Can Swami Ramdev cure AIDS? Though he recently denied having claimed so, his website points otherwise. So does the magazine published by his trust.
The website talks of how the CD4 cell count, a measure of HIV infection,
“The CD4 cell count of the people affected by AIDS, which had fallen to 50, 100, 150 has gone up to 400, 500 and even 600, which is quite normal,’’ says the home page of www.yogapranayama.com.
The September issue of the monthly, ‘Yog Sandesh’ (English), says on page 55, “Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev said that yoga & pranayama have been successful in curing 200 cancer patients and he is ready to give evidence. The ancient science is also beneficial in case of AIDS and experiments are being carried out in that area. He would make formal announcement once the tests are completed.’’
Swami Ramdev’s claims, meanwhile, have been flayed by the medical community.
The People’s Health Organisation, an NGO which works for HIV-affected population, says in a statement, “Though Ramdev has been successful in popularising the importance of yoga, he has developed a habit of exceeding his brief.’’
Says Dr I S Gilada, honorary general secretary of PHO, “Our experience of two decades in managing HIV/AIDS shows that yoga and regular exercise certainly helps patients cope but it would be far-fetched to claim that a cure for AIDS will be found through yoga in the next couple of years.”
Endocrinologist and diabetologist Shashank Joshi swears by the power of yoga to improve the quality of life of patients of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and even thyroid, but to expect yoga to cure “irreversible and degenerative diseases like AIDS and cancer”is “preposterous”. “If Swami Ramdev has indeed said this, the claim needs to be rejected outright,” he says.
Admitting that yoga leads to impressive results in many other diseases, Joshi says, “In some cases, the patients’ dependence on insulin has actually come down because of their practice of yoga.’’ But while yoga offers “very good supportive treatment”, it hasn’t been able to offer a cure to cancer, he stresses. Consultant physician at Bombay Hospital Jehangir Sorabji said such a claim is “irresponsible”.
“If he says a cure for cancer and AIDS is available, he might be misleading patients who may refuse treatment on the basis of his statement and suffer.’’
