History

Sadhana Institute was founded in Pune by the late Tony de Mello, S.J. in 1973 and was relocated five years later to Lonavla, a picturesque hill station nestled in the Western Ghats. It was originally conceived as a centre for spirituality for the training of spiritual guides and retreat masters.

Today it has evolved as an institute that attempts to integrate bothpsychology and spirituality and do it in an experiential way. The charisma of the founder that guided the Institute’s origin and development until his sudden death in 1987 as well as the Jesuit tradition of continually seeking to adapt to changing needs and circumstances have seen the institute create itself anew time and again.

The historical development of Sadhana over the last 40 years shows that from the very beginning there was a definite emphasis on the integration of the different aspects of the human person such as the emotional, intellectual and the spiritual. And from the first days of Sadhana there was also an emphasis on the integration of Christian spirituality with the Indian heritage.

An important presupposition of Sadhana training is that formators and counsellors need psychological wholeness and personal integration before they can help others effectively. Their formation is so demanding in terms of technical skill and so complex in its consequences and ramifications that Sadhana concentrates its resources on some specific aspects of the total formation of such persons, namely those relating to their personal and professional development and training in counselling skills.