[Reader-list] Fw: Baba Ramdev claims Yoga has a cure...

[anupam chakravartty]

>From Rationalist International:

Swami Ramdev expects a revenue of 40 million dollar this year. Selling
India’s ancient, pre-scientific notion of health care and cure – repackaged
as his very special brand – is good business. Thanks to his all-out
marketing, Pranayama (ancient exercise in breath control) and ayurveda are
big hits with the ever-growing and prospering Indian middle class. His daily
early morning show has allegedly 20 million viewers. His 500 hospitals in
the country are said to register 30,000 patients per day. His new
headquarters in the “holy city” of Haridwar may soon be world’s largest
center for yoga and ayurveda.

Swami Ramdev’s breathing routine as such may be as harmless as useless. But
it comes with the stunning claim to cure all kinds of illnesses including
cancer and HIV/Aids. His brand of yoga, so runs his pseudo medical argument,
increases the CD4 count – the number of cells attacking the HIV virus. Such
baseless and irresponsible claims, luring a vast number of patients in need
of medical treatment into a false sense of security, turn Swami Ramdev’s
yoga ministry a disastrous venture.

“Swami Ramdev is a dangerous man”, said Sanal Edamaruku in a press
statement. ’It is high time that the authorities put a stop to his
activities. Claiming such absurdities is against the law. The magical
remedies act of 1954 was brought in to stop people such as Baba Ramdev from
promoting dangerous ideas about curing cancer and the like. But the
political class is running scared of him and of the backlash that his legal
prosecution might unleash."

Quoting Sanal Edamaruku, the following article appeared in *The Guardian*.

TV swami offers a cure for all ills

Yoga evangelist has millions in his thrall,
but critics claim devotees are being duped

Randeep Ramesh
The Guardian, Saturday June 14 2008

At 5am beneath the Shivalik hills in northern India, Swami Ramdev sits
cross-legged swaddled in saffron robes commanding the rapt attention of 500
devotees of his brand of yoga. The crowd is made up mostly of middle-class
Indians, many suffering from chronic conditions for which traditional
medicine has little to offer but comfort.

Each "patient" has paid 7,000 to 40,000 rupees (£90 to £500) to be among the
first to spend a week at the swami's newest venture: a village of 300
bungalows offering spiritual retreat in the shadow of eucalyptus trees.
Swami Ramdev's pitch is that pranayama, the ancient Indian art of breath
control, can cure a bewildering array of diseases. "Asthma, arthritis,
sickle-cell anaemia, kidney problems, thyroid disease, hepatitis, slipped
discs and it will unblock any fallopian tubes," he tells his audience in the
yoga village, who line up to have their blood tested and receive herbal
remedies.

Although India has a long tradition of mystical gurus, Swami Ramdev
represents a new phenomenon: the television yoga evangelist. Almost all his
congregation have been drawn through his shows on India's Aastha channel.
Every morning, the swami appears on television chanting prayers and
explaining that ailments, physical and mental, can be treated by what looks
like little more than sharp intakes of air and painful-looking body
contortions. More than 20 million tune in each day in India alone. The
television guru, who is also known as Baba Ramdev, is also available across
the world - including Britain. He has just finished teaching on a yoga
cruise from India to China, which even after attracting corporate
sponsorship still charged disciples £1,000 a ticket. Last year he appeared
in Westminster to give British politicians a chance to sample his yogic
wisdom.

Ludy Mantri, a housewife from Mauritius, has paid 40,000 rupees and
travelled 4,000 miles to see "her swami" in the Haridwar yoga village in the
hope he can help her find a cure for diabetes.

"I have been on medicines every day for the last 12 years. The chanting of
Om has an amazing effect and the words of Ramdev energise one through the
day."

Born into a farming family in north India he retains a common touch, making
rustic jokes in chaste Hindi. The guru combines this with a gentle manner
and a knack for public relations. The swami sells himself as a one-person
health service. He says he only charges the wealthy and that the poor get
his medicines for free. He has 500 hospitals in India serving more than
30,000 a day.

It is no surprise that many sections of the Indian elite - including judges,
ministers and Bollywood stars - have visited his camps. Such is his
popularity that the Indian army incorporated Ramdev's techniques claiming it
made for a "deadlier fighting force".

Ramdev often speaks less of spiritualism and more of the need to develop his
country through yoga, portraying himself as an Indian nationalist. He
attacks multinational companies for seeking to drain India of profits. He
calls Coke and Pepsi good only for "toilet cleaning".

In a country where renunciation is seen as almost a divine virtue, Ramdev
announces that he has long ago given up sex - because "it is not love". The
adoration he inspires was seen in 2006 when Indian communists accused the
guru of using human bones and animal parts in ayurvedic drugs produced by
his pharmacy. His followers rioted and attacked the party headquarters. The
Communist party backed down when it saw where public sympathy lay.In an
interview with the Guardian, Ramdev said that the problem with communists
was that they did not have "faith in spirituality and are philosophically
against religion. My cures are clean but the communists have an agenda."

