Baba Ramdev – Guru or Fraudster?

Published on June 24, 2008

The notion of an Indian guru brings to mind a romanticized vision of an enlightened, otherworldly being swathed in ocher orange robes and followed by hordes of devotees. It is not a “profession” that we give much credence to in today’s world, especially in the West where the concept of an enlightened being guiding and teaching thousands of followers is often viewed as bizarre and cultish. In the classical Indian view, a guru is an enlightened being who guides others to their own self-realization; a concept that is questioned each time it has entered our Western world. So it’s no surprise that as Indian teacher Baba Ramdev is making headlines as a modern day guru, his claims of healing incurable diseases and foretelling the future are causing some to question his authenticity.

Baba Ramdev asserts that the practices of pranayama and ayurveda can cure health concerns from high blood pressure to HIV. He talks of corruption from the West and claims to foresee major events like an Indian civil war. Though the proclamations seemed far-fetched, yogis for millennia have carried the same beliefs in the powerful healing properties of breath practices. In addition, the Bombay head of equities trading for a leading Western bank shared similar thoughts about an impending civil uprising due to growing inequality. So is this man a serious yoga adept or a just a seasoned yoga practitioner seeking attention?

In defense of his claims, the Guru has chosen to use science to back up his health claims. Under the scrutiny of university observation, Baba Ramdev plans to scientifically evaluate his methods of yoga and pranayama in order to substantiate its benefits. Ramdev is not the first yoga guru to submit himself to this type of scientific observation. In 1970, another yoga guru, Swami Rama, participated in experiments at the Menninger Foundation, which included voluntarily stopping his own heart pumping for 17 seconds and affecting his own body temperature by as much as ten degrees. And he received doubt and criticism from people all over the world.

The fantastic abilities of yoga adepts can be traced back to the ancient texts. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali chronicles numerous physical and mental feats that can be achieved by the accomplished yogi (siddhis), but he is also quick to warn that these feats are not the equivalent to the end goal of yoga, Samadhi, or liberation. A true “guru” is one who removes darkness, a light of wisdom on the path of another. So, regardless of how many cool tricks a person can do, the real judge of a guru is their ability to remove the veil of darkness and illusion in others through right action and wise teaching. If Baba Ramdev is a true guru, it will not be shown in a battery of scientific tests or in his ability to prophesize the future, but in the authenticity of his teachings and his love for his students.

What do you think of Baba Ramdev’s claims of healing incurable diseases and foretelling the future?

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36 responses to “Baba Ramdev – Guru or Fraudster?”

  1. vikramsjn Avatar
    vikramsjn

    Its seems that an article appeared in Guardian, and since then many in the west, taking cue from this incomplete baseless and factless article, are questioning Ramdev.

    You have gone still further to question if he is fraudster.

    I wrote and article reviewing Guardian article, and the same almost applies to you.

    I will repeat it here again – English media in India, is heavily biased. The Pseudo-secularist want to get votes by appeasement. And then there are others who are envious of Ramdev’s hard earned success and then others who assume that only the west way is the correct way.

    So for the above-mentioned reasons the media is heavily biased and involved in spreading FUD too. Do not take baseless articles at their face value – go ask those who have received life when allopathy had no cure for their problem. Go ask those who get tremendous positive inspiration from Ramdev, and were otherwise depressed.

    But one problem is that such people mostly do not use internet much – and they certainly may not encounter your article.

    So let me tell you about myself – I am software developer, and 33 years of age. I initially thought that Ramdev has only Yoga/Pranayam to offer – but I was wrong. Since that time I have realized that Ramdev is Gyaani, and has knowledge of Veda, Ayurveda, and Yoga Pranayam.

    and please do not write baseless article yourself, calling a true guru a fraudster – you loose your credibility by this.

