Ayurveda and Yoga

We are building a place where we can pause and fight disease. The core element of our approach is to provide therapeutic relief to the malaise of the body and mind. Ancient Indian wisdom and therapeutic practices of Ayurveda and Yoga are fully realised within our “home”. Co-existence of traditional approaches and modern systems is not only possible but essential to move towards a broader conception of health and wellness

While we keep on gaining pace, playing catch up, and running ahead, we lose our existential foothold. In the constant flux that we are thrown into we can’t find our sense of being, our sense of wholeness. We seek slowness, we seek togetherness, we seek balance. We seek peace.

Meaning is an intrinsic aspect of psychological well-being, and rest on the development of an individual's values and beliefs. A philosophical approach to psychological well-being with tools to make sense of themeselves and their world.

Art and Culture

Humans cannot gain foothold through scientific understanding alone. We need “symbols”, that is works of art which represent "life-situations". It is one of the basic needs of human experience, to see life situations as meaningful. We discover and even create the worlds we live in through our interaction with symbols such as paintings, sculptures, music and dance. .

The therapeutic approach addresses psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological suffering.

anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological

The therapeutic approach addresses psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological suffering.

anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological

The therapeutic approach addresses psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological suffering.

anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological

The therapeutic approach addresses psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological suffering.

anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological

The therapeutic approach addresses psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological suffering.

anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological

The therapeutic approach addresses psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological suffering.

anxiety, depression and addiction. It focuses on helding people to relieve the burden of psychological

"PAUSE" And Find Peace

On this day, as we move into Dakshinayana (Summer Solstice/Midsummer), I begin a new journey. Dakshinayana is a time to strive and the harvest may come in Uttarayana. Just as all humans, I have been trying to find what is worth doing, trying to live an “examined” and a deliberate life. It has been a circuitous journey as I have wandered through history and ideas of Sophists and Pythagoreans, Platonists and Neo-Platonists, medieval fanatics and economic doctrinaires, romantics and nihilists. As I get older, and hopefully wiser, I have grown weary, disillusioned with most that the world has to offer, while being enthused by little.

While we keep on gaining pace, playing catch up, and running ahead, we lose our existential foothold. In the constant flux that we are thrown into we can’t find our sense of being, our sense of wholeness. While this sounds mushy, even esoteric, there is a specter of turmoil, pervasive and omnipresent. We seek slowness, we seek togetherness, we seek balance. We seek peace.

Over the next few weeks, I will share what I and my family are establishing for the world, to gain (and regain) our existential foothold, beginning with “svastha” (being established in self).

We are building a place where we can pause and find peace.

- Mohit Patel, June 2019 (Grishma Ritu)

"PAUSE" And Escape Chaos

We live a life of interruptions. Unceasing stream of stimulations. Notifications from messengers, social media, emails, shopping apps, and a thousand more. It is killing our focus like death by a thousand paper cuts. We need apps to keep us focused and then they themselves keep us distracted. The urge to refresh and check for notifications is insatiable.

People get texts, and they respond. The responders then at some point become initiators, and the story goes on. Eventually, even the kids who don't want to be attached to their phones don't have such an easy choice. In a culture where everybody sends each other 200 texts a day, you get left out if you only send 30. We are no longer concerned about the fragmentation of our attention or our dependence on devices. Our devices are an extension of ourselves. Our devices were supposed to be our tools. May be it is time to pause and think who is the master and who is the tool.

Technology has brought us an abundance of information and uninterrupted connections with friends, family and employers. I refer to technology in a far broader sense than smartphones or computers. If unbalanced, it becomes the bringer of chaos.

The message of the world today is that if you want to hang on you better speed up, you better get used to the chaos, the maddening flurry of incessant action. But it's useful to remind everyone that our basic needs never change. The need to be seen and appreciated. The need to belong. The need for nearness and care and love. This is given only through slowness, reflection and togetherness. There we will find real renewal.

We are building a place where we can pause and escape chaos.

- Mohit Patel, June 2019 (Varsha Ritu)

"PAUSE" And Connect With Nature

We have forgotten how to cooperate with nature. We are habituated to establishing our dominion in all aspects of life, including nature. Living in harmony with nature is long gone. We use her for our gains which comes at the cost of other rightful members of the habitat. We have forgotten to respond to the seasonal and temporal patterns of nature, much to our own physical and psychological detriment. दिनचर्या (the daily routine) and ऋतुचर्या (the seasonal routine) don’t fit in our modern lives.

To be really in sync with oneself and nature is to understand and experience the time scale of nature around us. The road to our wellbeing is so simple and clear yet riddled with hardships. Eating सात्त्विक (essential, natural, clean) food, taking a stroll among the trees, practising योग (yoga), observing सिला (self-discipline), watching and hearing the birds, breathing in clear air, smelling the sweet flowers and pungent leaves. These go a long way in renewing and sustaining our body, mind and spirit. In Carl Jung’s words, “When you walk with naked feet, how can you ever forget the earth?” Let’s walk with naked feet.

We are building a place where we can pause and connect with nature.

- Mohit Patel, July 2019 (Varsha Ritu)

"PAUSE" And Fight Disease

We are building a place where we can pause and fight disease.

