Naina Eira Gupta

Naina Eira Gupta bridges dialogues between Eastern contemplative traditions and Western psychedelic research and philosophy. She is a Huxley Foundation Scholar, graduate student at the Meditation Research Program at Harvard Medical School, PhD candidate at the University of Exeter, and a practitioner of Vajrayāna Buddhism.

Her project, Mapping Unitive States, develops a contemplative framework for psychedelics, focusing on unitive and nondual awareness, and on how fleeting glimpes and insights can be transformed into enduring traits of well-being. She designs meditation-based protocols for psychedelic navigation, rooted in Buddhist Dharma yet adapted for secular psychotherapy.

Naina created the Vedānta module for Exeter’s postgraduate programme in Psychedelics, co-founded Svarasa, meditations with soundscapes for psychedelics in collaboration with award-winning composer Robot Koch, and has presented her work internationally, including at the University of Oxford, Breaking Convention (UK), and Psychedelics as Medicine (Iceland).

Mapping unitive states: A contemplative framework for psychedelics

When we speak of unitive states, we often evoke images of cosmic oneness or mystical bliss. Yet beneath these poetic portrayals lie deeper questions: How do such states reshape our sense of self? And how are they cultivated—culturally, cognitively, and pharmacologically?

This talk explores the ontology (study of being), significance, and transformative potential of unitive states. Drawing from the Nālandā tradition—an ancient Buddhist university renowned for its rigorous philosophical inquiry and contemplative training—these states have been systematically mapped for centuries, offering profound insights into the nature of mind and reality.

Today, advances in psychedelic research open new pathways to access these states, illuminating their therapeutic and self-transcending potential. By bridging contemplative traditions, Western metaphysics, and psychedelic science, this talk introduces an integrative contemplative framework for psychedelics, uniting ancient wisdom with contemporary scientific understanding.