Ramdev Pir

Ramdev Pir (Hindi: रामदेव पीर) or Baba Ramdev (Hindi: बाबा रामदेव) (or Ramdevji, Ramdeo Pir,Ramsha Pir) (1352 - 1385 AD)(V.S. 1409 - 1442) is a Hindu folk deity of Rajasthan in India. He was a ruler of the fourteenth century, said to have miraculous powers who devoted his life for the upliftment of downtrodden and poor people of the society. He is worshiped today by many social groups of India as Ishta-deva. He is revered by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.

Background

Ramdev is considered to be an incarnation of Vishnu. King Ajmal (Ajaishinh) married Queen Minaldevi, the daughter of Pamji Bhati of Chhahan Baru village. The childless king went to Dwaraka and pleaded with Krishna about his wish to have child like him. They had two sons, Viramdev and the younger Ramdev. Ramdev was born on Bhadarva Shukla dooj in V.S. 1409 at Ramderiya Undu and Kashmir in Barmer district. Ramdevji was a Tanwar.

Muslims venerate Ramdev as Ramshah Pir or Rama Shah Peer. He was said to have had miraculous powers, and his fame reached far and wide. Legend has it that five Pirs from Mecca came to test Ramdev's powers. Ramdev after initial welcoming requested them to have lunch with him. But Pirs said they eat in their personal utensils, which are lying in Mecca, so they cannot have their meals. On this Ramdev smiled and said look your utensils are coming and they saw that their eating bowls were coming flying in air from Mecca. After being convinced of his abilities and powers, they paid their homage to him and named him Rama Shah Peer. The five Pirs, who came to test his powers, were so overwhelmed by his powers that they decided to stay with him and the Samadhis of these five are also near the Samadhi of Ramdev.

Ramdev

Baba Ramdev  pronunciation  (born as Ramkrishna Yadav in Haryana) is a yoga teacher known for his contributions in Ayurveda, politics and agriculture. He is best known for popularising yoga among Indians through his mass yoga camps. He founded the Patanjali Group of Institutions. Ramdev has more recently become a vocal advocate on Indian political issues.

Early life

Ramdev was born as ramu yadav to Ram Yadav and Gulabo Yadav in thakurwadi city of Mahendergarh district, Haryana, India in 1965. He studied Indian scripture, Yoga and Sanskrit in various gurukuls. He became a sanyasi and adopted the name Baba Ramdev. While living in Kalwa Gurukul in Jind district, Haryana, he offered free yoga training to villagers for some time. He then moved to Haridwar in Uttarakhand and spent several years studying ancient Indian scriptures at Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya.

Career

He founded the Divya Yog Mandir Trust in 1995. In 2003, Aastha TV began featuring him in its morning yoga slot. There he proved to be telegenic and gained a large following. A large number of people and many celebrities in India and abroad have attended his yoga camps. He has taught yoga to many actors including Amitabh Bachchan and Shilpa Shetty. He became the first non-Muslim to publicly address Muslim clerics at their seminary in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh and has taught yoga in countries including Britain, the USA and Japan. In 2006, he was invited by Kofi Annan to deliver a lecture on poverty alleviation in a United Nations conference.Yogi Haider considered the face of yoga in Pakistan, says that his ambition is to emulate Ramdev Baba and popularise yoga amongst Pakistanis.