Celebrating the Achievements and Contributions of Dr. Navin and Pratima Doshi
Evidence-based Holistic Health
The Doshi Center for Integrative Medicine:
Expanding Opportunities and Enhancing Learning for Students of Maharishi AyurVeda
In the spring of 2021, award-winning NASA aerospace engineer Dr. Navin Doshi and his wife, Pratima Doshi, made an extremely generous gift to MIU — a new center for integrative medicine.
Located on Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles, the $4 million property is one of the most significant donations MIU has ever received.
The Doshi Center for Integrative Medicine allowed hundreds of MIU’s West Coast students in Maharishi AyurVeda — both bachelor’s and master’s — to pursue their clinical practicum study closer to home.
Local residents also benefited from its services. Consultations at the center included an integrated health evaluation and recommendations for self-care and daily routine. The center’s medical doctor and Ayurvedic physician met jointly with patients and students to provide best practices from both Western and Eastern approaches.
In 2023, this facility was the catalyst for the launch of MIU’s unique degree program for medical doctors, the Master of Science in Integrative Medicine with Specialization in Ayurveda. For this fellowship program, MIU received accreditation from the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health to train medical doctors for the certification exam of the American Board of Integrative Medicine. Beyond that, for the first time ever, the Consortium awarded MIU its accreditation of a specialization within the field of integrative medicine. In doing so, it officially recognized Ayurveda as a respected practice of health care in America. In this way, the Doshis’ tremendous gift culminated in the momentous recognition of Ayurveda as an official area of medical practice in the U.S.
As a result of this recognition, doctors and health professionals from across the country have flocked to MIU’s programs in Integrative Ayurveda, learning how to incorporate the highest quality Ayurveda preventative and curative therapies along with cutting-edge modern medicine. Their patients now receive the best of both worlds—East and West—for preventing and treating disease and promoting wellness.
More recently, a new Doshi Center for Integrative Health & Maharishi AyurVeda was established on the MIU campus in Fairfield, Iowa. This center now serves as the main location for the health care of MIU’s faculty, staff, and students, and as a site for our Ayurveda students to complete the clinical training in the BA, MS, and Integrative Medicine Fellowship programs.
Many hundreds of students have graduated from our Ayurveda programs, most having completed their clinical residencies at the Doshi Center either in Los Angeles or Fairfield. The hands-on training provided by prominent Vaidyas and Western physicians greatly augments students’ learning experience and career outcomes.
Through these centers generously gifted by Navin and Pratima Doshi, we have seen our MIU graduates bring health and wholeness to people everywhere.
Educational Innovation
Instilling Deep Knowledge and Inspiration through Writing and Teaching
In January 2021, Dr. Doshi inspired the MIU community with his book Saving Ourselves: A New Model for Individual and Social Transformation, which explores the full potential of human life from many angles.
Drawing from his own deep insights and the perspectives of thought leaders from across disciplines and cultures, Dr. Doshi examines the natural structures of body, mind, spirit, society, and nature, synthesizing them into a practical pathway toward individual and social fulfillment. The book culminates in his personal discovery of transcendence and higher states of consciousness as expressed in the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Dr. Doshi then became a guest lecturer at MIU for an undergraduate course titled “The Concept of Self in Eastern and Western Thought.” Offered through the Department of Applied Arts and Sciences, this course addresses the key philosophical inquiry “Who Am I?” It draws upon early modern Western philosophical thought and Eastern readings from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Dr. Doshi’s book serves as a core reading in the course, along with the classical texts and Maharishi’s teachings. The course has attracted a large enrollment, and Dr. Doshi’s meetings have been widely appreciated by students.
Philantropy
A Lifetime of Noteworthy Achievements and Philanthropy
Dr. Doshi’s life has traced a remarkable trajectory, from his youth in Gujarat to his life in the United States as a celebrated thinker, author, and shaper of contemporary culture.
He has contributed significantly to aerospace engineering, business, economics, and philosophy. His professional success brought him awards from NASA, and his astute investment choices enabled him and Pratima to support initiatives that enrich the quality of life for their fellow human beings.
Navin and Pratima Doshi have made major contributions and sponsored major initiatives across many areas of humanitarian importance, including education, cultural understanding, and world peace.
His philanthropy has extended to supporting educational projects related to India and the diaspora of Indian history and culture. He endowed the Doshi Chair of Indian History at The University of California at Los Angeles, supported programs in eastern religion and yoga at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and endowed the Pratima Doshi Chair of AgroEcology at MIU.
Dr. Doshi conceived and organized conferences in Southern California designed to enhance understanding of South Asian spiritual traditions for promoting world peace.
He established the Bridge Builder Award program, based at Loyola Marymount University, to honor individuals and organizations that foster understanding among cultures, peoples, and disciplines, to promote international harmony, interreligious understanding, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This award has recognized individuals in philosophy, education, and theology.
One recipient was Dr. John Hagelin, international president of the Global Union of Scientists for Peace and president emeritus of MIU. When presenting the award to him, Dr. Doshi praised Dr. Hagelin for his lifelong quest to build bridges between science and spirituality through his groundbreaking research in quantum physics and consciousness.
Other recipients include Vandana Shiva, noted physicist, philosopher, and environmental activist; Huston Smith, celebrated religious studies scholar; and Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence and former U.S. Congresswoman.
As the founder and president of the nonprofit organization Nalanda International, Dr. Doshi directly supports higher education projects that foster dialogue among different disciplines and ways of thought. These initiatives aim to reconcile differences, perfect the mind and spirit irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or culture, and expand human consciousness towards a unified experience of reality.
Among his many distinguished honors and awards, Dr. Doshi received the degree of Doctor of World Peace Honoris Causa at MIU’s 2019 commencement ceremony, recognizing his extraordinary life and service.
