Sw. Ramdev Blasts Attempts to Patent Yoga

[Guest guest]

[This article is from a wonderful new e-journal called " Hindu Voice

UK, " to which someone in this group (I think I know who, thank you!)

was kind enough to me.

 

For anyone who's not aware, the Swami Ramdev referenced in this piece

is a hugely popular religious figure both in India and among Indian

expatriate communities abroad, whose primary mission is to make yogic

asana and pranayama practices accessible and nonthreatening to the

masses. - DB]

 

May 30, 2007: Swami Ramdev is going head to head with a non-resident

Indian (NRI) in the U.S. for trying to secure a patent on Yoga.

 

The NRI, Vikram Chaudhary, reportedly applied with the US

administration for a patent on Yoga .

 

Ramdev believes that Yoga and Pranayam cannot be patented as they are

ancient schools of Hindu philosophy, which prescribe physical and

mental disciplines for attaining oneness with the Supreme Being.

 

" How can any Tom, Dick, and Harry, who has no true knowledge of yoga,

get a patent of yoga, the traditional knowledge of India? " said

Ramdev.

 

The techniques of Yoga were compiled by the great Vedantist Patanjali

in his Yoga Sutras. They have been practiced, tested, and refined

across thousands of years by our ancient Rishis. The Indian

government is only now becoming concerned that the people who patent

Yoga and other related aspects of the great art are trying to earn

money from part of their cultural heritage.

 

Ramdev stated, " Fake Babas and others who regularly consume liquor or

eat meat have mushroomed in large numbers as experts of Yoga. Their

interest is commercial. "

 

Till date, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted 150 yoga-

related copyrights, 134 patents on yoga accessories and 2,315 yoga

trademarks whilst Britain has approved at least 10 trademarks

relating to yoga training aids.

 

" As far as India's role in the case is concerned, all yoga

institutions should work in tandem, and the Government should work on

the issue with them, " Ramdev said at a yoga [session] in India. " The

Government should take it up in the national interest, in the human

interest and the interest of the poor. The West is noticing the

worldwide drift towards Yoga. They are trying now at the individual

level. Soon, countries will take it upon themselves to grab patent

rights of heritages like yoga and ayurveda. "

 

In response, the Government has set up a task force to create a

database of yoga techniques in order to stop others from patenting

the centuries-old knowledge. The information will be made available

in five international languages, and 11 countries, including the

U.S., Britain, Japan and China, so that the patent offices around the

world can access it and know that it originated in India.

 

The task force has found that at least 150 yoga postures that were

developed and practised in India for ages, which the system finds

mention in Vedic scriptures, have been pirated in the U.S., Europe

and in Japan.

 

A database of 10 million pages has been created so far.

 

Under the Rs. 100-million (US $2.5 million) project, the health and

family welfare ministry would be preserving all possible details of

yoga postures in a multi-media digital library called the Traditional

Knowledge Digital Library.

 

Hundreds of experts have been working on the project and 54 ancient

books regarding research on Ayurveda, 35 for Unani and 15 for Siddha,

have been referred to enable documentation of over 50,000 formulae in

Ayurveda and 24,000 in Unani.

 

Clearly, India doesn't want to be caught off guard again by the West,

certainly not when it comes to its own ancient healing systems of

yoga, ayurveda, unani and siddha.

 

SOURCE: Hindu Voice UK

URL: http://www.hinduvoice.co.uk/Issues/17/Patent.htm