Yoga Guru Defends His Operation; Criticizes Medical Community

Patna: March 21, 2006

High profile yoga guru Baba Ramdeo who is holding a week-long yoga camp at Patna's Gandhi Maidan attracting thousands of followers from rickshaw-walas to high-flying politicians, while talking to reporters on Monday, denied he had 'commercialized' yoga for profit as alleged by some of his distracters and instead he was doing it all for the physical and mental health of Indian citizens 'for a stronger, better nation'.

"There are people who are spreading rumors about me and my ways of treating various physical ailments through the power of yoga but I am not going to give in to their pressures," the spiritual leader said.

"I do charge people to teach them yoga techniques but I also offer free sessions to those who cannot afford to donate to my organization," he said.

Referring to a lawsuit filed against him for 'promoting witchcraft', the Baba said that he was not doing any such thing. "Instead, I am using different yoga asanas to resurrect hopes in many of the patients who have otherwise given up on modern medicines," he said.

Taking a dig at the medical community, Baba Ramdeo said a majority of today's physicians were exploiting patients by taking undue advantage of their helplessness. "Even at hospitals and nursing homes, unnecessary tests on patients are ordered purely for monetary gains. While there are certainly exeptions to the rule, more than 90 percent of the operations and tests in the hospitals are unnecessary and dangerous," the yoga guru said.

"With proper practice of yoga, a man can live upto 100 years and diseases like diabetes, AIDS, and cancer can be cured," he added.