    Thanks

  2. Kelly Avatar
    Kelly

    Thanks for sharing your personal experience. As you noted, I do not have a personal experience with Ramdev, and was trying not to make a judgement on his abilities or authenticity myself. Only to bring to attention that doubting and testing his healing abilities does not prove or disprove his authenticity as a true guru. My purpose was to say that regardless of his powers, it is his love and commitment to his students that will truly authenticate his status. That is not for me or anyone that does not have experience with Ramdev to judge. It was my hope to open up a discussion that would create a deeper understanding, and I thank you for providing more routes to explore.
    Bless

    1. ram prakash Avatar
      ram prakash

      Ms kelly…you should get your facts right and shouldn’t be judgmental…who are you to say Ramdev a fraudster..he is a nationalistic guy who is serving india with an unprecdented enthusiasm…his products are so good that now multinational companies are loosing their strong hold in india…he is the guy responsible for curing so many people…and yes i know that yoga and herbal medicine is the only way to cure untreatable disease…my neighbor got throat cancer and was in 3rd stage of it…all best doctors told them he could not live more than 6 months and after getting disappointed he tried ayurvedic medicine from ramdev…and he got fully recoverd.i am an engineering student ,i used to believe that there are no such things…but when i saw it by my self i had to believe so please dont malign the image of baba ramdev..

      1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
        Timothy Burgin

        Please support your claims against the facts presented in this article. There is no judgement being passed here, just questions being raised, as they should when anyone makes health claims. Anecdotal reports are not proper evidence.

        Please note I am deleting your other comment because you are name calling another commenter. If you continue in this behavior you will be banned from the site.

        1. Rick Berman Avatar
          Rick Berman

          It is very easy to throw stones at others; when you have three fingers pointing at yourself. Roman Catholicism; the Anglican Church and Christianity in general have been organized fraudsters for centuries; cleverly looting people.

          1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
            Timothy Burgin

            Dear Rick, I’m open to having any hypocrisy pointed out on any of my statements, but I’m not a Christian so the point you raised is mute. If this is instead an attempt at character assassination then please do not post again.

    2. Abhishek Avatar
      Abhishek

      if that is true then why jumped into making a title like “guru or fraudster” ? I really like to listen you, but you seem have no material or evidence, its a just fantasy talk born out of and orthodox Christianity and hatred.

      1. Timothy Burgin Avatar
        Timothy Burgin

        Because “his claims of healing incurable diseases and foretelling the future are causing some to question his authenticity.” If Baba Ramdev is a true guru then he should not be pulling the wool over your eyes but instead be “one who removes darkness”. You seem to be quick at making judgements against me and Ms. Golden but incapable to question the authenticity of what Baba Ramdev is teaching.

  3. Janice Avatar
    Janice

    vikramsjn,
    I believe what you experienced when reading Kelly’s article was a translation error. The article Kelly wrote seemed to present an argument without judgement in order to develop a dialogue about Ramdev.

  4. vikramsjn Avatar
    vikramsjn

    Yes, you both are somewhat correct – I was too irked by the misleading article in Guardian. But I also have objection to use of word Fraudster in the discussion title.

    WHAT I SAYING IS:

    1. The author of this article, or the person who has started this discussion, hardly knows about Ramdev. Its only through blog posts and news articles that you know Ramdev. As I know the English media, even within India, is anti-Ramdev. They do not publish any news regarding him, they do not mention any good work being done by him. Whereas they do not shy any controversies regarding Ramdev. So these articles do form a proper base to even start a discussion – because anyway the content from these articles has been mentioned in the discussion article.

    2. When you do not know about a person, and are depending on hearsay, then its not a good idea to start the discussion where you mention straightaway if he is a fraudster

    What if I say ‘Is the current Pope really a Pope or a Fraudster’ – would you not be irked.
    A title some thing like ‘Baba Ramdev – Is he really a true Guru’, or ‘Baba Ramdev – Are his healing claims true or fake’ would have been much better.

    Even when in normal life when you do not know about a person, you do not straightaway ask if the person is fraudster, you rather check if the person of integrity, are his claims or words of value.

    3. This article seems to be initiating a discussion – but it hardly started a discussion. If I had not posted it would have been mostly an article assembled by contents from news articles, claiming to start a discussion, and in the process using word ‘Fraudster’ for Swami Ramdev.

    I say this because notice for yourself no one else has posted except you two and me – this is hardly a discussion.

