Ramdev chants 'Om' instead of saying 'Hello' over the phone
A book on Yoga guru Baba Ramdev has revealed that while greeting someone over phone, instead of saying hello, he chants 'Om'. The book further says that young Ramdev, moved by Dayanand Saraswati's writings, quit school, fled from home, and enrolled himself in a 'gurukul'. "I wanted to follow the path shown by the ancient sages," Ramdev claimed.
New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) A young Ramdev was so moved by the writings of Dayanand Saraswati that he quit the government school as the curriculum was a leftover of the colonial education policy, fled from home and enrolled himself in a gurukul. Saraswatis book "Satyarth Prakash" had a deep impact on Ramdev. While greeting someone over phone, Ramdev never says hello. Instead he chants Om. The first chapter of "Satyarth Prakash" explains the etymology and significance of Om. After reading the book, Ramdev wanted to follow the path shown by the ancient sages. As the path of ancient sages also meant practice of celibacy, so he took a vow - to never marry. A new book "The Baba Ramdev Phenomenon: From Moksha to Market" by Kaushik Deka has these nuggets of information. "Satyarth Prakash" was written in Hindi in 1875 by the renowned religious and social reformer and the founder of Arya Samaj. The book formed the intellectual core and social, political and economic philosophy of the yoga guru. It was a book primarily explaining the true tenets of Hinduism, making an appeal for one uniform religion based on the principles of the Vedas. "This book was a revelation to me. It awakened my inner- self, gave me a sense of purpose in life. It introduced me to the wisdom of our ancestors. I wanted to follow the path shown by the ancient sages," Ramdev is quoted as saying. "Satyarth Prakash" not only changed Ramdevs life but also gave it a direction and purpose. "He was so moved by the writings of Dayanand Saraswati that he quit the government school where the curriculum was a leftover of the education policy introduced by British politician Babington Macaulay (1800?59), who was instrumental in the introduction of English as the medium of instruction for higher education in India. "He knew his parents would never agree to his decision of quitting regular school, where he was doing exceptionally well. So one fine day he fled from home and enrolled himself in a gurukul, a traditional educational institute based on Vedic principles, at Khanpur in Haryana," Deka writes. Ramdev was the brightest student in the government primary school, located in the village, where he studied till the class V. For higher classes he moved to the Shahbajpur High School, a few kilometres away. "I used to buy second-hand books, yet I always topped my class," claims Ramdev. "Dayanandji made me realise the value of the treasure trove hidden in Vedic education. Its a progressive approach based on tark (logic), tathya (facts), yukti (argument) and praman (evidence). The goal of British education system was to enslave our mind and curb free and logical thinking," he says. "The Baba Ramdev Phenomenon: From Moksha to Market", published by Rupa, offers a detailed account of Ramdevs journey from attaining moksha in the Himalayas to ruling the market, especially the FMCG sector, with his Patanjali products. It captures the rise and rise of Patanjali and the various factors that worked for it, most importantly, the vision of Ramdev and the assistance of his associate Acharya Balkrishna. 