The core element of our approach is to provide therapeutic relief to the malaise of the body and mind. Ancient Indian wisdom and therapeutic practices of Ayurveda and Yoga are fully realized within our “home”. Co-existence of traditional approaches and modern systems is not only possible but essential to move towards a broader conception of health and wellness. Our goal is not to stop at therapy but rather move towards Eudaimonia, a sense of flourishing, moving from relief of suffering to the cultivation of positive emotional and mental states.

The harmony of body, mind and spirit starts with the focus on the body. Authentic Ayurveda and Yoga practices demand that the individual be ready to take responsibility for her own health. Health is not received but is gained by engaging with the right routines, dietary habits and physical & psychological practices.

We are building a place where we all can learn to heal and fight disease with ancient wisdom and traditions.

- Mohit Patel, July 2019 (Varsha Ritu)

Raga Aesthetic - Mandala

We are building a place where we can pause and fight disease.

The core element of our approach is to provide therapeutic relief to the malaise of the body and mind. Ancient Indian wisdom and therapeutic practices of Ayurveda and Yoga are fully realized within our “home”. Co-existence of traditional approaches and modern systems is not only possible but essential to move towards a broader conception of health and wellness. Our goal is not to stop at therapy but rather move towards Eudaimonia, a sense of flourishing, moving from relief of suffering to the cultivation of positive emotional and mental states.

The harmony of body, mind and spirit starts with the focus on the body. Authentic Ayurveda and Yoga practices demand that the individual be ready to take responsibility for her own health. Health is not received but is gained by engaging with the right routines, dietary habits and physical & psychological practices.

We are building a place where we all can learn to heal and fight disease with ancient wisdom and traditions.

- Mohit Patel, July 2019 (Varsha Ritu)

Raga Aesthetic

Art and design are central to everything that I do. To me artistic beauty is inextricably linked to moral goodness. Even though it is fluid and subjective, the aesthetic remains connected to and contributes to the experience. The aesthetic, and here I fall back again on Dewey who has had a great influence on me, becomes a kind of judgment, an attitude and an experience. Aesthetic experience is not only about the visual art perceived from a detached vantage, but also includes, especially at Raga Svara , the therapeutic experience, the architectural experience, the culinary experience and the cultural and philosophical experience.

The following picture shows one design motif that represents Raga and its philosophy in certain ways. Gond art is a form of folk & tribal art that is practiced by one of the largest tribes in India – the Gond – who are predominantly from Madhya Pradesh, but also settled in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The work of Gond artists is rooted in their folk tales and culture, and thus story-telling is a strong element of every painting. With the help of our team of designers and artists, we are creating original works of art that represent the aesthetic experience at Raga Svara . Each piece of work has been made to represent an element of Raga.

One of my goals is to ensure that aesthetic experience does not, in Dewey’s words, “become isolated from the human conditions under which it was brought into being and from the human consequences it engenders in actual life experience.

- Mohit Patel, July 2019 (Varsha Ritu)

Ayurveda Harmony

Modern civilization has brought us to the epitome of material existence, but it’s easy to forget the suffering it brings along. While its easy to gloss over or actively reject the causal link between the two, it is not easy to ignore the toll our body, mind and spirit has taken. Our air is unclean, water is polluted, food is toxic, and the “noise” corrupts our minds.

Our relationship with our microcosm (our bodies and the internal world) is as broken as our relationship with the macrocosm (our environment and the external world)

Our goal at Raga Svara is to create and maintain a harmonious relationship between macrocosm and microcosm. We need to learn this art of balance to stay away from the clutches of the modern lifestyle diseases and the general malaise.

Ancient Healing System — Ayurveda

One of the great systems of thought and practice that India has produced is the ancient healing system of Ayurveda. Along with Yoga, Ayurveda represents an exhaustive internally consistent logic and understanding of the science of life. Ayurveda, or Ayur Vidya, means the knowledge of life.

India is a land of magnificent diversity, a place where archaic structures, concepts and traditions rub shoulders with up-to-the-minute formations, where variety and extremity stride hand in hand. No country any less richly textured could have given birth, thousands of years ago, to Ayurveda, and no other country could have prompted the sometimes bewildering multiplicity of principles and practices that have sprouted from Ayurveda’s roots. — Robert Svoboda

At Raga Svara , our goal is to manifest this understanding and ancient wisdom into lived experience of modern humans. Ayurvedic rejuvenation — bodily, mental, emotional and spiritual — forms a core element of Raga Approach, called the Therapeutic Well-being. Raga Approach also entails Existential Well-being and Aesthetic Well-being.

Raga Svara opens in Spring of 2020. We are an institution unlike any other. It is difficult to place us neatly in any category. To put it in familiar categories, Raga sits between a wellness retreat , an ashram, an ayurveda centre, a learning institution and a cultural centre. To know more, visit theraga.org

-Mohit Patel, Co-founder, Raga Svara

Mr. Denish Patel leads the Raga Svara team in continuous improvement of hospitality standards. He provides direct oversight of key retreat functions. He is also the Executive Vice President of RK University.

Mohit is an educator and entrepreneur who strives to create engaging and insightful learning experiences. He has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Industrial Systems from the University of Cambridge, where he went on a scholarship from the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust. He completed his second master’s degree at Harvard University. His program was funded by a scholarship from Harvard University. He is also the founder of The Northstar School. One of India’s leading international school.

Nirav Talaviya, an engineer with a vision, leads Raga Svara’s campus and retreat development initiatives. He also heads special projects at The Northstar School.