Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth Research Centre

This pioneer project is inspired by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of Living. The Seva Work wing of this global organization has a mission of rescuing individuals from the maladies of alcohol and drug addiction. The Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth Research Centre was formed in this light to fight against the problems of addiction by :

• Creating awareness.

• Providing effective treatment and adopting measures against relapse.

• Counselling to addicts and their family members.

• Instilling a sense of spirituality in the minds of the addicts through daily practice of Yoga and Sudarshan Kriya ( - a particular breathing practice after Pranayama).

• Devising means of social integration for recovered addicts.

• Widening scope to help victims of chemical abuse through larger activity and also by increasing capacity to provide help to more people.

• Campaigning against spread of HIV / AIDS.

The Centre drew up plans to set up an Alcohol & Drug De-addiction Research Center near Kolkata (India) under the aegis of VED VIGNAN MAHAVIDYAPEETH (VVM).

Sasthitala, a quiet locale amidst the rustic ambience of rural West Bengal was chosen as the location for the De-addiction Centre. It is conviniently located in the Howrah district, very near to Kolkata city.

The Center, catering to male patients only, was named "Geeta Bhavan" and inaugurated on 9th November, 2003, by the Hon’ble State Health Minister of West Bengal, Sri Surya Kanta Mishra, and started functioning with the objectives of :

• A physical, therapeutic and spiritual treatment in achieving de-addiction and abstinence from drugs and alcohol.

• Helping patients to develop a positive attitude to take appropriate decisions independently.

• Helping them to rehabilitate socially and for gainful employment.

• Assist family members to understand the dynamics of drug and alcohol dependant individuals.

• To conduct research and training to handle the problem more effectively and also to bring awareness to the community.

The treatment programme is a residential multi-disciplinary therapeutic programme and spiritual treatment conducted by a team of a psychiatrist, physician, psychologist, social workers, counselor, nursing staff and spiritual teacher.

This Seva Project of Art of Living operates upon a strong foundation with its new approach towards treating addiction. It is a well managed organization with strong ethical values and a group of dedicated staff with large commitment towards the service of mankind.

With patients having been regularly admitted since 1st December 2003, the Centre already has several successful cases of treatment to its credit. In its short existence, more than 575 patients have been treated here so far for alcohol and drugs addiction. The Centre’s recovery rate today is 36 - 37%, which is much better than the global average.

Recently, with the opening of a Ayurveda Treatment Centre in Kolkata under the aegis of Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth De-addiction Research Centre, the patients are also given the Panchakarma treatment which helps them in the cleansing process of their bodies.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse is is truly a curse to society. We should all come forward to tackle this menace to the best of our abilities.