A webinar on the book titled ‘A Youthful Diary’ by Daisaku Ikeda, was organized by BSG in association with Dr. N. Radhakrishnan, Founder, Gandhi Media Foundation, on Monday, 13th December 2021.
Eminent speakers who spoke at the webinar included Mr. Michael Kok, Vice General Director SGI Malaysia (SGM), Chairman & CEO SISM, Mr. Michael Yap, Vice General Director, Singapore Soka Association, (SSA), Dr. Namrata Sharma, State University of New York, Mr. Nobuo Yamagishi, Commissioned Research Fellow, IOP, Mr. Wu Derui, Vice YMD Chief, SSA, Mr. Daniel Tan, High School Division Vice Chief, SGM and Ms. Junna Mori, Student, Soka University of Japan.
On behalf of BSG, Mr Vishesh Gupta, Chairperson, Dr Akash Ouchi, Honorary Deputy Chairperson, Ms. Shilpi Gupta, YWD Dy Area Chief (West Delhi Area) and Mr. Abhishek Lamba, YMD Zone Chief (West India-2 Area) also addressed the gathering.
The speakers shared their views from different portions of the book and spoke about the struggles of a youthful Daisaku Ikeda based on the ‘Mentor-Disciple Spirit’.
Dr. Akash Ouchi opened the discussion and reminisced about the ‘The Youthful Diary’ which he read when he was in High-School Division, and how he got inspired by President Ikeda’s attitude as a disciple. Speaking next, Ms. Shilpi Gupta said how she viewed President Ikeda’s life as a great castle and that she uses the book to motivate herself every day. Mr. Abhishek Lamba shared how he got an insight into President Ikeda’s life through the pages of the youthful diary.
Mr. Vishesh Gupta thanked Dr Radhakrishnan for organizing the 10-webinar series and praised him for his efforts. Talking about “The Youthful Diary” he shared that encountering the book was a prime point in his life and he was greatly inspired by how President Ikeda struggled as an ordinary youth in difficult circumstances.
Ms. Junna Mori, shared several quotes from the book and related it to her mission and struggle as a university student. Mr. Nobuo Yamagishi, offered his perspective that to President Ikeda, writing his diary was a process of progress, reflecting on his struggles, conversing with his mentor and making determinations for the future. Mr. Wu Derui and Mr. Daniel Tan shared how ‘The Youthful Diary” strongly appealed to them as youth, giving them hope, courage and inspiration for the future.
Mr. Michael Yap shared that a diary is usually a record of personal experiences and diaries of great men and women do not usually become great classics. But ‘A Youthful Diary’ stands out as a classic by itself. Mr. Michael Kok said how the book offers an insight into what President Ikeda had in mind, his intention, his mission as he struggled as a disciple of President Toda. Dr. Namrata Sharma shared her reflections that ‘A Youthful Diary’ describes the journey of President Ikeda who created history through his inner transformation.
In his concluding speech, Dr N Radhakrishnan expressed his deep gratitude to all the speakers for participating in the webinar and for sharing their learnings from the book with everyone.
This webinar, attended by over 700 members and friends of BSG, was the 10th and the culminating webinar in the series of webinars being organised to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of President Ikeda’s first visit to India in the year 1961.
