BABA RAMDEV

Barack Obama was a great piece of history - and I hate history - history (imo) should be buried alongside its good buddy .. religion .... both of them in a 12 foot thick steel container .. both of them without an escape route or air hole .. both of them (preferably) on a planet in a far away galaxy .. that said .... could this unfolding story be more historic than Obama ?

My wife's parents are over here to visit us in Spain for the month and have brought their Sky TV Receiver over to boot. Catching glimpses of the Indian TV channels they watch ...
I kept seeing a guy who looked like he was some kind of preacher ... so payed no attention, that's not for me.
Actually he (I know now is Baba Ramdev) holds televised yoga lessons in front of huge crowds (these gatherings are more like gigs) throughout India which have gained mass fanatical support.

India's Saviour ??
The Modern day Legend ... Baba Ramdev

The legend (briefly) goes that this Indian man Baba Ramdev was struck with paralysis at the age of two but through the practice of yoga cured himself, furthermore he has managed to ignite & inspire the people of an upcoming great nation to believe and support his vision for their country.

I say legend .. as Baba Ramdev is now almost 50 years old and I personally have not seen his medical records .. so the only "official & trustworthy" source of his early medical disability comes from the man himself ... (as far as I can see).

I mention this not to brand Baba Ramdev a charlatan, simply to emphasise that questions are sure to be voiced over the coming months about this legend (or fact), it having contributed greatly to his undoubted success in his yoga and medicine, methods and theories.

Let me spell it out ...
if Baba Ramdev had not been paralysed in earlier life and self healed by practicing yoga .. it is maybe almost certain that he would not have had such a compelling voice on India's grand stage ...
that (for now) is the "legend" of Baba Ramdev.

Last night on the 4th June 2011 he was arrested by police in Delhi.

Corruption in India is said to be absolutely rife, and so much of the money gained through this corruption (black money) is held in bank accounts outside of India. We are talking full scale "mafia" style corruption here .. not just occasional backhander's here and there, from the top to the bottom, its become a way of life now ..

At the end of May the Indian government convened a special meeting to discuss Baba Ramdev's planned "fast-till-death" at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, after which the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Baba Ramdev asking him to call off his planned rally in demonstration against corruption. Baba Ramdev refused the Prime Minister saying that all of the "conditions" he was campaigning for could not be met and the 'Satyagraha against Corruption' fast-until-death would start on the day of 4th June.

Upon Baba Ramdev's arrival in Delhi airport he was met by 4 of the governments senior cabinet members, who would once again try to persuade Baba to call off the planned fast. They tried in vain to convince him that the Governments stance on corruption would harden over the coming year. The meeting it is reported was amicable .. but afterwards one of the ministers Kapil Sibbal told the press of a letter from Baba Ramdev agreeing to call off his fast, Ramdev said he had been betrayed and vowed to continue.

Around 100,000 people gathered at the Ramlila Maidan on the 4th of June ..
At midnight the police raided the camp, most of the supporters were sleeping.
Tear gas was used to disperse the crowds, for whom special buses had been organised to usher them out of the area. Inevitably there were skirmishes, some injuries and arrests.
Baba Ramdev was taken into custody by the police (after trying to escape dressed as a woman) and escorted out of Delhi, he was issued with an order banning him from returning to Delhi for two weeks.
Baba Ramdev was released the following day in Haridwar.

Baba Ramdev said a lot of things after his release : talk of a conspiracy to kill him .. people who had attended Ramlila Maidan were missing ... and a threat issued to him in the meeting with the ministers.
Most of India condemned the police action ... almost everyone but the Congress Party were united in voicing their disgust at the way this whole episode had been handled, its clear that this incident lost the Government significant credibility.

Basically they knew the fast was going to happen ... and handling it in the way that they did, has simply stoked the fire that is burning their house down ...

The current Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party ... is I'm told totally clean of any corruption (yet still the problem exists) ... Obviously the corruption problem is "known" to be ingrained into Indian society and the current government must consider the solution to the problem to be either too complex, unassailable or "something to be ignored".
Baba Ramdev has no such complacent thoughts.