There is little controversy about his basic assertions. He says that
following his yoga teachings for 30 minutes a day, along with a vegetarian
diet of raw or lightly boiled food and no alcohol or tobacco, clears clogged
arteries, reduces blood sugar and lowers blood pressure.

But the swami defended his more extravagant claims that yoga could cure
terminal illnesses such as cancer. He also said he had evidence that
breathing exercises could help Aids patients recover by enabling a rise in
the number of cells that the HIV virus destroys.

Ramdev has an explanation for his success with cancer - that yoga oxygenates
the blood which kills the tumour. "Yoga is self-healing and
self-realisation. I have many cases of cancer which I can provide where
patients have recovered. We have cured blood, throat, ovarian, uterine and
throat cancers with yoga."

In the case of HIV, he says scientists "have not understood [it] properly".
He says that "through yoga and lifestyle changes people increase their CD4
count [the cells the HIV virus attacks]. The truth seen for the first time
does appear like a miracle."

Such claims have angered many doctors. Mohammed Abbas, The president of the
Indian Medical Association, said that although yoga is "good exercise, it
cannot be used to make ridiculous claims about curing HIV or cancer. This is
false hope for ill people."

The swami says patients are tested and improvements measured by
"independent" doctors. Asked whether he has run any tests to analyse
treatment, he offers a ook of testimonies from disciples convinced they have
been cured of cancer, cirrhosis and kidney failure.

Some have called for the swami to be prosecuted for "peddling quackery of
the highest order".

"Claiming such absurdities is against the law," said Sanal Edamaruku of the
Indian Rationalist Association. "The magical remedies act of 1954 was
brought in to stop people such as Baba Ramdev from promoting dangerous ideas
about curing cancer and the like.

"The political class is running scared of this man and the backlash that
such a prosecution might unleash."


