By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 20 Jun: The last session of the Amar Ujala Uttarakhand Samvad 2023 programme hosted by Amar Ujala yesterday was addressed by Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali Yoga Peeth. Sharing his journey of association with Ayurveda and Yoga, he recalled that his mother had deep knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants and whenever he fell sick, she used to give him herbal medicines and he used to get cured. This generated a deep interest in him for herbs, and Ayurveda. “In my childhood, whenever I had any problem, my mother used to give me bitter herbs and I used to get cured, from there also I got interested in Ayurveda”, he revealed. Consulting Editor of Amar Ujala, Vinod Agnihotri, interacted with him on this occasion on behalf of Amar Ujala.
Balkrishna emphasised that it is necessary to have faith in Ayurveda. There are more than seven thousand trees, plants and medicinal plants in Uttarakhand. There are immense possibilities here for development and greater research on Ayurveda in Uttarakhand. He also claimed that Patanjali is committed towards contributing to development and progress in Uttarakhand. He reminded the audience that Patanjali has invested more than Rs 12,000 crore in the state. Besides that Patanjali is providing large number of jobs to the people of Uttarakhand. He further added that Patanjali has promoted agriculture and horticulture to prevent forced migration from the hills and is also running skill development programmes in the state. More than four thousand teachers are engaged in providing training in many villages of Uttarakhand.
Patanjali‘s effort is to provide employment to as many people as possible. For Patanjali, national interest is paramount. In response to a question by Agnihotri, Balkrishna described that creation of AYUSH ministry was a good step by the government but it was not sufficient. More work needs to be done to promote Ayurveda and traditional medicinal knowledge. He said that in China, their traditional system of medicine contributes much more than the 2 to 2.5 percent contribution of AYUSH in India.
He also claimed that his meeting with Swami Ramdev was a divine call. Both studied together in Gurukul where Ramdev was his senior. Later they both decided to work together and got a trust registered with the help of a loan of Rs 12,000 taken from others. He also added that while Ayurvedic practitioners never dared to speak openly against Allopathy, organisations associated with Allopathy have openly conspired to create a negative image of Ayurveda.
In response to a question by Agnihotri, why Patanjali appeared to take side of one particular political party, Balkrishna asserted that Patanjali has no political motives or associations. However, it will always support nationalism and national interest.