    TO THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE
    What I have written above is what all I had in mind when I read the article and now that I have read the two following post after mine. Probably your intention was not negative, but in my opinion the ground work was incomplete. I again object to the use of word Fraudster.

  5. vikramsjn Avatar
    vikramsjn

    Correction to last sentence of point 1 in my last post:

    So these articles do not form a proper base to even start a discussion – because anyway the content from these articles has been mentioned in the discussion article.

  6. Timothy Avatar
    Timothy

    Dear vikramsjn,

    Kelly did a great job on writing about this issue based on the article in the Guardian and from her other research on the subject. She did not claim anywhere in the article to be an expert on Ramdev, and her reporting was objective and did not pass any judgment against him. The title of the post was edited by me to clearly summarize the issue, and as the title ends with a question mark it was not to call him a fraudster but to question the legitimacy and authenticity of his claims.

    Unfortunately in the West we have had exposure to many unethical and fraudulent gurus, so it is very appropriate for us to examine gurus carefully, especially when they are making such exorbitant claims as Ramdev is. The whole point of this post is that we will soon find out if some of his claims are true or not, and we should hold judgment until the scientific results are in.

    We do love it when our blog posts generate a discussion, but unfortunately many of them generate little to no discourse. Compared to our other posts, this article has a good deal of discussion posts added to it.

    1. lokesh Avatar
      lokesh

      Sir, you are biased in your approach, first you must collect fact and figure than you talk, although it is the mentality of west to mock other people’ religion, beliefs , you must look into your pope system and their corruption, ..

  7. vikramsjn Avatar
    vikramsjn

    I was preparing reply to last post of Timothy, when I noticed that link to my blog posts, from my first post here, were removed altogether.

    Please tell me why that was done, and should I post links within html tag.

  8. vikramsjn Avatar
    vikramsjn

    Reply to Timothy’s post (part 1)

    Well, I agree that Kelly’s reporting was not judgemental, but being incomplete and one-sided it was sending a wrong message. A casual careless common reader could probably take that one aspect in the post to be true – or prominent.

    As for the Guardian article of Randeep Ramesh, I will again repeat and any careful reader can notice that its judgemental suggestive one-sided, and biased. For me Guardian article is clearly an attempt on the part people like Randeep Ramesh to spread FUD, rumor, misrepresentation.

    I accept your point that the title ends in question mark hence doesn’t really call Ramdev a fraudster. I guess, to some extent I got excited and retaliated. However, I would suggest use of benign wording for a tremendously respected and revered person like Swami Ramdev.

    This is very true that in west there have been fraudulent gurus. This applies to India as well, may be still more. Its certainly required that a person be examined before he is accepted as a guru. It also seems that your attempt to have discussion has really worked well. If you had not used that Fraudster word I probably would not have involved myself in discussion. I will try to share and will try to clear your all doubts as far as I know.

    I will also state this before I really start that I have no association with Ramdev or any of his organizations, or Aastha channel. I do not have any information from Aastha or any other organization. What I state in my writing regarding Ramdev is based from what I have learned about him from his programmes on Aastha channel, and articles elsewhere on internet and magazines.

    Now regarding exhorbitant claims of Ramdev. I have many things to say, and share in this regard, but I will try to limit myself for now, because of lack of time, and for the sake of post.

    I agree that exhorbitant claims are certainly an issue with Ramdev. He may be correct regarding some of these, and for some he may be incorrect. However he has more than 15 years of experience with him (or may be more). Even before getting Deeksha of Sanyaas, he was Yog Acharya, and was teaching Yog and Kundalini Jaagran. Besides he repeats again and again that one should not just assume what he say, instead one should follow and see for himself. The selective pranayam that he recommends is actually very simple and almost harmless. He always repeats the precautions when asking to do pranayam. And he also repeats that never hold your breath (certain pranayam also involve holding breath).

  9. vikramsjn Avatar
    vikramsjn

    Reply to Timothy’s post (part 2)
    He is also working relentlessly to prove his claims scientifically. The huge Patanjali Yogpeeth, its related organizations, and the wide array of scientific equipments there, and the research work being done there by Ayurvedic and Allopathic doctors and scientests is proof in itself. Probably in short time we will have results regarding his claims.

