When Baba's farrago of yoga and business dwells upon him defaming medical science...

 

Watch the video in which Ramdev can be seen defaming the doctors

[Continued]..., his ever germinating controversies get illuminated again. When Baba's farrago of yoga and business dwells upon him defaming medical science, a sense of mistrust and scepticism about the medical community grows within his followers and the public at large.

Yoga guru-turned-businessman, Baba Ramdev, has been a part of many controversies in the past. Controversies have been Ramdev’s jealous mistress from time immemorial and he shares an impregnable intimacy with it and such can be smelled from his controversial past of stinking statements about doctors and allopathy (modern medical science) and now he has again bounced back, within less than a month from his last shoddy, with his sly comments on allopathic doctors in this echoing time of destruction.

On Saturday, 26 June, in his yoga show on a Hindi news channel India TV, Ramdev claims that he has cured heart problems of people with yoga. He says that 'hot and cold press' is a science and it improves blood circulation in the body. Then he goes on to say that allopathy doctors don't know anything, they just shake the heart, but that is of no use.

Ramdev said, "Hot and cold press, isse to blood ka circulation kisi bhi ang mein, heart se lekar ke...hum kya karte hai...allopathy wale, unko to bawaron ko aata to kuch hai nahi. Dekho ab main aise kisi ki ninda nahi kar raha hoon...ki heart ko pakad karke usi ko hilate hain. Are heart ko pakad ke hilane ki zaroorat nahi, uske uppar jo hai...ye hamare parampara se...ab acche bhi doctor hain, unki ninda nahi kar raha hoon. Are heart ko hilane ki zaroorat nahi, vo bolte hai hum logon ne tarika nijaad kiya hai...ye sabse accha tareeka, hot and cold press, thanda-garam sek".

English translation: "Hot and cold press improves the circulation of blood in our body. We go to Allopathy doctors, those mad people don't know anything. Look, I am not criticising anyone, there are good doctors too, I am not criticising them. They just hold the heart and shake it, there is no need to do so. They say that they have invented this method. But hot and cold press is the best way. It is a traditional method."

Baba's pernicious karishma has been witnessed by people, not via a mere news channel rather than via a National news channel that is India TV. The ads at the bottom of the screen had been repleted with that of Patanjali products evidencing that when Baba himself is lending ads to that news channel, then it is quite intelligible that the organizers of that show would discharge his debt with an interest wherein the principal would be allowing Baba to pervade his counter-intuitive to the eager eyes of the public and the interest would be that the anchors will brazenly nod their head to the same of Baba. Hence even an imbecile would not be expecting any counter-questioning from the channel's behalf.

Not more than a month ago, he had made similar remarks about allopathy, he had mocked doctors and covid patients. All of that had invited a catena of lawsuits and defamation notices.

In today’s internet world, these actions may be a meme material, but it should be kept in mind that Ramdev is not an ordinary person.

Through his work in the field of yoga, Ramdev has established a cult-like following of loyalists who have invested their trust and faith in him. Such statements from a celebrity are not only irresponsible but are also dangerous for the people's good.

Baba's comments come at a time when there is an impeccable need for doctors and healthcare workers. His comments are not only insinuating the competency of the medical community but the wisdom and capacity of the medical science at large and people sceptical about vaccines.

Every person who gets influenced by his words and becomes averse to vaccination gives a massive blow to India’s Covid fight and Baba Ramdev must be held accountable for the consequences of his unconscientious and distasteful statements.

Ramdev, the businessman

The factual matrix of Baba in terms of business is that he had taken sanyasa at age of 25 but in 2013 he has himself claimed that his net worth is ₹1,100 crore. According to India Today, Baba Ramdev fetches ₹25 crore every year from his yoga sessions. His yoga camps across the country are attended by around 50,000 people, with each individual paying ₹5,000 as registration fee. He also earns ₹2-3 crore as annual proceeds from the sale of his books and CDs on yoga and meditation. And as of 2019-20, the annual revenue of Patanjali Ayurved is ₹9,022 crore.

It is not unknown to people why he makes such statements. He may be a yoga guru but now he's mainly a business tycoon. He has used fear mongering and false claims in the past too, specifically targeting medical science, to promote his ayurvedic brand.

