The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has organized a workshop on the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) and mental health. The workshop, as per the institute statement, aimed to provide students, academia, and practitioners with insights on empirical research relating to IKS and mental health. The IIT Mandi workshop was organised between March 25 and March 27 in partnership with IIT Mandi iHub and HCI Foundation. The workshop was sponsored by the State Bank of India, Netweb Technologies, and Hospimedical.

With the advent of leading artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, the Indian Knowledge System (IKS) education highlights the importance and benefits of this system for the body, the mind, and the consciousness, the IIT Mandi statement said. The workshop covered talks and brainstorming on graduate curricula based on IKS, as well as different research topics related to it.

Addressing the inaugural event of the IIT Mandi three-day workshop, Chief Guest K Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Ministry of Education, said: “The transformation of traditional knowledge forms into science is the need of the hour. It is essential that these knowledge systems be standardised in terms of their utility and consumption by the general population without creating any hype or unverified claims.”

Experts from IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, California Institute of Technology, IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) AIIMS New Delhi, AIIMS Rishikesh, INMAS DRDO, University of Groningen, Patanjali Research Foundation, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Creative Movement Therapy Association of India, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, SIVAS Health Research Institute, Secunderabad, US Department of Veterans Affairs, USA, Loyola Marymount University, Texas University, Being AI, and Breathing Minds participated in this workshop.

“I am glad that IIT Mandi has taken this step to formalize Indian Knowledge Systems as a scientific discipline. Mental health is also subjected to a great deal of social stigma in India, with youth and seniors alike suffering from various mental disorders. It is important that this subject be dealt with within the Indian Knowledge Systems within a holistic framework for its acceptance among Indians,” Mr Murthy added.

Topics discussed in the workshop were related to curriculum formation on Indian Knowledge System, yoga and meditation for promotion and Mental Health, art forms endorsing mental health, and ayurveda, psychology and mental health along with various brainstorming sessions that remained the highlight of the event. A roadmap has been chalked out through rigorous brainstorming to establish this unique program on Indian Knowledge System and Mental Health (IKSMH).

Using bio-signals such as electroencephalograms (EEGs), brain imaging, as well as virtual reality-based immersive neuron-feedback, the programme envisioned at IIT Mandi seeks scientific innovations aimed at addressing mental health with the Indian Knowledge System. This will allow both IKS and mental health challenges to benefit from a scientific approach, the statement added.

Highlighting the importance of the workshop, Professor Laxmidhar Behera, Director, IIT Mandi, emphasized that the very foundation of the Indian Knowledge System was built on the hypothesis that matter in its elementary (subtle) form is cognitive and thus cognitive emotion and behavior are not emergent properties of any complex molecular combinations.

Speaking about the objectives of the workshop, the Guest of Honor, Padma Shri Acharya Nagendra, said: “Firstly, I would like to congratulate IIT Mandi for organizing such an event which has brought together experts from all around the world to share their knowledge about the Indian Knowledge System. With mental health becoming a major concern globally, it is imperative we go back to our Indian Knowledge System and find solutions that can help us lead better lives.”