    Regarding two of his claims that drinks like Pepsi/Cola are only as good as toilet cleaner, and that Yog helps reduce CD4 count are almost validated by modern medical science. I did not perform a search or research regarding these, but came across following recently: Get kids to junk that junk food, Meditation slows AIDS progression: study.

    Now this is exactly Ramdev has been saying for years now, actually more than 10 years. The second article also confirms his claim that yog helps improve CD4 count.

    Let me also mention that he shuns all forms of superstition himself. He is Ayurveda and Vedic expert. And has still more particular expertiese in Yog. He promotes logic reasoning and careful examination. He also maintains transparency by telecasting almost as many programmes as possible on Aastha channel (however he is limited by time sanctioned by Aastha to PYPT programmes).

    He keeps learning about modern medical science. He is well aware of many modern medical treatments. From him I come to realize that many treatments in allopathy are to suppress problems, or to deal with problems locally or symptomatically – which many times leads to side effects, and may not really resolve the incorrect tendency in the body (which may lead to recurrence of the problem in the patient).

    Ramdev these days is in US. In his camps he asks those who had benefits to share their experience. Many in these US camps, who shared their experience of benefits from pranayam, are themselves doctors (gynecologists, dentists, gastrologists, urologists).

    He never shys from discussions with doctors of allopathy. Infact for past 3 years I have been noticing that he organizes discussion with those trained in modern medical science. Main attempt being to bring the Ayurvedic and Allopathic system closer to each other.

    Recently he was in a meet organized by Chartered Accountants of India. This was also attended by various leading doctors in India. Of these one was leading Asthma expert, and one another was extremely awarded cardiologist. This cardiologist, after Ramdev’s presentation, told the chartered accountants and their families there that what Ramdev said in the presentation is 90% correct to his knowledge. And that the rest 10% may be found to be true as the research is done in medical sciences.

    I will end for now by saying this I have still more to share, but I will leave it for next time. I will state here that I, like many other here in India, suspected Ramdev to be fake years ago. I have known Ramdev since 2003, through Aastha channel. But every year my faith in Ramdev increases.

  10. vikramsjn Avatar
    vikramsjn

    In my last post’s second para, last sentence had two links, as HTML link tag – but they do not work. Probably HTML links in posts are not allowed.

    In my first post there were two links inserted as text that were manually removed by those maintaining this site.

    So I do not know how to mention other articles through posts on this site.

    I am posting the HTML links in the last post here as text:
    1. http://www.ibnlive.com/news/living-it-up-get-kids-to-junk-that-junk-food/69184-17.html
    2. http://uk.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUKN2449373420080724?sp=true

  11. npkarambelkar Avatar
    npkarambelkar

    It may not be appropriate to call Ramdev Baba as either ‘ guru’ or a ‘fruadster’. He is a loudmouth and claims big achievements through his so called ‘Yog’. He is not much educted. In a TV interview he explained that his training in ‘yog’ is also informal. He did not learn yog from any teacher. He learned ‘yog’ by reading books. He is self proclaimed ‘yogi’. He has got quick publicity through TV channels. For his tall claims of healing through yog he takes support of science and medical reports. His own understanding in science is limited. The less we talk about him its is beter.
    Narendra

  12. Wishdom Avatar
    Wishdom

    Whether a Guru is “real” or not is not for me to guage. I believe we should look inward more. It seems we live in a world that seeks hope in so many other people and things, unfortunately overlooking the power that has been placed in us from birth. At times it would seem all things external are merely a distraction from the suppresed beauty within.

  13. Ravi Avatar
    Ravi

    Nice article Kelly. Unfortunately it has lead to juvenile arguments.

