Lasting Peace through Education and Dialogue
Dr. M. S. Swaminathan
former president of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
This year [2010] marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. Daisaku Ikeda's inauguration as President of the Soka Gakkai. Dr. Ikeda's role as President of this organization, committed to peace and human security, marks the beginning of a new era in human history. Dr. Ikeda has promoted peace and harmony between humankind and nature, and within humankind. The tools he has used for creating a climate of compassion and understanding have been education and dialogue. While medicine adds years to life, education helps to add life to years. I know from personal experience the value of the dialogue process initiated by Dr. Ikeda.
Dr. Ikeda's philosophy of human revolution involves a transformation of mind and heart, which enables every one of us to find the true purpose in life. Dr. Ikeda's own efforts have been in achieving a change in the lives of children, women and men everywhere in the world, which will lead to peace and happiness. He has promoted outstanding institutions of education and higher learning in different parts of the world. These colleges and universities are now serving as bright affirming flames in the midst of the sea of despair we see around us.
Like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Ikeda believes that his life is his message. He also spreads an understanding of the power of non-violence. He has stressed that while violence breeds violence, nonviolence leads to sustainable human security. Under his leadership the global SGI movement is trying to create high synergy societies based on the Gandhian principles of sarvodaya and antyodaya. This is the pathway for lasting peace and this is the pathway which helps to substitute hatred with love in one's heart. SGI promotes a coalition of the compassionate. I pray that our troubled planet should have the benefit of Dr. Ikeda's leadership in creating lasting peace through education and dialogue for many more years.
Cambridge genetics graduate M. S. Swaminathan was born in India in 1925. Popularly known as "the godfather of the Green Revolution" who transformed agriculture in Asia, he also served as president of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. He is a leading advocate of environmentally sustainable agriculture, sustainable food security and biodiversity preservation.
[Taken from a message published in the May 3, 2010, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai, Japan]
