Dr Naval Pant is the Founder Director, PYSSUM (Paramahansa Yogananda Society for Special Unfolding and Moulding) Lucknow, India. A graduate in Mathematical Statistics, Naval Pant switched to Educational Philosophy for his Post Graduation and Ph.D. He began his career as a schoolteacher, and his primary focus has always been Value Oriented Effective Learning and Teaching Methods in a Holistic Environment. His doctoral work focused on Education in the Teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda.
He founded and dedicated PYSSUM (www.pyssum.org), an organization providing quality services for Children and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities which believes in holistic development and rehabilitation of IDDs in an inclusive environment, to Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda in 2005 in Lucknow. Naval Pant has also been involved with development of PYSSUM’s Prayas, a You Tube channel spreading awareness about Intellectual and Developmental Disability for Hindi speaking population of India, PYSSUM’s Theatre and Films division which works to explore the talent for theatrical arts, photography, and videography in people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and SAMAVESH, a collaborative effort of parents towards employment generation for adults with special needs. Another book about the role of Social Role Valorization (SRV) towards developing an inclusive society in India is in the offing. PYSSUM is an active member of the SRV community in India.
The story titled A gift from God’s “Hall of Angels” has appeared in the e-journal Rhetorica published online by the Department of English, University of Lucknow. The article, “Hold Your Breath” about breathing exercises and the impact of prayers on the growth of children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities has been accepted for publication in a book (published by Springer) on disability studies. His book “An Unplanned Journey – Stories of Empathy from the Frontiers of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities” was released on 9th February 2024 at “The International Purple Fest, Goa”.