The continuing saga of a contemporary mass leader who sought out a vision and a method to amalgamate yoga and health care into the mainstream consciousness Baba Ramdev’s emergence as the new ideologue of a national and global spiritual resurgence is considered by many as a curious phenomenon. This work is a study on the making of the Ramdev spectacle with all its inescapable assertiveness, mass enthusiasm and, of course, controversies. It seeks to locate his philosophy in today’s socio-cultural milieu, while tracing its origins in Indian spiritual history, and the past landmark reformist movements that have been initiated in the country by earlier path-breakers including Sri Aurobindo, Swami Dayananda, Paramhansa Yogananda, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Bhagwan Nityananda, J. N. Krishnamurty and Sri Ramana Rishi. Indeed, Ramdev represents a renewed continuity to the great revival of the ancient Indian spiritual traditions and yoga that took place in the twentieth century and received recognition worldwide. With his own version of holistic yoga as a ploy for instituting the universal right to health, Baba Ramdev has proposed two distinct ideological alternatives to the current established order of the world – pranayama and the yogic way of life as the key to health restoration and well-being; and manifestation of an enabling spiritual environment for personal and social transformation. Ramdev’s arrival once again underlines the continuing significance of Oriental spiritualism the world over as it offers perhaps the most promising insights for the creation of a ‘new spiritually-awakened man’ – a man at ease with himself and with the world around him.

Patanjali Ayurved has turned out to be the most disruptive force in the Indian FMCG market...it witnessed a whopping annual growth of 146% in fiscal year 2016, grossing a turnover of $769 million.'-Assocham-TechSci research report When in 1965, at Saidalipur, a nondescript village in Haryana, a baby boy was born to a marginal farmer, there was hardly any celebration. They were happy to receive what they believed was 'the most precious gift from God' but there was no time to pause, reflect or celebrate. People needed to get on with their lives. Little did they realize that the newborn would take this philosophy of detachment to a different level altogether. And if this detachment was induced in their life by poverty and hardship, three decades later their child was to show the world how to practise the same philosophy and even, while doing so, gather unimaginable wealth-an approximate net sum of `10,000 crore. He was to become Baba Ramdev, the celebrated yoga guru, and one of the founders of Patanjali Ayurved Limited and Patanjali Yogpeeth. The Baba Ramdev Phenomenon offers a detailed account of Ramdev's 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 able assistance of his associate Acharya Balkrishna.

Neo-Hindutva explores the recent proliferation and evolution of Hindu nationalism – the assertive majoritarian, right-wing ideology that is transforming contemporary India. This volume develops and expands on the idea of ‘neo-Hindutva’ –– Hindu nationalist ideology which is evolving and shifting in new, surprising, and significant ways, requiring a reassessment and reframing of prevailing understandings. The contributors identify and explain the ways in which Hindu nationalism increasingly permeates into new spaces: organisational, territorial, conceptual, rhetorical. The scope of the chapters reflect the diversity of contemporary Hindutva – both in India and beyond – which appears simultaneously brazen but concealed, nebulous and mainstreamed, militant yet normalised. They cover a wide range of topics and places in which one can locate new forms of Hindu nationalism: courts of law, the Northeast, the diaspora, Adivasi (tribal) communities, a powerful yoga guru, and the Internet. The volume also includes an in-depth interview with Christophe Jaffrelot and a postscript by Deepa Reddy. Helping readers to make sense of contemporary Hindutva, Neo-Hindutva is ideal for scholars of India, Hinduism, Nationalism, and Asian Studies more generally. This book was originally published as a special issue of Contemporary South Asia.

'Can anyone imagine that a man with such a strong, continuous and unbroken will has been reaching out to the masses with the goal 'one life-one mission'. He has been travelling the country round the clock and has been meeting lakhs of people every-day and motivating them through yoga. If Baba Ramdev would have been in any other country then there would have been so many Universities that would have done PhD on his life history.' I had once asked Baba Ramdev that yoga gives energy, good-health and zeal but how does it help when you are surrounded with so many problems? 'Baba Ramdev had started his journey for the well being of this country's citizens through yoga, especially for the poor who were not able to afford medicines. After travelling for ten years across the country he noticed that it's not only the health of the citizens that needed attention but also the 'health of the country' so from then onwards he began to voice his concerns related to the dysfunctions of the nation. Baba Ramdev is such a personality who doesn't rest till he achieves his goals.'

This book helps the reader to easily understand the basic constitution of the body, ailments in the body and their eradication. The basic principles of Ayurveda have been illustrated in a lively manner for the first time. I completely believe that once a person goes through this book thoroughly, he can absolutely achieve a life-span up to 100 years. For the basic knowledge regarding constitution, food, lifestyle and health, everyone should read this book for sure. -Swami Ramdev

As the bombs rain down in the Second World War, one young girl is evacuated to the English countryside. Struggling to make sense of her new wartime life, she is given a copy of a book of ancient Norse myths and her inner and outer worlds are transformed. Linguistically stunning and imaginatively abundant, Byatt’s mesmerising tale - inspired by the myth of Ragnarok - is a landmark piece of storytelling from one of the world's truly great writers.

Bom in 1965 in village Saidalipur in Mahendragarh district of Haryana to Ramniwas Yadav and Gulabo Devi, the child Ramkishan was born and brought up just like any other ordinary village child with childlike pranks in the rural environment. He became a Sanyasi on 9 April 1995, and he calls this date his date of birth. In modern times, Swami Ramdev has taken upon himself the responsibility to bring back our ancient glory as well as link us to healthy ways of living. He seems to have descended on this material world to eradicate ignorance, problems, corruption and ill health. In addition to his work in the field of yoga, Swami Ramdev has also been involved in social and political causes. He has been a vocal advocate for Ayurveda and traditional Indian medicine and has campaigned against the use of chemical-based products in personal care and household products. He is the founder of Patanjali Ayurved Limited, one of India’s fastest-growing FMCG companies. In this book, we will explore different shades of his personality to trace the facts that have contributed to his making the national and international brand he is today.