Harshad Patel

Though my family moved to the United States when I was two, my parents’ traditional background afforded me an early and ongoing appreciation for the transformative potential of meditation, yoga, and Ayurvedic medicine. It was all around me, and a venerated methodology for healing rooted in my ancestry. In the years since then, numerous research studies have reinforced the value of what I had experienced as a fundamental truth. Ayurvedic medicine, meditation, and yoga have been demonstrated to be powerful tools in alleviating suffering, whether physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or – as is often the case – some combination of all of them.

Yet so few among us here in this hemisphere have access to well-trained practitioners and qualified specialists Certainly, it’s easy to find yoga or holistic treatment branded as Ayurveda in America But what they offer is a far cry from the practices I knew and benefited from in India.

My goal for the Humanity Institute is to create a place that welcomes all – regardless of their creed, place of birth or persuasion – and introduces them to the whole-person healing power of Ayurveda, meditation and yoga. Finding healing and self-realization is the first step to finding peace: peace that begins in each individual and grows to enfold families, communities, and ultimately the world.

It’s a collaborative effort, and we need to set our best foot forward as we build such a place. While true Ayurvedic medicine is comparatively rare in the United States, it is both venerated and protected in India The Indian government sets the highest legal standards for practice, and those who wish to do so must first be approved by and registered with the national body before they may proceed. In this way, the intrinsic healing potential of Ayurvedic medicine is being preserved and promoted.

The Humanity Institute has already begun communicating with the Indian government’s Ayush Ministry to offer Ayurvedic treatment here in the United States. We are also in close contact with both the All India Institute of Ayurveda and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. As these new relationships progress, the Institute anticipates expanding access to the best international practitioners and healers in this tradition. Now we must build the facility. Our hope is that in the years and generations to follow, this moment proves to be an inflexion point in the lives and cultures of all those who visit, study, train and heal at the Institute. I invite you to join us in this historic, transformative work: for yourself, your loved ones, and all the places where self-realization, healing and peace are needed.