with the key principle that a great human revolution (change for the better) in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further, will enable a change in the destiny of humankind. And for 12 million lay Buddhists across the globe, at 87, Ikeda is a mentor and a father figure.

As a Japanese citizen who witnessed the defeat of Japan in WWII and someone who lost his older brother, house and opportunity to get an education during the Great War, Ikeda met and was tutored by his mentor Josei Toda. Toda had fiercely opposed the militarist Japanese authorities and had been imprisoned at the height of WWII as a result. As a 19 year-old youth Ikeda was looking for the right way to live after the defeat and disillusionment of the war, and Toda, who after his release from prison was building a new movement, led him unerringly to Buddhism. Ikeda as a youth suffered acute ill health and tuberculosis, and in the course of time, found himself rejuvenated both physically and spiritually, which he consistently ascribes to the power of the philosophy he follows.
  
The Soka Gakkai the lay Buddhist organisation which had been reduced to near nothingness during the war, in the course of 13 years after 1945 reached the significant number of 750,000 households under Toda. What Ikeda has done in the subsequent nearly 60 years has been to multiply the membership several times over until it is a growing organisation of over 12 million individuals who have sometimes risen over unimaginable sufferings in their personal lives. In effect they have  demonstrated in their respective societies is that the process of Human Revolution most often leads to victories over personal adversity while at the same time also establishing societal prosperity.
 
Unlike a seclusionary form of Buddhism, Soka Gakkai Buddhists actively engage in society, with the call to work on their inner selves as well as their outer environments. From fighting against discrimination, working for better interpersonal relations within their families and in the outside world, and reversing the tide of environmental degradation, to issues too personal to mention, Soka Gakkai Buddhists believe that their chanting can improve anything. Following it up with action based on  principles of universal humanity and justice, they are engaged in reviving that most important quality of humanity that stresses the sanctity of each and every single living being and the immense power that lies within him/her.   
  
It is a movement that prides itself on being a grass roots phenomenon but it has now taken hold among all sections of society, celebrities included. From musicians Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter to actors Orlando Bloom, Kate Bosworth and singer Tina Turner to local tinseltown celebrities like Tisca Chopra, Shweta Kawatra and Ishita Arun all profess dedicated faith in the principle that transforming oneself from within is the key step in transforming one's environment and indeed all of humanity. As Ikeda writes "Through an inner, spiritual transformation individuals can awaken to a genuine sense of the sanctity of life. This counters the disregard and mistrust for life that is at the root of what is wrong in contemporary society. In terms of the individual, Mr Toda explained it this way: 'Human revolution isn't something special or out of the ordinary. It could be as simple as someone who had been lazy and uninspired becoming enthused and committed. Or someone who hadn't been interested in learning putting themselves into their studies. Or a person who has struggled with poverty becoming more stable and comfortable in their life. Human revolution is a change in a person's basic orientation in life. And it is the transformation in awareness caused by Buddhist practice that makes that possible.'"

The author is a spiritual writer with dna