Just five minutes a day of contemplative practices to improve mindfulness, connection, insight and purpose have been scientifically proven to create positive changes in the brain’s chemistry. Compassion training has demonstrably shown reduced implicit bias towards people you knowingly or unknowingly dislike. Meditating monks have zero anticipatory anxiety and a quick recovery from an experiment of planned exposure to extreme heat. Pregnant women who practise awareness in the second trimester can give their children a health advantage that lasts for years.
These and other scientific data were included in a talk by neuroscientist Richard Davidson, who has spent years studying the brains of Buddhist monks. His advice to Indians? You have rituals and practices already deeply embedded in your society that you can conserve and enhance in order to flourish. Davidson was speaking at the second edition of the National Mental Health Festival, called Manotsava (a celebration of the mind) in Bengaluru, co-created by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, the National Centre for Biological Sciences and my foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. There is no other festival like this, at this scale, anywhere in the world, though there is an urgent need to have one in every state in India, if not every district.
According to the pre-pandemic National Mental Health Survey 2015–16, 150 million people in India need mental health interventions, yet the treatment gap ranges between 70 per cent and 92 per cent, with the gap for common mental disorders that are easily prevented or treated remaining at 85 per cent. The goal of Manotsava is to flip the existing model and associate mental health with wellness, not just disease, and bring science and society closer. Manotsava was free and open to the public, catering to people of all ages, from young children to senior citizens. The curation was selected from more than 700 responses to a request for proposals and had extremely diverse offerings. There was a solid science track, including a stall of the Centre for Brain and Mind with brain models, genetic testing and other methodologies to discover mental illness. There were sessions on digital distractions and addictions, gender discrimination and problems with marital intimacy, workplace stress, parenting, and ageing. Alongside a development track for NGOs, there was a philanthropy lunch to invite investment in this neglected area of public health.
One workshop titled “Living after the storm: A toolkit for adult survivors of sexual abuse” was deluged by people who had not found any such safe space before. There were psychiatrists and counsellors to answer questions and help people who might get triggered by discussions that evoke painful memories. Kaz DeJong, of Doctors Without Borders, a network of volunteers present in some of the most difficult areas of the world, spoke of trauma and conflict, of people who had lost their entire families in regional wars, had witnessed daily disease and suffering, and yet were able to leave their loss behind and focus on helping other people. In any situation, he said, there are always some things that still work, and hope is a powerful antidote to despair and helplessness. The government’s helpline Tele MANAS has received 25 lakh calls since its inception in 2022, and nearly 40,000 of those were for suicidal thoughts. The overwhelming response from the general public surfaced a deep latent demand to understand issues of mental health and wellness.
One of the most potent sessions was called “Deewanagi: My Tryst with Madness”, a title chosen by the panellists. Three people openly and bravely shared their personal journey with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. All of them thanked their doctors, but expressed even greater gratitude to family and friends. Mental health discourse and practice currently focus more on intra-psychic aspects, and not enough on relational methods and the importance of family and community. Most of the work is between the patient and the doctor. Yet there is increasing evidence to show that when a whole community finds the inner resources to help a troubled mind in its midst, it develops its own resilience and a pathway to overall well-being. When we help others, we help ourselves. It is a win-win described for samaaj by good science. That should be reason enough for Indian philanthropy to help create many more Manotsavas around the country.
The writer is chairperson, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and author of Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar: A Citizen-first Approach