Moreover, being in the good books of the current BJP government has been an advantageous factor for him in increasingly making baseless claims.

Ramdev had launched the 'Coronil', claiming to be the cure for COVID-19. Patanjali made claims that it has been approved by the government to be used as a cure for the virus infection, they also claimed that they have got WHO approval. But when all of that turned out to be false, Ramdev backed out of his own words and said that this is not a medicine for corona, it is an immunity booster.

We are not saying or promoting that ayurveda is not effective or that yoga is not beneficial. Everyone has realised the importance of ancient medical sciences like ayurveda, and the importance of yoga for physical and mental well-being. We also acknowledge that Ramdev has made a huge contribution in promoting both of them. But the thing is that ayurveda is not a replacement for modern medical science. Both of them are complimentary, not opposing.

Ramdev, a 'jhola chhaap'

"If I treat patients and provide factual evidence, if I talk about research-based yoga and ayurveda — then how is any of what I say inaccurate?" This is what Ramdev said during an interview to News18 on May 31. Ramdev claimed he had scientific evidence to prove the legitimacy of ayurveda in "curing" hypertension, cancer, arthritis, thyroid issues, liver sclerosis, hepatitis, and fatty liver.

But when it comes to ayurveda, does Ramdev actually possess any expertise?

"Ramdev is just a good businessman. If anyone wants to practise ayurveda in India, they have to do a bachelor's degree in ayurvedic medicine and surgery. Later, one may opt to do an MD or MS too. Ramdev has none of these degrees so, as far as I can see, he is nothing but a jhola chhaap." This is what Anand Pandey, who has been practising ayurveda for a decade at a Varanasi-based clinic, told the Newslaundry.

According to the Central Council for Indian Medicine, the medical qualification required to practise ayurveda is, as Pandey said, a bachelor’s degree in ayurvedic medicine and surgery, or BAMS, which is mandatory. BAMS is a five and a half year degree with four years of coursework and one and a half years of apprenticeship. Those who want to be pharmacists must pursue a separate B. Pharma degree, not BAMS.

Many think that Yoga and Ayurveda are the same. But that is not true. The concept and practice of both may overlap, but should not be confused as the same. So, Ramdev might be a yoga guru but he should not be the face of ayurveda, since both are technically not the same.

Rasik Pawaskar, an ayurvedic practitioner, taught ayurveda to BAMS and MD students from 1995 to 2009 at Bharatiya Vidyapeeth deemed university in Pune. He’s been practising ayurveda since 1991 and now runs a private clinic. He and Mahendra Patil, an ayurvedic practitioner from Silvassa, spoke to the Newslaundry about Ramdev’s claims that ayurveda is a cure-all for multiple health issues.

"So, for example, there is no diagnosis called 'hypertension' in ayurveda," Pawaskar explained. "No vaidya will say to their patient, 'You have hypertension and I can cure it.' This is a modern medicine diagnosis and ayurveda will have an independent diagnosis. The same will be true of any diagnosis in modern medicine. This is because one must understand that ayurveda is a completely independent system of medicine, and will take recourse to treating the problem in a completely independent way."

"You have to treat every single patient in ayurveda individually," Patil said. "It has an inherently customised approach. If two people approach a vaidya for the same ailment, they will be prescribed individual medication. One cannot have a general prescription or protocol. You will find that most experienced vaidyas will not rely on over-the-counter prescriptions. In this regard, a medicine like Coronil, which operates as a general prescription, may not be helpful from an ayurvedic perspective."

People like Ramdev need to remember that in these tough times, it is the medical community, the doctors, the healthcare workers, who are salvaging us at the expense of their limbs and life. Defaming them is neither in his good, nor for the public at large. Therefore diagnosing what human health needs is the responsibility not only of a particular branch but of medical science as a whole. Medical science is a colossal tree with several branches and we do not want the tree to get denuded by unwanted tussle.

Business is prosperity and health is stability that indeed stabilizes the prosperity.

      ~A living innominate

Therefore our plea is- please do not use the stabilizer to become prosperous as it has only the power of balancing but not of exceeding and the invocation of the latter will only invite the load-shedding of the human world. 

Adding to this we would like to leave a question as to why India cannot implement an internalized approach in healthcare with the co-existence of all the branches of medical science?

(Edited by Hritam Saha)