Indian yoga guru in New York

New York: Indian yoga guru Swami Ramdev was invited to New York as a guest at a United Nations-sponsored program against poverty, organized by the Millennium Campaign. This was his first visit to the United States, but yoga guru Baba Ramdev already has plenty of fans in this country.

"Swami ji’s message was very clear that we only take responsibility for ourselves, our own health for the state of our country. That very much was in line with the program against poverty initiative, which is asking each country to take responsibility for the state," UNDP Global Media Coordinator, Anand Kantaria said.

The Indian community in the US quickly took advantage of the yoga guru's visit to organize lecture sessions in New York, New Jersey and Chicago. Visitors to the New York event held at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan campus in Manhattan included recent converts and the merely curious.

"I think it's amazing that he's taking an ancient Indian tradition of ayurveda and yoga and teaching it to people who can't afford care, and also those who can't afford the time," Co-Chairman, Hinduja TMT, Ramkrishan Hinduja said.

"What's interesting to me is his openness to scientific principles. I'm a physicist, also a medical doctor, and I do research in nano-technology. I'm interested in studying the scientific aspects of yoga to find out how it works," President & CEO, Nanobiosym Diagnostics Anita Goel said.

After getting a warm response from the NRIs, Swami Ramdev has promised to make another extended visit to the US next year.