"Blind imitation of the West and the fast growing materialism have been ruining the true spirit of our culture. The western way of competition has created hatred, jealousy and ill-will in the society. Great values of our ancient culture, which were based on love, peace, feeling of brotherhood and co-operation are disappearing. But in this century India will emerge as Vishwaguru due to the renewed power of yoga. The century will be known as the era of India’s yoga. Patanjali Yogapeeth will show the whole world the way of yoga and its miracle,” said RSS Sarsanghachalak Shri K.S. Sudarshan. He was speaking as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of Patanjali Yogapeeth, founded by renowned Yoga guru Swami Ramdev in Haridwar on April 4.
Shri Sudarshan further said: “The yoga was never so simple until Swami Ramdev made it possible for one and all. He is himself a movement. Yoga has been a part and parcel of Hindu culture since ages and was in diminishing trend. But Swami Ramdev took it as a mission of his life and today he is the most known yogi of modern India. Swami Ramdev’s service to mankind is unparalleled.”
Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, founder of the Art of Living Foundation said Swami Ramdev has done yeoman’s service to the entire humanity, which is the sole aim of a saint. He said the work of saints is to work for the welfare of whole humanity and Swami Ramdev has proved himself a true saint. “If an individual can be credited for reviving the yoga in this country, it is solely Swami Ramdev. Yoga can cure even fatal diseases like cancer and Swami Ramdev has definitely proved it time and again,” he said. He further said it is a good indication for India that the efforts of saints are being accepted and appreciated in the society. If this effort is encouraged in the future, India will succeed in proving its superiority to the whole world once again and no one can prevent India becoming Vishwaguru, he added.
Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi said there were more possibilities of curing diseases in Ayurveda. That is why during his regime Pt Nehru had constituted a commission, which said Ayurvedic medicines could prove superior to other therapies incase they are encouraged and given proper importance. Shri Modi said China has gained Rs 5000 crore through export of Ayurvedic medicines. India can also be benefited by this. He said most of the saints today have kept themselves restricted to discourse, but it is for the first time that a saint has created a sort of revolution in the form of practice of yoga. His simple yogic exercises are fast becoming household practices. It is not just the words that make people convinced of Swami Ramdev, but they are the results that speak for themselves. He hoped that the major and big companies of the world would adopt the yoga exercise to lessen their mental tension and yoga teachers trained in Swami Ramdev’s campus would become the officers of their companies.
Shri Ramesh Bhai Ojha, noted saint, said Swami Ramdev’s fast growing popularity definitely irritated many in the society, but his detractors whose numbers are dwindling day-by-day have failed to succeed in their nefarious designs as allegation that his medicines contain human parts and animal residue have been found to be baseless and untrue. He said Swami Ramdev has shown how humble he is even when others oppose him and said that opposition of someone proves his greatness.
VHP president Shri Ashok Singhal said Swami Ramdev’s efforts of yoga are commendable enough. “He has taken yoga and ancient wisdom out of caves and brought it to every home and every town. This is the beginning of jnanyug. Nobody can now stop the rise of Indian wisdom and culture. One and all will accept the miracle of yoga and Ayurveda,” he added.
Noted saint Shri Vijay Kaushal Maharaj said Swami Ramdev should be known as Maharishi because of his efforts of making the people healthier. Uttaranchal governor Shri Sudarshan Aggarwal said the Patanjali Yogapeeth would spread India’s ancient values and culture in every nook and corner of the world.
Swami Ramdev said Patanjali Yogapeeth would be world’s biggest yoga and Ayurvedic center. He said as Adi Shankaracharya established four Maths, four branches of his Yogapeeth would be setup. The yoga revolution must reach the last person in the last village. He defended his curative path, saying he would soon prove this could take on modern drugs. “I will be bringing out a document which will show yoga can cure not only cancer but also AIDS.” Former Uttaranchal Chief Minister Shri Nityanand Swami and Vaidya Devendra Triguna also spoke on the occasion.
On second day, a sant sammelan was organised under the presidentship of Swami Satyamitranand Giri. Over 150 eminent saints participated in the sammelan. Swami Satyamitranand Giri said it is only through yoga, India would regain its glorious past.
Uttaranchal Chief Minister Shri N.D. Tewari said the state assembly had passed a bill giving Patanjali Yogapeeth the status of a university and announced that Swami Ramdev would remain its lifetime chancellor. Apart from being the biggest yoga center in the country, the university will try to link ancient wisdom to modern science, he said.
Lauding the efforts of Swami Ramdev, Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said on April 6 that Swami Ramdev provided the knowledge of yoga to one and all rising above all narrow considerations. “His singular contribution is to inspire faith in the poor man that he can cure himself without the aid of any costly medicines,” he added.
Union Minister for Railways Shri Lalu Prasad Yadav assured to link the Patanjali Yogapeeth by railways. He said Swami Ramdev has come with treatment of incurable diseases. Bihar Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar said Swami Ramdev has made the yoga a revolution. Delhi’s Chief Minister Smt. Sheila Dikshit said Swami Ramdev has been successful in establishing peace and health to the people of this country. Haryana Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Singh Hudda hoped that Swami Ramdev would succeed in making the world disease free. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu said Swami Ramdev was creating a world without tensions and physical ailments.
Shri Inder Singh Namdhari speaker of Jharkhand Assembly said India would again establish itself as Vishwaguru. Union Minister of state for Home Shri Prakash Jaiswal said a healthy India would lead to the healthy world. He also strongly backed inclusion of yoga in the school education. Union Minister Shri Suresh Pachori, Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Digvijay Singh, Industrialist Shri Rahul Bajaj, Shri Krishanbhai Patel, Shri Brijmohan Munjal, Shri A.P. Hinduja, Shri V.K. Modi, noted singers Shri Ravindra Jain and Anuradha Paudwal, actress Hema Malini also attended the ceremony.
