1. Sonic Therapeutic Intervention: A Better Medicine for the Future By Shruti Kulkarni C. Prescott Davis Scholar Spring 2011 CJS Forum Columbia University

2. Grand Challenge: Better Medicines The National Academy of Engineering established fourteen principle areas, known as the Grand Challenges for Engineering, in which engineering solutions are to be developed to improve the world and society. Of these fourteen Grand Challenges, the concept of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention effectively tackles that of Engineering Better Medicines. The primary objective of modern medicine is to provide the most beneficial and cost-effective cures with the least negative effects. Unfortunately, a great number of treatments utilized in conventional medicine are expensive, limited in effectiveness, and often plagued with unfavorable side-effects. For many newer medical treatments, the long- term effects are presently unknown. Sonic Therapeutic Intervention is advantageous in this regard, not having any of these disadvantages. There is no cost for its execution, and it is a time-tested process shown to not have negative side effects. Thus, Sonic Therapeutic Intervention may be an effective “better medicine” to be utilized for the benefit of society and the people.

3. What is Sonic Therapeutic Intervention? Sonic Therapeutic Intervention (STI) is, in essence, a method of healing and self-improvement based on the regular administration of particular sound vibrations. Based on the fundamental principle that various types of sounds have particular effects on the mind and body, Sonic Therapeutic Intervention seeks to take advantage of those sounds that are most beneficial to the mind, in order to create various positive effects – including decreased anger and anxiety, more developed cognitive function, improved decision-making ability, and increased self-control. With regular practice, Sonic Therapeutic Intervention is effectively able to enact these beneficial effects, thus destroying the root causes of a variety of social and psychological problems.

4. History of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention The method of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention was first delineated in the ancient Vedic literatures as japa, or mantra meditation. It was recommended as a self-purification process with many spiritual and material positive effects. Widespread practice of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention was advocated in 15 th -century India by spiritual leader Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism; this form of it was more recently brought to the Western people, and advocated around the world, by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), colloquially known as the Hare Krishna movement. Primarily through this movement, Sonic Therapeutic Intervention has found millions of regular practitioners worldwide. In recent years, interest in Sonic Therapeutic Intervention has greatly increased, as more and more people come to discover its various positive effects and seek to benefit from its practice.

5. Methodology of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention There are many forms of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention, also known as mantra meditation, that are practiced worldwide with the goal of achieving these positive effects. Although the principle methodology in these various forms – that is, targeted administration of, and focused concentration on, particular sound vibrations – is similar, these varieties differ in the specific technique, or most commonly, in the particular mantras (sound vibrations) used. However, the Vedic literatures – from which the very concept of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention originate, and in which the different varieties and methodologies of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention are most comprehensively detailed – explains that one particular form of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention, utilizing the “Hare Krishna” mantra, is the most potent – and thus most directly effective – of all methods, in bringing about these positive effects. This mantra is as follows: hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa, kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare / hare rāma hare rāma, rāma rāma hare hare.

6. Local Spotlight: ISKCON in New York The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a worldwide spiritual organization, founded by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1966. They have a number of major ISKCON centers in New York, through which their members have promoted the practice of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention in the local community through, among other methods, community outreach, distribution of explanatory literature, informational lectures, and group and individual practice sessions. They have helped a great number of locals overcome various negative emotions and struggles in their everyday lives through regular execution and administration of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention. The Bhakti Center, in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. ISKCON Queens, in South Richmond Hill, Queens. The world-famous ISKCON Brooklyn, on Schermerhorn St.

7. What Research Says About Sonic Therapeutic Intervention There is much documented research on the subject on Sonic Therapeutic Intervention, as mantra meditation, and its purported beneficial effects on the mind. One university in Iowa has compiled a list of over 350 peer-reviewed research studies on a particular form of mantra meditation, detailing how it positively impacts mental functioning and well-being, physiological health, workplace productivity, personal satisfaction, and society at large. More studies in various fields of study are presently being conducted on these and other positive effects of various forms of mantra meditation, especially Sonic Therapeutic Intervention. None of these thus far, incidentally, have discovered negative effects of its use, indicating that Sonic Therapeutic Intervention is a safe treatment to administer without fear of side effects.

8. Proposed Research Methodology The role of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention in positively affecting lives can be systemically analyzed. One methodology of analysis is qualitative research. One proposed methodology involves the selection of practicing volunteers, for interview, from locations in which Sonic Therapeutic Intervention is actively practiced and promoted. Fifteen volunteers – five from each of the three New York ISKCON centers (The Bhakti Center, ISKCON Queens, and ISKCON Brooklyn) – are to be interviewed on their use of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention, the method of their practice, and the role it has played in their lives. Their responses are to be analyzed using standard statistical software, and the results of this analysis compiled, to better understand the role of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention in the lives of its practitioners.

9. Potential of Sonic Therapeutic Intervention in Modern Medicine Sonic Therapeutic Intervention is very safe to use, with no negative effects found in over thousands of years of consistent practice. There is great potential for Sonic Therapeutic Intervention to be used as a replacement, or as a supplement, to various treatments presently used to treat the conditions and problems that Sonic Therapeutic Intervention is effectively able to fix; this could not only save money and spare many of detrimental side effects, but could also lead to faster and more effective treatment of those conditions and problems. Perhaps Sonic Therapeutic Intervention should be more strongly considered as a viable and effective medical treatment in the future.

10. References Das, V. (2003). Lawmakers and corruption: Sonic therapeutic approach. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 11(2), 88-92. Satsvarupa, D.G. (n.d.). Japa as Meditation. Krishna.com. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://new.krishna.com/node/25289 Grand Challenges for Engineering. (2008). Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Engineering. ISKCON Brooklyn, NY. (2011). ISKCON Brooklyn, NY. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://www.radhagovinda.net/ ISKCON Queens, NY. (2011). ISKCON Queens, NY. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://krishnabalaramnyc.com/ Prabhupada, A.C.B.S. (2011). Mukunda Mala Stotra, Bhaktivedanta VedaBase. Los Angeles, CA: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Research on the Transcendental Meditation technique. (n.d.). Maharishi University of Management. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://www.mum.edu/tm_research/ The Bhakti Center. (2011). The Bhakti Center. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://bhakticenter.org/ The International Society for Krishna Consciousness: Fact Sheet. (n.d.). The International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Retrieved April 29, 2011, from http://news.iskcon.org/files/mediakit/1_General_Facts.pdf