Where rigorous science
meets ancient wisdom
An international association bridging the world's great knowledge traditions — bringing together researchers, practitioners, and institutions for a more complete understanding of the human condition.
Advisors and members drawn from institutions including
Two great ways
of knowing
Not competing epistemologies — but complementary ones, each with genuine strengths and genuine limits.
For too long, science and tradition have been treated as adversaries. One grounded in controlled experiment and verified fact; the other in millennia of accumulated human experience, observation, and practice.
SaTA begins from a different premise: that these are not competing epistemologies but complementary ones — each with genuine strengths, each with genuine limits, and together capable of insights neither can achieve alone.
SaTA does not seek to replace the scientific method, nor to romanticise tradition. It seeks to create the most rigorous and open space yet devised in which both can be examined — in service of humanity and the living world we share.
We are building a respected, non-partisan, international body — a trusted home for academics, practitioners, policymakers, artists, and educators who believe a more complete understanding of the world is both possible and urgently needed.
A distinctive institution —
and a necessary one
SaTA occupies a position in the global knowledge ecosystem that is currently unoccupied: a trusted, non-partisan convener of minds across disciplines and traditions — rigorous enough to earn academic respect, open enough to take ancient wisdom seriously, and practical enough to produce knowledge that makes a real difference.
No existing institution holds this space. SaTA is designed to.
Intellectual Rigour
All inquiry conducted to the highest standards of critical thinking — peer-reviewed, transparent, and intellectually honest.
Respect for Tradition
Ancient and indigenous knowledge systems approached with genuine curiosity — neither dismissed nor accepted uncritically.
Global Inclusivity
Genuinely international in membership, governance, and outlook — representing the full diversity of the world's knowledge traditions.
Practical Impact
Knowledge that informs policy, shapes practice, and makes a measurable difference to human wellbeing.
The greatest advances in human understanding have always emerged at the intersection of different ways of knowing. SaTA exists to make that intersection a permanent and respected home.
From the SaTA Founding Framework, 2026
A broad canvas of
integrative inquiry
Each programme is developed as a specialist field of inquiry in its own right — with dedicated advisory panels, research partnerships, and conference tracks — whilst contributing to SaTA's broader integrative mission.
Consciousness, Mind & Reality
Exploring the hardest problem in science — from neuroscience and philosophy of mind to contemplative traditions East and West.
What are the fundamental limits of third-person scientific methodology when applied to first-person conscious experience?
Health, Medicine & Integrated Healing
Bridging evidence-based medicine and Ayurveda, TCM, Unani, and other healing traditions with rigour and genuine respect.
How should we account for the therapeutic role of the practitioner relationship and belief system in both research and practice?
Music, Sound & the Arts
The therapeutic power of resonance, rhythm, and creative expression — from clinical music therapy to sacred sound and mathematical harmonics.
What can the mathematical structures underlying musical experience reveal about consciousness and the cosmos?
Planetary Wellbeing & Sustainability
Ecological science and Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge in dialogue — exploring sustainable relationship with the Earth.
What can Traditional Ecological Knowledge teach modern sustainability science about reciprocal human-ecosystem relationships?
Economics & Governance
From wellbeing economies and Doughnut Economics to participatory governance — examining regenerative prosperity.
What would genuinely participatory, accountable, and long-termist governance look like at local, national, and global scales?
Education & Human Development
What learning looks like when designed around genuine human flourishing — integrating cognitive, emotional, somatic, and inner development.
How can education facilitate genuine inner transformation rather than merely information transmission?
AI, Technology & the Future
Examining the most consequential technological transition in history through the lens of consciousness, ethics, and human wisdom.
What does it mean to be human in a world where reasoning and creativity can be performed by artificial systems?
Agnihotra & Homa Therapy
Ancient Vedic fire practice examined as a serious object of scientific inquiry — with rigorous research into its reported effects.
Can laboratory-standard atmospheric chemistry validate the traditional purification claims of Agnihotra practice?
Future Programme Areas
SaTA's architecture is designed to evolve. New programme areas will be established by the membership as new intersections emerge.
Propose a programme area when you join as a founding member.
Indian Knowledge Systems
A cross-cutting thread across all programme areas — ensuring India's profound scientific and philosophical heritage occupies its rightful place in global integrative scholarship.
Building the institution
the world needs
SaTA is more than an academic association. It is a bet that humanity's accumulated wisdom — in all its forms — contains insights we desperately need for the challenges ahead. From climate change to artificial intelligence, from mental health to governance, the most important questions of our time require perspectives that no single tradition can provide.
Join the Founding Phase →
Watch the Vision Film · Coming Soon
From foundation to
global leadership
SaTA's development is envisioned across three interconnected phases — building the architecture, extending the reach, and establishing the institution as a global force.
Foundation
- Establish Founding Council with international representation across all nine programmes
- Launch institutional partnerships with leading universities and research institutes
- Host the flagship international conference
- Publish the inaugural peer-reviewed annual journal
- Launch the digital platform for events, learning, and community
Growth & Consolidation
- Regional Chapters in 6+ countries across Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe
- Launch Certificate and Fellowship programmes
- Establish the SaTA Research Fund for collaborative cross-disciplinary projects
- Build public presence through global livestream series
- Seek recognition as an international NGO with UN consultative status
Global Leadership
- The world's leading international body for integrative knowledge
- A top peer-reviewed journal in the field
- Multi-continent flagship conference series
- Measurable influence on policy, clinical practice, and education
- A global network of SaTA Centres of Excellence
Open to all who share a commitment to integrative inquiry
Whether you are a researcher, practitioner, policymaker, artist, or institution — if you believe science and tradition have something to offer each other, SaTA is your association.
Academic Researchers
Scientists, scholars, and researchers across all disciplines who see value in working across epistemological boundaries.
Healthcare Practitioners
Clinicians, therapists, traditional medicine practitioners committed to whole-person integrative care.
Universities & Institutes
Academic institutions and research bodies seeking partnership in rigorous integrative scholarship.
Tradition Bearers
Practitioners and knowledge holders from India's classical traditions and indigenous cultures worldwide.
Policymakers & Governments
Public servants and advisors seeking evidence-informed approaches that draw on the full breadth of human knowledge.
Be part of something that matters — from the beginning
SaTA is in its founding phase. This is a rare opportunity to help shape the values, programmes, and character of an institution at its inception. Founding members will have a voice in its governance, its priorities, and the kind of association it becomes.
- Early access to all SaTA publications, events, and online programmes
- Voting rights in SaTA's governance and programme direction
- Priority access to research partnerships and collaborative projects
- Invitation to the founding international conference
- Recognition in SaTA's founding documents and communications
- Direct engagement with the Founding Council and Advisory Panels
expressions of interest received
Founding membership is limited to 500 places. Founding members receive permanent governance rights.
Express Your Interest
No obligation — just your place in the conversation. We'll be in touch with full membership details.
Your information will be used only to contact you about SaTA membership and events.
Built on four uncompromising commitments
These are not aspirations — they are the operating principles that govern every aspect of how SaTA conducts its work.
Intellectual Honesty
We acknowledge uncertainty where it exists and distinguish carefully between what is established, what is promising, and what remains speculative.
Traditions as Knowledge
Ancient knowledge systems are taken seriously as objects of inquiry — not romanticised and not dismissed.
Genuine Inclusivity
International in membership, governance, and perspective — representative of the full diversity of the world's knowledge cultures.
Real-World Impact
Our work must make a measurable difference — to clinical practice, to policy, to education, and to the living world.
