09/06/2025
Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Mind, Brain, and Consciousness conference organized by the Indian Knowledge System & Mental Health Applications (IKSMHA) department of IIT Mandi. My pursuit of well-researched, scientifically sound solutions to enhance the health and resilience of our soldiers—helping them cope with extreme physical and mental stress in challenging terrains and combat conditions through yoga-based practices—drew me to this event.
The conference was both insightful and reaffirming to witness how leading academicians and researchers from premier institutions like IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Gandhinagar, NIMHANS, DRDO, and IISc are engaging with fundamental questions of life: What is life? What constitutes existence? How do we differentiate between the mind, brain, and consciousness?
PhD scholars and researchers presented compelling evidence demonstrating the positive impact of yoga-based interventions on physical and mental health, supported by changes in neurophysiological biomarkers, hormonal levels, and heart rate variability. These findings indicate that the scientific community is on the right path. At the same time, there is growing recognition of the need to develop simplified and scalable assessment tools that can be applied effectively in real-world settings beyond controlled lab environments.
Disciplines such as Yoga, Indian classical music, Jyotish Shastra, and Ayurveda offer integrative approaches to holistic healthcare—supporting balance across physical, mental, and emotional dimensions through time-tested, individualized practices. There is a growing need for interdisciplinary platforms that facilitate the convergence of traditional knowledge systems and modern scientific methodologies, enabling evidence-based integration of India’s time-honored wisdom into contemporary healthcare frameworks.
ज्ञानं विज्ञानसहितं
