Modern life rarely stays quiet. Notifications, deadlines, broken sleep and a mind that struggles to settle have become almost universal complaints, cutting across students, working professionals, homemakers and the elderly alike. In response, people are reaching in two directions at once, toward apps and clinics on one side, and toward yoga, meditation and older Indian practices on the other. Rarely do the two meet.
Sadhnam, a well-being ecosystem for mind and body, is built around the belief that they should. Founded by philosopher and researcher Devrishi under the nonprofit Sanatan Wisdom, it brings together meditation, mantra, yoga, Ayurveda, psychology, nutrition and sound within a single framework, connecting India’s traditional knowledge with contemporary research rather than treating them as rival worlds. Its work is available through sadhnam.org.
An old question, asked carefully
At the centre of Sadhnam is a question India’s traditions have explored for centuries and modern research is increasingly examining: what happens to the mind when it is carried by sound?
Devrishi approaches it through what he calls Indian Sonic Philosophy, or Dhvani Darshan, a framework that studies the relationship between sound, attention and consciousness, drawing on traditions of mantra, chanting and kirtan. But his emphasis is on inquiry rather than assertion.
“When we chant Om or a mantra, several things happen at once, a long, controlled exhalation, the vibration in the face and throat, the sound of one’s own voice, and attention resting on it,” Devrishi says. “I treat this not as something already proven, but as exactly the kind of practice worth studying carefully. The aim is not to claim a cure, but to observe honestly what such practices actually do.”
That restraint is deliberate. Sadhnam does not treat traditional claims as established medical facts; instead, it sets out to distinguish emerging research from settled findings, and studies practices within their original context while examining them through contemporary methods.
Beyond a single discipline
What makes Sadhnam unusual is its refusal to stay in one lane. Its work is organised around five connected areas: learning, practice, consultation, structured programmes and research, designed to carry a person from reliable knowledge to daily practice, and to qualified professional guidance where it is needed.
Its contemporary mental-health research, led by psychologist Ankita Goyal, reviews current psychological research and builds a structured knowledge base around stress, emotional well-being, behaviour, relationships and lifestyle. A separate stream, led by Devrishi, studies mantra, sound and contemplative traditions. The two are kept methodologically distinct, meeting only where evidence allows.
Crucially, Sadhnam draws a firm line between well-being and healthcare. Meditation, mantra and yoga, it stresses, may complement healthy living but are not substitutes for psychological, psychiatric or medical treatment when professional care is required.
From tradition to community
That thinking extends outward through Kirtanam, another Sanatan Wisdom initiative that uses devotional kirtan to support emotional well-being and to carry mental-health awareness into communities through collective singing, reflection and participation, while keeping the same clear distinction between community well-being and clinical care.
For Devrishi, the work is also personal. Sadhnam takes its name from his mother, Sadhana Pandey, who first took him to kirtan and satsang gatherings as a child. “Knowledge shows us the path,” he says, “but sadhana, sustained practice, is what transforms life.”
Whether India’s sonic and contemplative traditions can be shown, in measurable terms, to support the modern mind is a question that will require sustained study. Sadhnam’s significance lies in the way it frames that inquiry, taking tradition seriously without turning it into evidence, and taking evidence seriously without dismissing tradition. It is a space where both a sceptic and a seeker can begin with the same question.
Also Read: How Sound Calms the Mind: A Psychological and Neuroscience View