India is obviously a BIG and important country in current and future global affairs. If Baba Ramdev can galvanise himself and those around him and is "allowed" to shape his own destiny ... could Baba Ramdev be India's saving grace and become (perhaps) a man shadowed only by Ghandi in India's illustrious history ?
Or is that just wishful thinking ?

Baba Ramdev Facts :
Parents : Mother & Father ... Gulabo Devi and Ram Nivas Yadav.
Born : in a small village Ali Saiyad Pur (Alipur), Distt, Mahendragarh, Haryana, India.
Name : Ram Krishna Yadav at birth ... now known as Baba Ramdev.
Teaches : Yoga and Pranayama (a Sanskrit word meaning something along the lines of : extension of the prana or breath ).
Inspiration : Ram Prasad "Bismil" (pen name) and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

After school he studied Sanskrit and Yoga with Achary Pradumn and later Achary Baldevji.
The Baldevji teachings inspired a young Ram Krishna Yadav to renounce worldly affairs and enter into Sanyas ("freedom from desire") ... he also gained the confidence to change his name to Swami "master" Ramdev. After some time giving free Yog lessons close to his home town he spent a couple of years studying ancient Indian scriptures. One book called Yogik Sadhan by Aurobindo Ghosh, written in Bangla but translated to Hindi by Ram Prasad "Bismil" inspired Baba Ramdev to retreat to the mountain caves of the Himalaya's for extreme personal training.

Around 2003 he formed the Divya Yog Mandir Trust and Aastha TV gave Baba Ramdev his big break and included his Yoga classes on their channel.

By 2006 Baba Ramdev formed an institution called Patanjali Yog Peeth which was to be the worlds largest centre for yoga and ayurveda (ancient Indian Sanskrit medicinal remedies). The facility in Haridwar offers free treatment to the poor, but charges those who can afford it. Although Baba Ramdev claims to hold no personal wealth, the institutional organisation Patanjali Yog Peeth has vast financial resources.
The 500 acres of grounds which house the Patanjali Yog Peeth central base are immaculately clean and also contain a university, hospital, a Ayurvedic medicine production line, a huge auditorium and modern apartment blocks to house around 10,000 guests at any one time.
It is here where Baba Ramdev holds daily three hour yoga classes which are televised and broadcast in around 190 different countries to a claimed global audience of around 100 million people.

Indian couple Sam and Sunita Poddar from Scotland bought and donated an Island (The Little Cumbrae Island) off the coast of Largs for £2 million, which will serve as Patanjali Yog Peeth's oversea base.

Early 2009 saw Baba Ramdev and Rajiv Dixit (now deceased) combine to create the Bharat Swabhiman ... an initiative for change in India which consisted of five ambitions.
Total voting, total nationalist mind set, total boycott of foreign produced goods, a fully united India, and yoga for all.

When you see Baba Ramdev on TV .. he will usually have either a microphone or a bottle of water in his hands. His dislike of all fast foods, packaged foods and aerated drinks are well documented. His whole outlook on life is one of total health and longevity.

It must be said that Baba Ramdev in the past, has reportedly made statements "off the cuff", some of which a lot of people looking in could find outlandish and extraordinary ..
I am one of those people (regarding one of the claims below) but then, we are all guilty in some ways of setting the mouth off on the road without engaging the brain prior to movement ... in the heat of the moment or otherwise?
Add to that .. the fact that controversy is always a great publicity tool - used wisely.

Animal parts in medicine : In early 2005 after a dispute with workers at the Divya Yog Mandir Trust some dissatisfied workers claimed that animal parts were being used in some of the medicines being produced. Brinda Karat a leading member of the Indian Communist Party who was involved with some of these workers accused the Divya Pharmacy owned by the Divya Yog Mandir Trust of using animal parts in their medicine. It is alleged that the samples were tested positive in some government labs but had been supplied by Brinda Karat and not obtained directly from source. In 2006 however samples were properly tested and found to be clean.

Aids and Sex Education : In 2006 Baba Ramdev claimed schools should teach Yoga not sex education. Also that aids and cancer could be cured through a combination of yoga and the ayurvedic drugs sold by his Divya Yog Mandir Trust. Subsequently he was issued a cease & desist order from the Indian Health Ministry, and a few days later "kind of" retracted his claims by saying these were the views of patients who were practicing his yoga.

