Addressing the launch ceremony, President Dharambeer Gokhool said Mauritius was honoured to become one of the countries where the cross-sector alliance had taken root. He stated that the strength of a nation should not be measured only by its economic achievements or physical development, but by the wellbeing of its people. He added that the true wealth of a nation lies not only in what it builds, but in how it cares for its citizens.
Dr. Ishan Shivanand, founder of Compassion Unites, was raised in a monastery where he underwent years of training in ancient martial arts, breathwork and meditation practices that focus on the discipline of body, breath and mind rather than stillness alone. He later transformed those traditional practices into structured protocols and subjected them to clinical research in collaboration with leading universities in the United States.
According to the programme's research findings, which have been published in peer-reviewed international medical journals, the protocols demonstrated improvements of up to 80 percent in symptoms associated with depression, anxiety and insomnia.
Shivanand's protocols are already being implemented in clinical and corporate environments across several countries, including at Google. With the national launch in Mauritius, a sovereign government has now adopted the programme for implementation across its population. The development carries particular significance because Mauritius shares deep historical and cultural ties with India, allowing a tradition preserved for centuries and brought into modern clinical application by the India-born practitioner who mastered it to become part of another nation's public mental healthcare framework.
Speaking at the launch, Dr. Shivanand said mental health had been treated for too long as a private struggle fought in silence. He described it as a public emergency that has become even more significant in the era of artificial intelligence. He said the Republic of Mauritius had chosen to break that silence by prioritising the wellbeing of its citizens and making mental healthcare accessible to every individual. He further stated that the solutions the world continues to seek have existed for centuries within India's contemplative traditions and that Mauritius has become the first nation to implement those practices on a national scale. He described the initiative as a model that other countries could follow.
The programme's first national event will translate resilience-building into practical action through sport. Compassion Unites will organise a Kun Khmer championship at the Cote d'Or National Sports Complex with the objective of promoting discipline, confidence and resilience among young people.
The launch at State House marks the beginning of a sustained national mental health initiative that its founder intends to serve as a model for governments worldwide to study and adapt. The adoption also represents the first national-scale implementation outside India of a tradition that has been preserved for centuries and modernised through scientific research.
Compassion Unites is a cross-sector mental health alliance that brings together corporations, governments, faith institutions, academic centres and community networks to expand access to mental health support worldwide.
Dr. Ishan Shivanand is an academic, philanthropist and founder of Compassion Unites. Raised in a monastery, he trained within one of India's oldest knowledge systems before bringing its practices into modern clinical research. His work has been published in peer-reviewed international medical journals. He is also the award-winning author of the USA Today national bestseller The Practice of Immortality. His contributions have been recognised by the United States Congress, he has been received by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and he has been invited to the White House to advise on the opioid crisis. He also holds research affiliations with the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar and Stanford University.
The nationwide adoption of this scientifically validated mental health programme marks a landmark moment for Mauritius and represents a significant international recognition of India's traditional knowledge systems, demonstrating how ancient practices supported by modern clinical evidence can shape national public health policy beyond their country of origin.
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