Greetings

N. Radhakrishnan

AT the outset let me congratulate the Institute of Oriental Philosophy
on organizing this very important joint symposium on two of thegreatest men of our time who have been promoting peace and nonviolence—Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Daisaku Ikeda. They both claimed
with single-minded devotion that life on this earth will become impossible if we do not cultivate tolerance, respect, promote coexistence andtake care of nature. These concerns form the core of the teachings of thegreat Shakyamuni Buddha and later Nichiren Daishonin, and much later
Gandhi and now Dr. Daisaku Ikeda in his relentless pursuit for worldpeace.
The very fact that the Institute of Oriental Philosophy took this initiative of organizing a joint symposium on the occasion of Dr. G.
Ramachandran’s birth centenary shows the institute’s commitment topeace, and Soka Gakkai’s strivings to promote values and Soka Gakkai
International’s endeavors to world peace and our own concerns for what
is happening around us.
On behalf of the five friends who came with me from India, let me
thank the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, and more its great founder,
Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, before whom I bow my head in reverence for all
what he is doing to promote peace, happiness all over the world and tosend the message of brilliance of life everywhere.
I would like to make a few observations before we go into any serious
discussion. This time, I do not have a prepared speech or notes for myspeech. I thought I should look at your face and talk to you on what ishappening around us and what each one of us could do to enrich thequality of life.
When I look at what is happening around, two figures come to mymind. The first figure is certainly Mahatma Gandhi and the second isDr. Daisaku Ikeda. My road to Gandhi was through Dr. Ramachandranand my father. I had the privilege to associate myself with Dr.
Ramachandran for over 28 years in the University that he founded in
the name of Gandhi at Gandhigram in Madurai in South India. And162

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even after he retired from the University and founded the MadhaviMandiram Loka Seva Trust in his hometown I continued my association
with this great Gandhi disciple. He was a revolutionary thinker, activist
and founder of several institutions. There are several centers which hefounded where young men and women are taught and trained particularly
to be humane. Dr. Ramachandran did not want education to become
only a process of accumulation of knowledge. He advocated “educationfor life, education through life, and education by life.”
Ramachandran comes very close to the founder of Soka Gakkai,
Makiguchi Tsunesaburo Sensei, who advocated an unique system ofeducation for young men and women which will enable them to look at
the realities of life and make them fit instruments of empowerment, fit
instruments of society for transformation. If we need change, if we needtransformation, if we want awakening, we have to make individuals fit
instruments of ahimsa, compassion and love. Long ago, Shakyamuni
Buddha gave us this message. There are no higher virtues than nonviolence that is ahimsa. Ahimsa, in the true sense of the term also indicatesunbounded love.
Ramachandran was a student of Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate. He had the great privilege of being taught and trained by two of
the greatest geniuses of that time—Tagore and Gandhi. As a student
under Tagore, Ramachandran imbibed methods to control temper bysuch political insights which are unique, while economical, social concerns and attitudes were shaped, to a large extent, by Gandhi.
So he became inclusively an advocate of two visions of life, and twovisions of education—education for life, education for revolution andeducation for liberation. This was in sharp contrast to the concept ofeducation for bookish knowledge. The university Dr. Ramachandran
started in Gandhigram in South India was the center where he put allthese insights and experiences and visions which he got from Tagoreand Gandhi. And even today, this center continues to be the greatest,
ideal and most dedicated center of rural reconstruction and women’s
education in India. Tagore’s and Gandhi’s vision of change through education is realized here.
Now, we will come back to the present time. I see a great similarity
between Gandhi’s and Soka Gakkai’s vision of social change. As ascholar and a writer, as well as a teacher, I have been seriously trying toanalyse these two world visions. The Soka Gakkai, which was foundedon the basis of the vision of the 13 century seer, Nichiren Daishonin
who held the revolutionary vision that religion is not something
divorced from life has been upholding this position of the Daishonin

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over the last 75 years since its inception. Religion is a foundation, it is aspring out of which everything that we need to remain humane should
come.
Education should give us what we need to make our life worth living.
Education is not for some people to research and write books or takedegrees. Degrees would help us, diplomas would help us, certification
would help us. But then, we should be able to go beyond degrees anddiplomas. There is the life, the hard but beautiful life beyond degrees
and diplomas. That is the very reality that we are all interrelated.
If you want to discover humanity, you and I should go beyond. We
should learn and practice the art of respecting all forms of life, as theBuddhist edicts insist. And most beautiful thing about human life is thereality of diversity. Unfortunately, the one thing that is missing today inmodern, globalized, mechanized, and industrialized technologicallytuned society is this awareness.
Gandhi realized this even as earlier as 1904 when he started his activity in South Africa. He believed that a machine based civilization will bevery dangerous thing for humanity. He wanted human concerns in conformity with the cosmic law become the focus of all changes. He said
science and technology should aid humanity in improving its conditions.
Mankind should continue to be the master of them, instead of being consigned to a subordinate role.
But how can we do it unless we bring spirituality, morality, ethics andconcern for human being in the larger context of our life in harmony
with nature in the center of all over strivings? We should have a newattitude, a new humanism. I am happy to see that fortunately these are
the chief concerns of Soka Gakkai, particularly with the present SGI
President, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, whom all of us call with respect and affection “Ikeda Sensei.”
As a student as well as a writer, I have observed commendable similarities between Gandhi’s vision of social change, Gandhi’s vision ofeducation and Gandhi’s vision of the human being as instruments ofchange and Dr. Ikeda’s strivings to interpret Nichiren’s teachings in thecontext of the emerging scenario. I have been deeply studying about theSoka Gakkai’s philosophy and education principles and practice. AndDr. Ikeda has been in the forefront of a series of highly commendable
initiatives to promote values. Gandhi’s vision and Soka Gakkai’s movement appear to be two great liberating forces.
Ramachandran started fighting against oppression, against injustice,even when he was a student of Shanti Niketan under Tagore. Right fromhis childhood young Ramachandran respected the equality of sexes.

