Dr. Chinmay Pandya

This page sits under our Present Mentor of AWGP introduction.

• Role: Pro Vice-Chancellor, Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV)
• Training: Medicine in India; MRCPsych (Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK)
• Family: Grandson of Gurudev Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya

Introduction

Dr. Chinmay Pandya is a youthful representative of the All World Gayatri Pariwar and the grandson of its founder, Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya. A psychiatrist by training, he today serves as Pro Vice-Chancellor of Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV) in Haridwar, bringing a rare blend of modern scholarship and spiritual heritage to the mission’s work with young people.

From the NHS to Shantikunj

After his medical education in India, Dr. Pandya pursued advanced training in the United Kingdom, earning Membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych). In London he rose through the British National Health Service, working as an Associate Specialist in older-people’s services and specialising in dementia related to Alzheimer’s disease. In 2010, responding to an inner calling, he returned to India and to DSVV.

Work at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya

At DSVV he helps guide the university’s ethos, academic standards and policy, and edits Dev Sanskriti, an interdisciplinary international journal spanning Vedic philosophy, psychology, education, Ayurveda and Eastern studies. As Vice-President of the Indian Yoga Association he advances the scientific and philosophical study of yoga, meditation and stress management, and he chairs the International Festival of Yoga, Culture and Spirituality — having convened more than two hundred national and international colloquia.

Service on the world stage

Dr. Pandya has lectured and presented at venues including the United Nations office in Vienna, the University of Cambridge, and universities across Europe and Asia. He serves on a number of cultural and educational bodies — among them the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the advisory council of the Ministry of AYUSH — and contributes to international efforts for peace, interfaith dialogue and the preservation of cultural heritage. Alongside these responsibilities, he continues to practise psychiatry on a pro-bono basis.

A bridge to the next generation

For young people discovering the mission, Dr. Pandya is a living example of how spiritual values and rigorous modern learning can go hand in hand — a continuation of the vision carried forward by our present mentor, Shraddheya Dr. Pranav Pandya, and rooted in the mission and vision of Yug Nirman.