Healing People The Patanjali Way

The 'millennials' or the 'Gen Z' generation who make jokes and memes about 'Lala Ramdev' do not realise that Swami Ramdev has long been pursuing the goal of making people healthy in this country and beyond through the power of Yoga and Ayurveda. On 11 December 2014, at the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the United Nations declared 21 June as 'International Yoga Day', but it was Swami Ramdev in particular who began his journey to make yoga accessible to all, many decades earlier.

It is as a result of his journey that 21 June, the International Day of Yoga, is celebrated as a festival every year all over the world. In his mission, Swami Ramdev was supported by another Karmyogi, Acharya Balkrishna, who was always at his side. He created a business model based on Yoga and Ayurveda, which over the years has developed into a mega business empire in the country.

In fact, the Patanjali Group's business model is based on three pillars: Indian culture, Yoga and Ayurveda. Its turnover has crossed the Rs 50,000 crore mark. With access to about 2 billion people in about 200 countries, the company has now set a target to reach Rs 1 lakh crore in the next 5 years.

From its headquarters in Haridwar in Uttarakhand, the Patanjali Group has made rapid progress everywhere. Not to mention North-South, East-West and Central India, it is even transforming the lives of people in the Northeast, which was virtually cut off from Delhi and other major parts of the country for decades. By setting up oil mills in Arunachal or starting oil palm cultivation in Assam, Tripura and other eastern states, Patanjali Foods is creating large-scale employment at the local level. In cooperation with around 39,000 farmers in nine states of the country, the company has so far planted palm trees on 63,816 hectares of land.

Incidentally, when farmers in western Uttar Pradesh had decided to give up cultivation of amla (Indian gooseberry) due to mounting losses, it was Patanjali that inspired them to continue it by providing them a large market. There are several such stories from different parts of the country that emphasise how the group is not only healing common people but also making them financially independent.

However, the phenomenal journey of the Patanjali Group, which has left many big companies behind with its indigenous business model of common good, has not been smooth. The two friends from a Gurukul in Haryana – one as a 'Yoga Rishi' and the other as an 'Acharya' – had to overcome many hurdles on their way, similar to those faced by a common man in his everyday life. But they were not deterred from their mission to bring Patanjali closer to its goal.

Talking about his early days, Acharya Balkrishna says he did not even know how much money he would need to register the trust. When he learnt about this, he collected money from some benefactors in Haridwar and went to the government office to complete the registration process. To his utter astonishment, he was asked for a bribe. “When I was asked for an 'additional fee' for registration, I was stunned,” he says. “That was my first such experience."

Interestingly, he was able to overcome the hurdle by providing immediate pain relief to an employee in the same office who was wearing a cervical collar.

According to Acharya Balkrishna, Patanjali never compromised on its principles and never resorted to any shortcuts to overcome such an obstacle. He says, "We studied in a gurukul and stayed in Gangotri. We had decided not to return to family life, but to dedicate our lives to bringing the benefits of yoga and Ayurveda to people,” he says. “In the beginning, I myself treated people with Ayurvedic medicines, while Swami-ji was engaged in connecting with people through yoga. Later, we decided to institutionalise our work in the form of a trust so that it would continue to benefit society even after us.”

It was the same system under which Swami Ramdev and his followers were arrested at midnight on 4 June 2011 while they were fasting at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi during their fight against corruption and black money. Later, the Supreme Court termed this police action as an 'attack on democratic values'. In 2006, Patanjali was also accused of using human and animal bones in its products. Later, another propaganda was launched against Patanjali even though the company had received the halal certificate. The fact is that this certificate is required for exporting Ayurvedic medicines to Arab countries. Another controversy arose when Patanjali Research Institute manufactured 'Coronil' during the coronavirus pandemic.

Acharya Balkrishna kept saying that the drug was tested as per the regulations. He said that the reports of corona patients on whom trials were conducted were negative after 3 to 15 days. No patient died but nobody listened to him and it became a battle between Allopathy and Ayurveda. Many efforts were made to damage the reputation of Patanjali, including taking it to court, sending legal notices and banning the sale of the drug, but the sales figures and export of the drug to about 125 countries prove its efficacy.

But, as the saying goes, if your intention is pure, nature will help you. Despite all possible allegations and obstacles, Swami Ramdev remained determined to bring Yoga, Ayurveda and Patanjali to every village in India. The World Health Organisation (WHO) started a project on medicinal herbs in 1995. When it was not successful, it was stopped in 2010. Patanjali started working on this front in 2005-06 and compiled an encyclopaedia on herbs.

Acharya Balkrishna says that there are 3.60 lakh such plants used for medicinal purposes all over the world. Patanjali has prepared a report of 1.25 lakh pages in which he has classified 50,000 biodiverse herbs. Now Patanjali is busy compiling a similarly authentic document on yoga.

In such a situation, the question arises: if Patanjali has done detailed research backed by real evidence, figures and experimental results, why are conspiracies being hatched for years to malign them through malicious propaganda? According to Swami Ramdev, the vested interests in the medical profession are working against Patanjali by spreading propaganda against Yoga, Ayurveda, natural remedies and the cultural values of Sanatan. They are out to denigrate the ancient traditions of Yoga, Ayurveda and natural remedies and also ancient sages like Charak and Dhanvantari. According to him, such elements continue to receive support from self-proclaimed intellectuals from other fields, including politics. However, Swami Ramdev has recently exposed this gang.

Today, when India, which is proud of its cultures, has launched its 'Make in India' campaign, is carrying forward Indian traditions and showing its determination to become a strong and developed country, it needs hundreds of companies like Patanjali and people like Swami Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna. But it is more important to remove the obstacles that are put in the way of those who want to move forward with Indian values. People in the system have to deal with such elements. Swami Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, with their indomitable will power, have paved the way for realising the dream of a developed India that can enlighten the world with its values and ancient traditions.