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Once at Shantiniketan he said in a speech to a group of students, “I loveeverything here. But I don’t understand why men should feel that they
are superior to women.” All his life, Dr. Ramachandran strove to promote gender equality and initiating welfare activities for women
empowerment was the core of his major concerns. Three persons whoinfluenced him in this are Gandhi, Gandhi’s wife Kasturba and his own
saintly mother, Madhavi Thankachi.
Respecting women and offering equal opportunities to them havebeen the bases of the Gandhian philosophy. Treating women as equals
and empowering them to stand up and face courageously the challengesof everyday life have become the focus of this endeavor. Gandhi said
that education philosophy and social activities for women are very
important. In Gandhi’s words the quality of a society can be seen not in
its technological advancement, nor in its material progress, or in its tallbuildings, but in the freedom that women enjoy in its society. He wastrying to liberate women from the clutches of age-old prejudices. I see
the same concern with the Soka Gakkai. Even in today’s symposium, I
see more women than men. Yesterday I had a meeting at which about
80% of the participants were women. In April, when I visited SouthAmerica, I had occasions to talk at three or four places, the halls werefull of women.
Gandhi believed that the only way if you want to make social changea reality and make revolution possible is to encourage women, trustthem and give them leadership. In the Centuries we have left behind
men have been leading, in the 21 century let women be leaders. In myplace, my home, my wife and my mother manage the home, take care of
us much better than the way my father and myself could imagine.
Dr. Ikeda’s commitment to women’s empowerment takes him closer
to Gandhi. It is something I always admire and respect in Dr. Ikeda.
Another important aspect that connects Gandhi and Ikeda is how theyviewed social change as such. Both played the role of liberators. If youwant to play the role of a liberator, you have to liberate yourself. We areall victims of prejudice, hatred, our own egoism, our own philosophy.
How many of us consider that life is the most precious gift? There isnothing more precious than life. So in order to be a liberators, we haveto realize the value of life.
Gandhi started his fight on social and political issues. He wanted theBritish people who were ruling India get out of India and leave India toIndians. But at the same time, please understand, Gandhi was educating
Indians also to respect those people who were ruling India. He said, “I
don’t want freedom of India over the blood of the poor English people

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who are in India as bread-earners for their familities. My fight is directed to educate the English as well as the Indians. My fight is directed totell the English people: look here, this is not your country, England is
your Country. Go back. You go back peacefully.” At the same time, hetold, “Look here, these poor British people who are here should not beharmed. You become conscious of your rights, create such situation, you
educate yourself, you try to become responsible citizens. By that time,the English people will feel that it is impossible to continue ruling India,
they will go.”
The Bible teaches “Hate the evil, hate not the evil-doer.” Evil is to beisolated and fought. But evil doer is an instrument. Sometimes evil doer
does not know what he is doing. So separate the evil from the evil doer,
you hate the evil, but not the evil doer. Because the evil doer is also ahuman being, and the creation of the ultimate reality, the God, the creator. That is something fantastic. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who cameto know how Gandhi was reinterpreting some of these concepts said, “I
have never seen better explanation of the principle of the Bible moresuitably than this.” That is how Martin Luther King became a great
admirer of Gandhi. In American continent, he adapted Gandhian practices in his fight for civil liberties.
I see in contemporary times, Soka Gakkai is doing the same thing intheir understanding of the principle of nonviolence for social action. ToSoka Gakkai, and to Buddhists in general, nonviolence is not anything
new. Nonviolence and their faith in the concept of ahimsa is an integral
part of the total philosophy of the Buddhist vision of life. Respect forlife, respect for nature and keenness for developing a social order basedon justice and equality are the corner stones of the Buddhist philosophy.
When Gandhi started his campaign for freedom and justice by educating people, he knew one thing very clearly. He found the biggest obstacles coming from orthodoxy represented by those who have hijacked
religion for their agenda. Priests particularly believed that religion was
their personal property. They have made religion as prison houses.
Gandhi realized that religion should be released, liberated from theclutches of the priests. And religion must be made a fit instrument ofsocial change. It has to become the institute of common people. Do you
think priests would allow that? No priests. Gandhi had to face quite a lotof opposition. But he was optimistic. Optimism is the highest virtue forany human beings. Gandhi fought courageously. Ultimately Gandhi
gained the Victory.
In Japan also, I know, Soka Gakkai leadership has been trying to liberate religion from the priests and make it an institution of the common

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people. And I hope the SGI, Soka Gakkai, and all of you will be victorious just like Gandhi was victorious. And I wish you all success.
This joint symposium is a great step towards the understanding of thecontribution of great champions of peace like Dr. Ramachandran and Dr.
Daisaku Ikeda. We pray for them and let me wish you best of luck.
Thank you for listening in patience.