Yog guru Swami Ramdev on Wednesday claimed that diseases like diabetes, hypertension, asthma, arthritis, obesity, kidney, liver failure and thyroid can be permanently cured through yoga and Ayurveda. These are diseases for which allopathy is used to provide a permanent cure. He claimed that his company Patanjali Ayurved has manufactured medicines to cure life-threatening diseases with the help of scientific research, and millions of people have been treated successfully. Ramdev said, he has a complete database of records of such treatment, and Patanjali’s research papers have been published in several journals across the globe. The yog guru offered to submit all this evidence from his database before the Supreme Court. He even offered to present patients who have been cured of such diseases. Ramdev’s offer came a day after the apex court cautioned Patanjali Ayurved against making “false and misleading” claims to cure diseases in advertisements for its medicines, and threatened to impose costs up to Rs 1 crore on every product on which “false” claims are made.
Swami Ramdev alleged that some top multinational pharma companies selling medicines are deliberately spreading false propaganda against Ayurvedic medicines. He said these companies have annual turnover running into several lakh crores of rupees and they are trying to bring a bad name to India’s traditional Ayurveda medicine system. The yog guru challenged that he was ready to accept death sentence if even one of his claims was proved to be false. Ramdev made one important point. He said allopathic medicines can give temporary relief to patients, but Ayurvedic medicines have the power to provide a complete cure. The apex court’s observation came in course of hearing on a petition filed by Indian Medical Association. A bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra said, “all false and misleading advertisements by Patanjali Ayurveda have to stop immediately. This court will take such infractions very seriously and will consider imposing costs of up to Rs 1 crore on every product for which a false claim is made that it can cure a particular disease.” The bench said, it did not intend to turn the issue into an “allopathy versus Ayurveda” debate, and the aim was to find a genuine solution to the problem of misleading medical advertisements. The apex court asked the Centre to come up with suitable recommendations after consultations in the next hearing on February 5, 2024.
The petitioners had alleged that Swami Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurveda had been selling medicines claiming to cure diseases, without proper scientific research or lab testing or protocols and procedures. Ramdev said, he has full respect for the Supreme Court but he would not tolerate false allegations. “I will not bow before pharma companies which are forcing patients to take medicines in their quest for profit”, he said. The yog guru said, this is not the first time that false allegations have been made against his company. Earlier, false charges were levelled saying that his company used ashes of animal bones in Ayurveda medicines, which was later found to be false. Ramdev claimed that each product made by Patanjali Ayurveda is prepared after full scientific research, pre- and post-clinical tests and after following all scientific protocols. Several international journals have published our research, he said, but some big companies in cahoots with some doctors are working against Patanjali. In fact, the Supreme Court has not given any verdict. The observations made by the bench were projected as a ruling in some sections of the media, and Ramdev expressed his anger over this. Diabetes, hypertension and cancer are some of the major diseases in India and it is an open fact that allopathy does not have a permanent cure for these diseases. Ramdev said, he has cured diabetic patients, who were on insulin, with the help of Ayurveda and Yoga. In India, every 15th person is suffering from diabetes, and the number of diabetic patients has gone up to nearly eight crore. Every year, Rs 20,000 crore worth of medicines to tackle diabetes are sold in India. Once a patient starts taking medicines for diabetes, it continues till death, because allopathy has no permanent cure for diabetes. Ramdev claims that diabetes can be cured through Ayurveda, and the body can start secreting insulin once the Ayurvedic treatment continues. He has claimed to have cured several diabetic patients. Similarly, hypertension and thyroid diseases have no permanent cures in allopathy, and every patient has to take medicines daily. There are 128 crore patients across the world suffering from blood pressure, out of which nearly 19 crore are in India.
Ramdev says Ayurveda can also cure blood pressure and thyroid-related diseases. He says some pharma companies and individuals are unwilling to accept this. Obesity is another ailment that gives rise to several diseases. The USA has the highest number of obesity cases, while India is second. There are nearly 13.5 crore people in India suffering from obesity. There is no permanent cure for obesity in allopathy, but Swami Ramdev says, yoga and Ayurveda can cure obesity. Ramdev said he would “personally appear before the Supreme Court, show all evidences and truth and Ayurveda will ultimately triumph.” I know Swami Ramdev since last several years. During Covid epidemic, he started a morning yoga health show on India TV. The show benefited millions of people. Even today, after the pandemic is practically over, several top personalities watch this morning yoga show daily on India TV. I personally met several former patients who were suffering from incurable diseases. They told me they were cured after undergoing Ramdev’s yoga and Ayurvedic treatment. There are people who go to Swami Ramdev as the last resort, after suffering for years. They undergo treatment at Yoga Gram run by Patanjali Ayurveda in Haridwar. I will not say that all the patients get cured, but there are lakhs of patients who have been cured of diabetes and thyroid after undergoing Ramdev’s treatment.
Several allopathic physicians also agree that Yoga and Ayurveda can cure some incurable diseases. At the same time, Swami Ramdev admits that allopathy is more effective than Ayurveda in times of emergency or surgeries. I agree that allopathy has made a significant contribution in saving the lives of millions across the globe and there should not be any confrontation between Ayurveda and allopathy. They are complementary to each other. Our concern should be to provide proper treatment to each patient. It does not matter whether the treatment is done through allopathy or ayurveda. Swami Ramdev is right when he says that his cheap mode of treatment through yoga and ayurveda has adversely affected the business of big pharma companies. Nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth allopathic medicines are sold every year in India. This figure is limited to sale of medicines only. The costs of medical equipment, hospital treatment, doctors and surgeries are separate. In India, people need both Ayurveda and allopathy. In some cases, even homoeopathy has proved effective. It will help nobody by defaming Swami Ramdev or Ayurveda in the quest for making profits and expanding business. Swami Ramdev’s contribution in providing cheap and effective treatment to patients through yoga and Ayurveda, backed by scientific research, must be commended. Mafia cartels are active everywhere, whether in allopathy or in Ayurveda. Everybody should jointly tackle them.
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