    Lets look at this objectively, keeping emotions aside. I would have liked someone to have written something on his teachings, rather than on his personality. I’m sure that’s what a true Guru would really care about, that people would rather people spreading his teachings. From what I’ve come to know about him, that is his only motto in life. However, highlighting a personality is exactly the kind of misrepresentation that gives rise to a cultish propoganda.
    I’ve viewed a few of his preachings on TV and I personally do like the way he presents his views. Again, I’m not commenting on Baba Ramdev. His teachings are simple and easy to follow. His message is clear – all that you need to do is follow this simple routine and be free of most ailments. Unfortunately, this is perceived as a proud claim. The reason I like his methods are that he don’t cost you anything, in stead only a few minutes of your day. There are absolutely no side effects. If at all, you gain something substantial which would the make time spent on following his yoga the best investment of your life.
    His teachings are entirely upon the viewers’ discretion. If you do suffer from a list of ailments that he has ‘claimed’ to cure, and that no medication has proven to be helpful, then his teachings could be considered as another alternative as it makes perfect sense economically – no cost or side effects.
    So please go ahead and be critical of his teachings. If you (not just Kelly, anyone for that matter) perchance happen to see sense in any of it then please take another step and be a moral civilian by promoting his teachings.

  14. Ravi Avatar
    Ravi

    Nice article Kelly. Unfortunately it has lead to juvenile arguments.

    Lets look at this objectively, keeping emotions aside. I would have liked someone to have written something on his teachings, rather than on his personality. I’m sure that’s what a true Guru would really care about, that people would rather people spreading his teachings. From what I’ve come to know about him, that is his only motto in life. However, highlighting a personality is exactly the kind of misrepresentation that gives rise to a cultish propoganda.

    I’ve viewed a few of his preachings on TV and I personally do like the way he presents his views. Again, I’m not commenting on Baba Ramdev. His teachings are simple and easy to follow. His message is clear – all that you need to do is follow this simple routine and be free of most ailments. Unfortunately, this is perceived as a proud claim. The reason I like his methods are that he don’t cost you anything, in stead only a few minutes of your day. There are absolutely no side effects. If at all, you gain something substantial which would the make time spent on following his yoga the best investment of your life.

    His teachings are entirely subjected to the viewers’ discretion. If you do suffer from a list of ailments that he has ‘claimed’ to cure, and that no medication so far has proven to be helpful, then his yoga could be considered as yet another alternative. What does anyone have to lose as it doesn’t come with a cost or any adverse side effects. It makes perfect sense economically.

    So please go ahead and be critical of his teachings. I’m sure he too would welcome that, as it is now apparent that he subjecting his methodolody to scientific verification. If you (not just Kelly, anyone who is reading this) perchance happen to see sense in his method then please take another step and be a moral civilian by spreading it. I’m sure your neighbours would bless you for this warm gesture.

  15. Ravi Avatar
    Ravi

    pardon the typos and the dupliate entries … sry abt that

  16. sushma_shetty19 Avatar
    sushma_shetty19

    I am not here to advertise Baba Ramdev because I don’t need to. However from my personal experience and from what I have seen, and heard from peeople whom I know, I can surely tell that he is certainly an inspiration.
    I would like to share my experience here. I know a lady 50 years old, living a diffiult life: lost her husband early in life, brought up 2 daughters with virtually no support from family, faced all hardships a single Indian mother could endure. Around 5 years ago I met her once at a very well known hospital in Dermatology department treating herself for some strange disease which affected her legs. (She had told me later that she was developing tiny lumps around her feet and the skin on her legs was turning dark and was peeling off) She also seemed like a 70 year lod with patches of grey hair. I also noticed black patches/pigments on her face.
    I happended to meet her after nearly 5 years and to my disbeleif, I met a woman who none would beleive was of 55 years of age.
    I really do not beleive in babas, yogis etc, but just by looking at her, I learnt inspirations can really do wonders.
    She told me (in fact gave me) a few CDs and books on Baba Ramdev and told me her routine which was so simple. She got up everyday at 4:00 drank a glass of water which had lime and honey. Then she would clean her bowels and freshen up. She would later practice Yoga for 2 hours. She would often do the asanas & pranayam by looking at Baba Ramdev’s CDs or watching him on TV. She would then go for long walk for an hour or so. She would include all vegetables Baba Ramdev advised in daily meals.
    Apart from slim look, clear face and a lovely glow on her face what surprised all of us was that her hair was turing black. I checked and rechecked if she had dyed her hair but I noticed that her hair was indeed black at roots. He legs were normal.
    I am a software devloper and I have my share of ailments which could be a result of my profession. One such was pain in the joints of my fingers, I have tried a few hand and palm excersices and am realy happy that I feel a lot relaxed.

