![]() She now dedicates most of her time to her voluntary role within the organization. “We don’t specifically look for people in distress," she says, but agrees that most people join BSG when they are at their lowest, physically and emotionally. ![]() Mehta joined the practice when she was struggling with multiple issues herself. “We’re not actively looking for the stray dog with a wound," says Sumita Mehta, the head of public relations at BSG. He adds that he is a temple-visiting Hindu by faith and a Soka Gakkai Buddhist by practice. Purohit says “people do get introduced when they’re in some sort of trouble" but adds that they stay because the philosophy is empowering. The 56-year-old resident of Sikandrabad says her family also chanted for three other patients who were in a similar condition at the hospital. Chanting helped keep our hopes alive." Soon after, she took up a more active role in BSG. As we chanted, we could see that change around us," Dham says. ![]() “The Sensei (referring to Daisaku Ikeda, the 90-year-old founding president of Soka Gakkai International, or SGI) says the philosophy turns poison into medicine through faith. Doctors had warned that things could get worse," she says. Married women are encouraged to join the women’s division (WD).ĭham and her family kept chanting through those days of uncertainty. She had to step down as YWD leader when she got married. It’s not magical, but I believe the practice is mystical." Ghosh has served the group in various capacities, including as leader of the young women division (YWD). These two developments cemented her faith in the practice. Once she began chanting, her mother recovered and she was able to sort out an ongoing legal tangle involving her apartment. “I had no time to go to meetings, so they suggested I chant while working, and there was a miraculous change," says Ghosh. Her paternal aunts, practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism, advised her to chant. “She was hallucinating and delusional," says Ghosh. Indrani Ghosh, an IT professional in Kolkata, had her world turned upside down in 2009 when her mother fell ill. Dham, whose sister and daughter are practitioners, had until then only been a supporter of the philosophy and not an active member. In 2017, Reena Dham’s then 27-year-old son Rishi went into a coma after an accident. Purohit, a teenager at the time, followed his sister into the group.ĭubai-based Rupkatha Bhowmick’s father was embroiled in court cases when a member introduced her to BSG. Members approach people they know personally and then connect them to a leader close to their home for easy meet-ups and follow-through.Ībhinav Purohit, a telecom strategy consultant in Dubai, says his sister was going through a rough patch when she was approached by a BSG member. Many BSG practitioners join the group during some form of personal crisis. And the organization has extended its reach through word-of-mouth and a personalized approach. Harried professionals joined on weekends. In the early 2000s, the movement became popular in urban India. Joining and leaving is a choice people make.- Sumita Mehta
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