Vienna, VA – The revered Yoga seer, Swami Ramdev has pronounced that “India will give health and peace to the world.  We have the means to do that”, he declared at an event recently organized by the Friends of India Society, International (FISI), at the Tysons Corner Marriott.

Credited for making Yog (as he calls Yoga) and Pranayam (the ancient Indian art of breathing) a household name in India and now promoting it around the world, the Swami envisions a “disease-free society, medicines-free world”.

Hailing India as the world’s oldest civilization, he noted that “India has given the world medical science.  India has given knowledge of Yog and Patanjali.  Our spiritual teachings are universal and scientific; none are fundamentalist”, he said, with much pride.

Marking a departure from what he is so famous for, i.e., Yoga, Swami Ramdev delivered an address on the “Challenges Facing India and Shaping its Future” at the FISI event.  He is the founder of the Bharat Swabhiman Movement which he describes as an all-comprehensive, ground-level movement that aims to root out all forms of corruption, a movement which will ensure that candidates with a criminal background are debarred from contesting elections.  Come September and he will embark on a Bharat Nirmaan Yatra which will take him to villages across India to spread the message of Bharat Swabhiman.

At the outset of his speech on a bright Saturday morning, he made it clear: “I am not revolting.  I have no political goals”.  Credible, given that he already has millions of followers around the globe.

“I have more respect without holding any political office”, he said.  “I have the love and respect of so many people without any seat.  Why should I demote myself by contesting an election?”

Swami Ramdev speaks in Hindi, interspersed by some words in English.  “There is nothing in life that I have not achieved, or that I want to achieve”, he said.  “I am mentally and physically fit.  I work around the clock, never take a vacation.  My work is my entertainment.  I eat, sleep, live, to work for my country India”.  Ahead of the times, he predicted that India will be a superpower by 2020.

He extolled the NRIs (non-resident Indians) for bringing name and fame to the country of their origin.

Swami Ramdev was visiting Washington after almost two years when he had held a Yoga and Pranayan camp at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, VA.  He seemed more frail, lighter in frame, but the glow on his face was intact.  And he spoke with the same fervor and passion.

We asked him about the purpose of his current trip to the US.  “My mission”, he replied, “is that the whole world should be healthy.  I want to heal the world through Yog.  India is poor because of corruption.  For that reason, we have started Bharat Swabhiman for the express purpose of making India corruption-free and wealthy, to make a prosperous India.  I want NRIs also to participate in this Movement and work towards moving India forward.  So, on this trip, along with Yog, I am sharing the cause of Bharat Swabhiman.  We have just started the international chapter of this Movement, here in the US”.

A day earlier, Swami Ramdev addressed the annual AAPI (American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin) convention in Washington where he was in full form discussing a “Comprehensive Approach to Holistic Care and Practice of Yoga”.

He informed us that, from Washington, he heads to Houston where construction will soon begin on a Patanjali Yogpeeth Center, and then to Dallas where he will be holding a Yoga and Pranayam camp, from July 2 to 5.

A reporter wanted to know about his claim that he can cure cancer and HIV-AIDS.  “The whole world has acknowledged that I can cure high blood pressure, thyroid, asthma, some 99 percent diseases”, he said.  “Now, the issue is cancer and HIV-AIDS.  We have proved, scientifically, that cancer is curable.  About HIV, medical science lacks information on the virus.  So, a cure can only be found when the virus is detected.  Our efforts have been focused on strengthening the immune system”.

About his Bharat Swabhiman Movement, he said, “If corruption is eradicated, India will become so prosperous that even NRIs can return to their motherland.  We will make India corruption-free.  We will succeed in this endeavor”.

Young people, he said, should expend their energies on eliminating corruption.  “Then no one will be unemployed and all will live a life with dignity.  The whole world will salute India”.

The event at the Tysons Corner Marriott was presided by Dr. Bhishma Agnihotri, former Global Ambassador of India and the current International President of FISI, and moderated by Dr. Rakesh Shreedhar, National President of FISI-USA.  Among the organizers and coordinators were Dr. Adapa Prasad, Dr. Satish Misra, Mrs. Sonia Chopra, Dr. Ravinder Aulakh, Dr. Shardanand, Dr. Hari Har Singh and Professor Mulpuri Rao.  The national anthems of America and India were rendered by Bindiya Adapa and Dr. Lipishree Nayak, respectively.

Swami Ramdev began by chanting “Om” thrice, followed by the Gayatri Mantra.

“By practicing Yog, man can live up to 400 years”, he told a delighted audience who were yearning to hear him after a lengthy set of introductions and tributes which could very well have been stream-lined.

He spoke about his popular Patanjali Yogpeeth center, in Haridwar, which can accommodate 10,000 people.  “We hold one lakh Yog classes daily in India.  The goal is to hold 11 lakh Yog classes covering all villages.  I have physically taught Yog to over 3 crore people.  Another 100 crore people follow our practices through television and our centers”, he said.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has pronounced, “If an individual can be credited with reviving Yoga in this country (India), it is solely Swami Ramdev.  Yoga can cure even fatal diseases and Swami Ramdev has definitely proved it time and again”.

Swami Ramdev is known to promote the advantages of consuming Amla (Indian gooseberry), Aloe Vera and Lauki (squash).  At the FISI event, he cited numerous health benefits from eating Amla, one of the richest natural source of Vitamin C, such as: a long, disease-free life; reducing stress; preventing skin degeneration, wrinkles and baldness.

He took umbrage at the saying that India is a poor country.  “Then why did invaders go there?  Why did the Mughals and British go there?”, he questioned.  “India is not a poor country; it has been made impoverished”, he said.  “There was a time when India was wealthy, self-sufficient, a nation unto itself without parallel!  Some 500 years ago and even earlier, India was enlightened.  Other countries had not even been discovered.  When India had everything, the west had nothing”.

Swami Ramdev delivered a lengthy diatribe against corruption, the black money economy which promotes the illegal transfer of funds, money that belongs to the India masses.

He cautioned against several threats facing the country.  “India’s borders are in danger.  Internal security poses a huge challenge.  It is said a terrorist attack can occur in India at any time.  Some four million people are illegal aliens who can compromise on India’s security at any time”, he said.

“India’s food is in danger due to the usage of pesticides and fertilizers.  Diseases are spreading.  People are much more prone to diabetes, heart attacks, infertility, hyper-tension, liver and kidney problems.  Arthritis is so prevalent that houses have become hospitals”, he said.

Swami Ramdev lamented the fact that the sacred Ganga is being defiled with sewage.  “There is no proper distribution of water resulting in floods for some regions and famine for others”, he pointed out.  “India is in dire need of water conservation; it must save water”.

He mentioned other ills such as: defects in the Judiciary system whereby justice has been delayed and denied to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst industrial disaster; child-labor; malnourishment of kids; distortion of Indian women in serials and films.