    One could say that it is Yoga and not Baba Ramdeve which cured you, I do agree, but what about the INSPIRATION?
    He doesnt preach superstition, he always give logical reasons to his claims and above all as as Ravi rightly said “He doesnt ask for anything from you except for a few minutes”…. and that is for your good.

  17. Truefact Avatar
    Truefact

    Let me introduce myself first, I am postgraduate in medical science (Master of Surgery).I would say swami Ramdeo as propagandist; he claims treatment for every thing.
    He says those children who wash their mouth daily and give splashes to their eyes never get sects number in their life. This statement is rootless unscientific, foolish statement.
    He also making fool audience by saying ” Sects number can corrected by pranayam” again this is a baseless statement and far from truth. This gives false hope to many children who have spects.In my view to give somebody false hope is sin.
    He also claim that ” If pregnant lady take cow dung regularly ,they would have normal delivery” again this is very dangerous statement and can jeopardize many innocent pregnant ladies life ,just because of his false claims.
    Many early diagnosed cancer patient leave their definitive treatment from allopathic doctors and start swami Ramdeo”™s treatment (Pranayam and medicines from his pharmacy).As we all know that any cancer in its early stage better results (prognosis).So many patients waste their useful early time and reached in terminal stage of cancer just because of false claims of this man, otherwise it would have been cured by established allopathic treatment. If his Pranayam and medicines from his pharmacy are so good and effective then why can”™t he align his eye straight with these..?
    In my view he very good businessman like Mukesh Ambani and shrewd politician like Mayavati .He are in multi million businesses of ayurvedic medicine and audio video CDs and books. He also takes huge donations in the name of Bharat Nirman.
    So Pranayam is like any other exercise keeps you healthy but definitely does not cure cancers, HIV, Arthritis, refractive errors, diabetes mellitus, as claims by Swami Ramdeo.
    So it is clear he not less than any fraudster but more than them because they harm peoples by only money but this fellow plays by lives of peoples.

  18. san_pathare Avatar
    san_pathare

    A agree with you. swami Ramdeo is not less than any fraudster. He very good businessman. He takes huge donations in the name of Bharat Nirman that’s true.
    Also agree that Pranayam is like any other exercise, keeps you healthy but definitely does not cure cancers, HIV, Arthritis, refractive errors, diabetes mellitus, as claims by Swami Ramdeo.

  19. iRohit Avatar
    iRohit

    I have seen professional doctors claiming success with his methods personally, but yeah sure he makes claims too far fetched – but I guess that is what I call marketing which made people pay attention to him.

    Baba Ramdev is not at all a fraudster but a very clever man who knows how to get his voice across !

  20. cse552 Avatar
    cse552

    Why would a guru sell his yoga ?
    Why do a guru needs so much money?
    I really think that ramdev an idiot.
    But there there are true gurus in India who are selfless and great scholars.He is definitely not one among them.
    I dont understand what the fuck these idiots are doing when Yoga Patents are issued by US.

  21. rajayogi Avatar
    rajayogi

    @ cse552 you are correct. why guru comes to politics???? why he have 1100 crore(RS) of money. if he is a monk he should beg door to door and he should be good listener. in TV Show he always aggrasive. as as Indian i would say he is a BIG Fake.

  22. mandeepnarang Avatar
    mandeepnarang

    Ramdev is “Chor”. is ka to wohi hall hai “Dhobi ka kuta na ghar ka na ghat ka”. He is not a yogi any more, not politician, not a normal person.
    He lost his Yogi image due to his madness. He played a trick to get attention. He tried to divide people into groups. He should be arrested for this.

    If he can see black money, he cant see what Manmohan Singh did in Last 10 years for India.

    I can’t understand why he use “Baba” word infront his name. He is “Pakhandi Ramdev”. I put blam on film stars, he talk about sex, he talk about black money. He is a yogi????

