Patanjali Yogpeeth is a

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

institute located in Haridwar,

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, India. Founded in 2006 and named after the Rishi Patanjali, the purpose of the institute is to practice, research, and develop yoga and

ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

. The institute is the flagship project of the yoga teacher and entrepreneur

Ramdev Ramdev (born Ram Kisan Yadav in 1965), also referred to by his followers with the honorifics Baba or Swami, is an Indian yoga guru, businessman and brand ambassador for Patanjali Ayurved. Ramdev is primarily known for being a proponent of yo ...

. The Patanjali Yogpeeth houses a hospital, pharmacy and several Patanjali trusts. It is also the home of the University of Patanjali and the Yog Gram ashram. Balkrishna is the General Secretary of Patanjali Yogpeeth. Ramdev is the Vice-Chancellor of the Patanjali Yogapeeth. In 2017, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) gave tax exempt status to Patanjali Yogpeeth through its Delhi bench. Located on the Haridwar-

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

highway, the institute offers treatments for all and has residential accommodations. It is about from Haridwar at

Kankhal Kankhal is a small colony in Haridwar in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand state in India. Mentioned in the Vayu Purana and the Mahabharata as ''Kanakhala'',Roorkee.

Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust

Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, a non-profit organisation started by

, aims to carry out welfare activities in the spheres of health care, education and other socio-economic activities. Patanjali drives its

social responsibility Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind. Social ...

initiatives through the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust.

University of Patanjali

University of Patanjali is located in Haridwar,

. It was established in 2006. Patanjali Yogpeeth comprises two campuses, named Patanjali Yogpeeth - I and Patanjali Yogpeeth - II respectively.

Patanjali Yogpeeth - I

This first Yogpeeth campus was commissioned on 6 April 2006. * In 2010, the Patanjali Ayurveda College study and research facility was commissioned as part of the university. The campus library has a special area dedicated to the research of

and

. Various ancient books are being restored and digitized.

Patanjali Yogpeeth - II

This second Yogpeeth campus was inaugurated in April 2009. * Patanjali Yog Bhavan Patanjali Yog Bhavan is a huge auditorium of 200,000 sq. ft. where thousands of participants practice yoga,

pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sh ...

and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

together. * Shraddhalayam is a 60,000 sq. ft. air conditioned auditorium. * Panchakarma & Shatkarma Centre is a 40,000 sq. ft. centre where up to about 1,000 people can perform and participate in panchakarma and shatkarma therapy.

Acharyakulam

Acharyakulam is a school based on

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

-cum -modern education near Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar. It is a residential educational institution for students from grades 5th to 12th. It was inaugurated on 26 April 2013 by

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

, the then

Chief Minister of Gujarat The Chief Minister of Gujarat is the chief executive of the government of the Indian state of Gujarat. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. The chief minister's ter ...

. This organization is jointly governed by Ramdev and Balkrishna. It is affiliated to

Central Board of Secondary Education The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a national level board of education in India for public and private schools, controlled and managed by the Government of India. Established in 1929 by a resolution of the government, the Board ...

(CBSE). Ramdev's main aim behind opening Acharyakulam was to promote

education and

Indian culture Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term al ...

. He believed establishing Acharyaklam will help to protect the

culture of India Indian culture is the heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, belief systems, political systems, artifacts and technologies that originated in or are associated with the ethno-linguistically diverse India. The term al ...

and promote Vedic knowledge to new generations of Indians. He plans to establish Acharyakulam in every district of the country.

Admission

The admissions examination happens in December. The examination happens for the fifth class. The selected students are tested again for a week in Acharyakulam. 80 boys and 40 successful girls get the admission after that their further education continues until 12th standard. Ramdev plans to establish 600 schools in 600 districts across the country. Apart from Indian culture,

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

, it will also provide education in modern science. In 2018 Ayush Sharma and Yuvraj Aaditya Arya received overall 99% and 98% respectively in class 10 CBSE Board exams. On 27 September 2018, Amit Shah,

Trivendra Singh Rawat Trivendra Singh Rawat (born 20 December 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand between 2017 and 2021. Rawat was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh from 1979 to 2002 and held the post of organizi ...

and Ramdev inaugurated new premises of Acharyakulam near Patanjali Yogpeeth Phase-1.

Yog Gram

Yog Gram is an ashram run by Patanjali Yogpeeth. A natural health center that was built in 2009 at the ashram suffered a fire in 2020. It maintains a natural environment. It provides physical, mental and spiritual health treatments through the integrated therapy of

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

. The concept of Yog Gram is from Ramdev and his associate Balkrishna. It was inaugurated by former

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand The chief minister of Uttarakhand is the chief executive of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief mi ...

B. C. Khanduri on 8 June 2008. In 2015, expansion work began in

Tirupati Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is re ...

. In 2019, Yog Gram expanded to serve 600 patients from 300. Yog Gram was described as Adarsh village, with the following facilities. *

Naturopathy Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of pseudoscientific practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as natur ...

Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

*Panchkarma * Shatkarma * Gaushala (

Cowshed Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history that ...

)

Controversies

Ramdev's comments against modern medicine

In May 2021, Ramdev sparked controversy when he spoke against modern medical science in the context of

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...

. The

Indian Medical Association The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is a national voluntary organisation of physicians in India. It was established in 1928 as the All India Medical Association, and was renamed the Indian Medical Association in 1930. It is a society registered ...

(IMA) objected to his comments. On 22 May, the IMA's Uttarakhand division sent a defamation notice of . On 27 May, Patanjali Yogpeeth confirmed that it had received the defamation notice from IMA demanding an apology from Ramdev over his remarks. In a statement, the institute quoting Balkrishna said it would give a befitting reply legally to IMA. The institute claimed that all of its activities are carried out with scientific and truthful temperament. It said it "cannot allow anyone to disparage, neglect and demean the great knowledge and science of rishis and scriptures".

References

Sources

* Telles et al. (2013)
"''Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar: An Ayurveda center which includes treatment, research, and education''"
J Ayurveda Integr Med 2013 Apr-Jun; 4(2): 120–122.

External links

* {{coord missing, Uttarakhand Private universities in India Universities in Uttarakhand Haridwar district Educational institutions established in 2006 2006 establishments in Uttarakhand Ramdev Yoga schools Yoga organizations Ayurvedic organisations Naturopathy Patanjali Ayurved