Cure For Cancer : Baba Ramdev claimed that his teachings could cure certain forms of cancer in 2008. Ramdev had former cancer victims extol and back up these claims, which were supposedly factually documented. Yet still, the claims have not been authenticated as a medical fact.

Homosexuality : The High Court of Delhi in summer 2009 decriminalised homosexuality. Baba Ramdev poured scorn on the verdict, calling homosexuals sick, attacking the Courts for blindly following the West and threatening huge protestations. The verdict however still stands.

Baba Ramdev is certainly opinionated and has views on many aspects which concern him .. and he is not afraid to air these views.

Sanal Edamaruku is head and founder of the Indian Rationalist Association and well known for exposing many fraudulent quasi-religious guru characters. Sanal has said of Baba Ramdev that with his fervent beliefs in the ancient Indian medicines and rejection of modern medical knowledge that if ever he was to become a successful politician it could be a danger for India. Sanal also suggested that Baba Ramdev exaggerated both the benefits of his health treatments and also his television viewing figures.

Now - talking of "becoming a successful politician" ...
Baba Ramdev has said (bear in mind he says a lot of things) .. that if the government fail to tackle corruption & win the battle .. he will stand at the next elections ...
Reading on the Internet there are a lot of people who think that Baba Ramdev would stand no chance of becoming Prime Minister of India but then a lot of people thought Barack Obama would never be President of the USA.
Baba Ramdev has huge support from the common people .. and is held in great esteem ...
and could probably give the big parties a run for their money .. lets face it .. people want corruption stopped and this Government seems incapable of providing a solution.

Baba Ramdev's most important "current" crusade ...

The determining factor in this massive Anti Corruption crusade was firstly the Indian Commonwealth Games scam where Suresh Kalmadi allegedly awarded the contract to a Swiss firm and was subsequently arrested.
Then following on the heels of this at the end of 2010 was the the telecom scam, where record corruption was said to have occurred selling airwaves to cell phone operators.

Black Money : Baba Ramdev states that if India's upper class brought all its billions of black money back into the country - and gave it back to the country; India's people would be 50 times richer the United Kingdom.
As of June 2011 Baba Ramdev made this his number one priority ..

The 500 and 1,000 rand notes should be withdrawn from circulation.
India should ratify the UN "convention against corruption" agreement.
India's penal code should carry the death penalty clause for cases of corruption.
Gain access to special gateway servers used to maintain foreign bank accounts.
Gain access to personal accounts held abroad of any Indian working citizen.
Terminate operations of any foreign bank dealing with Indian black money.

The charismatic Baba Ramdev has already spoke of his lack of fear in losing his own life .. and it is said that someone else would then take over the mantle should the unthinkable occur ... but having seen his "second in command" Acharya Balkrishna (left)... albeit in a brief news clip speaking in a language I cannot understand .. my impression of him was not one of confident charismatic leadership quality, or even believability .. all qualities that Baba Ramdev himself actually does portray.

To my mind (looking in from the outside) this "movement" would sorely miss Baba Ramdev and the "ships" course would lose direction, focus, enthusiasm and even a little seaworthiness if anyone else but Baba Ramdev was at it's helm.

I hope that Baba Ramdev (despite also shunning political aspirations) is forced to carry out his threat of running for government because that is where the "value" lies ... that is where real change in India could come ....
that is where the legend could finally blossom and bear fruit.

The thing is if the current government manages to halt corruption and brings the money back to the country .. only to dish that money out to already corrupt local government divisions .. its kinda defeating the object.
I know I may be oversimplifying things here .. but sometimes .. that is the best route on the way to a solution.

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After Baba Ramdev's arrest and release he pledged to continue with his fast - but on June 10th he was taken to hospital and administered glucose .. thus ending his week old fast.
On Sunday 12th June pictures were released of Baba Ramdev voluntarily (on advise from his mentors & previous tutors) taking nourishment, along with all the supporters who had joined the fast.

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