Ramdev

Ramdev (born Ram Kisan Yadav between 1965 and 1975) is an Indian yoga guru, businessman and brand ambassador for Patanjali Ayurved.

He is primarily known for being a proponent of yoga and ayurveda in India.

Ramdev, originally named Ramkishan Yadav, was born between 1965 and 1975 in Haryanvi family in Alipur village of Mahendragarh district of Haryana He was born to Ram Niwas and Gulabo Devi, who were poor illiterate farmers.

He has an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister.

Since childhood, the left side of his face has been partly paralyzed perhaps owing to a congenital disability or a childhood illness.

Yadav initially attended a government school at Shahzadpur until the eighth standard.

The government school consisted of an english medium curriculum introduced by Babington Macaulay.

At a young age, Yadav was drawn to the writings by Dayanand Saraswati, specifically Satyarth Prakash which led him to leave his government school to pursue a gurukula At around nine years old, he pursued study in Khanpur at a gurukula system.

Yadav attended Arsh Gurukul Mahavidyalaya between 1984 until 1989.

At fourteen, he moved to Kalwa to attend a gurukula and studied under one of his principal gurus, Acharya Baldevji.

This is where he met Balkrishna as a fellow student.

In Kalwa, he studied the Sanskrit language and literature, Hindu philosophical and religious texts, and traditions of yoga and asceticism.

While living in Kalwa, he offered free yoga training to villagers.

After completing his studies in 1992, Yadav traveled to Haridwar to stay at the Kripalu Bagh Ashram under the guidance of Shankardevi Maharaj.

At Kripalu Bagh Ashram, he learned yoga from Acharya Karamveer, also an Arya Samaj.

Yadav took vows of renunciation, adopted sannyasa, and took the name Ramdev. Ramdev and Karamveer held yoga camps throughout India and sold chawanprash in Haridwar together.

On 5 January 1995, Balkrishna, Ramdev, and Acharya Karamveer founded Divya Yoga Mandir Trust, which was set up at the Kripalu Bagh Ashram in Haridwar.

Under the Divya Yoga Mandir Trust, they offered yoga camps and established an Ayurvedic pharmacy.

Ramdev has been organizing and conducting large yoga camps since 2002 and broadcasting his yoga classes on various TV channels.

He co-founded Patanjali Ayurved and Patanjali Yogpeeth with his colleague Balkrishna in 2006.

Ramdev has received criticism over his comments related to modern medicine, yoga, and ayurveda.

Ramdev is aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on a number of issues.

Patanjali Ayurved is a consumer packaged goods company, based in Haridwar, that was started by Ramdev and Balkrishna in 2006.

The company is one of the highest grossing FMCG's in India.

In FY22, Patanjali Ayurved posted revenues of Rs 10,664.46 crore.

Balkrishna serves as the CEO of Patanjali Ayurved with 96% ownership and supervises its day-to-day activities, while Ramdev serves as the face of the company and makes most of the business decisions.

Ramdev has advocated for Indian nationalism in the tradition of the swadeshi movement through the production and sale of Patanjali Ayurved products, and he has encouraged Indian citizens to reject multinational brands.

Members of Ramdev's family relocated to Haridwar and several have participated in his business ventures.

His father has overseen some activities at Patanjali Ayurved.

His younger brother Ram Bharat has been described as the company's de facto CEO.

In 2011 - 2012, he has led protests against corruption in India and has advocated for the repatriation of black money held in foreign banks.

In April 2022, The Indian Express listed Ramdev as the 78th most powerful Indian.

Ramdev declared net worth of his personal assets at around "₹1,100 crore" in 2013.

The company has been accused of creating misleading advertisements about its products and conducting insufficient testing before launching products in the marketplace.

Some products like amla juice have been banned from sales due to poor quality by the Indian government.

Patanjali has also been surrounded by controversies regarding working conditions where Ramdev and Balkrishna are treated like gurus whose feet must be touched each time they enter an area.

Factory workers are paid a salary of Rs 6000 per month while working 12-hour shifts, six days a week.

They are also discouraged to ask for a raise as working at factory is considered "seva" (voluntary service) to the cause.

In May 2018, Ramdev launched Swadeshi Samriddhi SIM cards in partnership with BSNL.

Patanjali Yogpeeth is an institute founded for the promotion and practice of Yoga and Ayurveda.