On 7/11/09, anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Aditya,
>
> Looks like you cant take the pain anymore. calling a member of the brinda
> brigade. you know opposition to a quack, a whacko, and Baba Ramdev can exist
> without being aligned to any particular ideology. what makes you say that
> section 377 stays in the end of the mail? this shows your intentions my
> friend. running from it is not helping you much. anyway i dont wish to
> continue a debate with a irrational person such as you. you can derive
> whatever conclusions u want to derive because you havent been able to answer
> any of the questions which were posed in the list, but you kept on harping
> about this babaji of yours. hardwar is a beautiful place, i guess people
> like ramdev and their shivirs are an eyesore and against the sanctity of
> that place. and yeah suggestion about me visiting hardwar, i will take it
> seriously...but why dont u move out the drawing room discussions of delhi?
> see for yourself and come back write. that's more educative for you. take
> care and next time be strong in what you argue. dont use people like ramdev
> to further your cause. my business is to expose quacks like ramdev and i
> will keep doing so even if u dont like it. ramdev has made yoga into a
> commodity, which is where i have a problem. he should have been arrested,
> but with such cultural vanguards as such the saffron bandwagon, soon
> heritage of india would be up for sale in amazon.com
>
> -with best wishes
>
> anupam
>
> On 7/11/09, Aditya Raj Kaul <kauladityaraj at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear Anupam
>>
>>   You need a good sleep. b'coz you have no argument left to counter truth.
>> Enough of your propaganda on behalf of 'Jhollah brigade'.
>>
>> You speak on my behalf. How far can I tolerate that ? Do you get me ?
>>
>> I've nothing to do with Baba Ramdev. I had just posted a news article
>> which
>> you wanted to give publicity, hence this chain reaction. I've serious
>> doubts
>> over you now. Who knows how you are related to the Brinda Karat's of the
>> world ? Did she pay you a good sum through a national television or was it
>> mutual indoor decision ? You are good at such deals. isn't it ?
>>
>> I said, I respect homosexuals. I respect Anupam Chakravartty. Don't be an
>> apologist Sir.
>>
>> I don't expect anything from Moderators. They will only react if something
>> is said against their opinion as has happened in the past.
>>
>> Seems you had a competetive business to Baba Ramdev, and you failed
>> yourself. Hence such hatred comes for the great Yoga Guru. In that case, I
>> can surely understand your frustration. Well.. business is such my friend.
>> I
>> told you to go for 'Pranayama'. That might just motivate you and get you
>> some new ideas of your own.
>>
>> I never said HOMOSEXUALITY is a disease. You said it ANUPAM CHAKRAVARTTY.
>>
>> Don't be a coward, agreeing to whatever the media and those so called
>> intellectuals say. Have your on opinion boss. Don't get carried away.
>>
>> This hatred against a popular Youga Guru Baba Ramdev won't solve anything.
>> It will only worsen your own image in public. It will make a mockery of
>> whatever argument you have.
>>
>> NOW STOP SPREADING RUMOURS AGAINST HIM. IT SEEMS YOU HAVE LOST IT.
>>
>> I PITY YOU.
>>
>> P.S. - A month at Haridwar or even Gadmukhteshwar will be of help.
>>
>> I've nothing more to add to your stupid allegations. You instead suffer
>> from
>> a complex.
>>
>> God please help my friend.
>>
>> Section 377 IPC...here to stay still :)
>>
>> regardsAditya Raj Kaul
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jul 11, 2009 at 1:19 PM, anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com
>> >wrote:
>>
>> > Dear Aditya,
>> >
>> > I have nothing much to add to your ignorance. Thanks for advertising
>> Baba
>> > Ramdev on Sarai. Perhaps no one tried it befoe in this group. But you
>> have
>> > managed it. Why dont you also start supplying his press notes here? How
>> > much
>> > does he pay to talk such rubbish or rather how much do you get to spread
>> > Ramdev's message?
>> >
>> > And what a hypocrite you are: on one hand you advertise this quack of a
>> guy
>> > who had filed an application in the supreme court against
>> decriminalisation
>> > of homosexuality, while on the other hand, you are now denying that you
>> > never said anything about homosexuality being disease but using Baba
>> Ramdev
>> > as your proof you have been spreading distasteful arguments on this
>> > reader's
>> > list. its been noticed mr kaul. if speaking against unwarranted attacks
>> on
>> > people on the group is incorrect, then there is a moderator here and i
>> > request his/her intervention on this issue.
>> >
>> > -anupam
>> >
>> >
>> > On 7/11/09, Aditya Raj Kaul <kauladityaraj at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > Dear Anupam
>> > >
>> > > You have again resorted to spreading rumours, getting to conclusions
>> > about
>> > > a
>> > > public/religious figure and again without any substantial proof or
>> > argument
>> > > to back your claims. If you have personal differences with him, that
>> is
>> > an
>> > > altogether different case. We don't care about it. Be mature in
>> > > understanding his following and the service he has been giving to
>> > millions
>> > > worldwide. Not alone through his medicines of Patanjali, events in
>> > > different
>> > > global cities and TV programmes but through his motivation of doing
>> Yoga.
>> > > It
>> > > has brought a drastic change in both rural areas and cities, if at all
>> > you
>> > > have capability of studying the positive change you should know. Even
>> if
>> > he
>> > > charges some money for his medicines, why does it bother you so much ?
>> It
>> > > is
>> > > a very right step.
>> > >
>> > > Yes even if Baba Ramdev is doing what people want him to do, it is
>> > service
>> > > to the society. He is a charismatic Guru and millions of people trust
>> > him.
>> > > You don't need to worry so much about him. You can take care of your
>> > > health.
>> > > Comparing him only makes your point weak.
>> > >
>> > > You have a dirty habit of speaking on my behalf without even
>> confirming
>> > my
>> > > opinion on the issue. I never said Homosexuality is a disease. This is
>> > > something growing in your mind as I can read and understand. Pathetic
>> of
>> > > you. Grow up Anupam... will you ?
>> > >
>> > > I reiterate that there is a consensus that decriminalization is a very
>> > > important and positive step taken by the Delhi High Court but there
>> are
>> > > serious issues with legalization. Homosexuality need not be legal. Not
>> > just
>> > > all religions are united against it, majority society is. You can't
>> bring
>> > > in
>> > > a law out of nowhere and force it on the people just because a few
>> > hundred
>> > > people dance, sing and shout on roads on a particular holiday every
>> year.
>> > I
>> > > respect Homosexuals, they need to be treated with care and compassion.
>> > They
>> > > are just like any other Human being.
>> > >
>> > > I think Anupam, you are still stuck in your four walls of ignorance.
>> > Either
>> > > you yourself face some trauma, with which I sympathise or else you are
>> > just
>> > > ignorant from childhood. Anyhow...I wish good for you.
>> > >
>> > > Ramdev and many others have challenged the Delhi HC Verdict in the
>> > Supreme
>> > > Court, nobody has stopped Anupam Chakravartty from doing the same.
>> Don't
>> > be
>> > > sitting on a chair and typing with no rest, go and file another
>> petition
>> > if
>> > > you really feel about the issue.
>> > >
>> > > Difference of opinion will remain. But your posts here talk about your
>> > > arrogance more than the original issue.
>> > >
>> > > Section 377 IPC is here to stay...just some more time. :)
>> > >
>> > > love
>> > >
>> >
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