AHMEDABAD:
Acharya Balkrishna, a close aide of
Baba Ramdev and managing director of
Patanjali Ayurved
, said that yoga is not meant for a particular race, religion, or caste but for entire humanity. He was speaking on the third day of the four-day yoga camp at the GMDC ground. “Yoga was labelled as an activity of a particular religion. But yoga has broken all those walls,” Balkrishna said.
Addressing a gathering at the GMDC ground on Tuesday, Balkrishna said, “It would be an injustice to yoga to link it with a particular religion or sect. Earlier, lakhs of Muslims brothers and sisters were scared to perform yoga.” Balkrishna went on to say: “But today, yoga has received recognition in Islam and Christianity. Because of yoga, a Muslim will become a true Muslim and a Christian will become a true Christian.” He said yoga will make Hindus more enlightened and proud of their religion. However, some Muslim and Christian leaders have objected to Balkrishna’s remarks. Father
Vinayak Jadhav
, the spokesperson of Catholic Church in Gujarat, said: “There is nothing inherently Christian in yoga to substantiate the statement of Acharya Balkrishna. I do believe that yoga leads to healthier human life.” Mufti Abdul Qayyum Mansuri, a cleric based in the city, called Balkrishna’s remarks “nonsense”. “He is not supposed to teach Islam to Muslims ,” Mansuri said.