  23. JoyJeet Avatar
    JoyJeet

    One thing is not clear to me that why a Yoga guru is not able to continue Fast for a longer period than a Non-yoga practitioner. Ramdev being a yoga guru should have continu longer Fasting than Mr. Anna or Mamta Banerjee (a politician). He fell sick after continuing for few days only.

  24. Govindam Avatar
    Govindam

    Take with a pinch of salt what the Guardian has to say. From what I know he seems a genuine teacher of dharma.

    Ramdev is not a fake. He has awakened Indian people to their heritage again, made them feel proud and given them the confidence to vote out a bunch of corrupt people in India. If he wanted rich and fame he would have come to the west and setup shop in the US or Europe. Its good to question and root out imposters so its not a problem to discuss Ramdev considering he has such a huge following and he is very popular. He had been speaking out a lot against the government for implementing anti corruption, against slaughter houses etc. As a genuine leader he sticks up for what matters unlike other Gurus or Swamis who are content on imparting some philosophy and yoga but don’t want to do anything to make the world around them more dharmic. If he was a fake and only interested in creating a legion of followers for his personal benefit he would not have gone against the congress party of india (who were in power at the time of this Guardian article) who have tried their level best to malign him in the media.

    In the case of Swami Ramdev, the mainstream western media portrayal of Indian gurus and swamis has also been negative in general and its probably explained by the fact that the western establishments are generally antagonistic to eastern thoughts and ideas.

  25. Arvind Nagar Avatar
    Arvind Nagar

    Yoga practice is based on body and mind interaction developed thousands of years ago. The practitioners had life spans of over hundred years. Some movements in practice have similarities with religious poses and postures and therefore people from other religions consider it as another way to convert. Hinduism does not believe in conversion. The pre-Islamic mid-easterners and Greece natives including Alexander the Great were impressed by the wisdom of ancient Hindus.

    So your mind or beliefs may prevent you from benefits of Yoga practice. Also diet and life styles may affect your benefits from Yoga. You may explore it as a pure scientist with open mind for yourself. Some athletic practices including stretching are derived from Yoga knowingly or unknowingly.

  26. nish shin Avatar
    nish shin

    If you can’t respect baba ramdev then you shouldn’t disrespect him on several rumors. MIND YOUR WORDS. This message is for everyone who mentioned some abusive terms against him here.

  27. Doctor Anju Avatar
    Doctor Anju

    Good Page~

  28. Student Avatar
    Student

    Your article has a great value, though orthodox Swami Ramdev believers might be thwarted. Swami Ramdev popularizes his Yoga as derived from Patanjali, but authentic scholars know for themselves whether atleast one āsana or prānāyāma he teaches comes in the Patañjali Yoga Sūtrās. Moreover, even in Hatha Yoga texts like Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita or Siva Samhita, the reckoning of most of the prānāyāmā’s he popularizes is different and involves different methods. And, the claims he makes about curing the incurables never occurs in the authentic scriptures or their comnentary. Moreover, taking for granted his amazing ability, his exclusive demand for publicity, and in recent times FMCG business, leads any observer to question him as a “guru”.
    Thanks

  29. Vidhi Chhariya Avatar
    Vidhi Chhariya

    He has been in controversies including the death of his close friend Sri Rajiv Dixit who spent an entire lifetime to support Baba Ramdev and in the end started realizing that Ramdev desired political power and wealth to create an empire based out of Rishikesh and not in different parts of India from where people were donating money. This led to a name spoiler for Baba Ramdev and soon enough Sri Rajiv Dixit died of mysterious circumstances. People say he was poisoned however there was a concerted effort not to have his body be postmortemed .

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Kelly Golden Avatar
About the author
Kelly has been a student and practitioner of yoga for over a decade, and through the exploration of the physical and philosophical practices, yoga has touched every aspect of her life in a positive way. In her sharing of yoga, she strives to inspire in others the peace, well being, balance, harmony, and understanding that yoga has brought to her own life. Kelly graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1998 with a degree in Creative Writing. Following college, she did freelance writing and editing before turning her focus more completely toward yoga and rearing a family. Kelly is currently serving as the Director of Vira Bhava Yoga School.
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