Swami Ramdev goes head to head with a non-resident Indian in the US for securing patent of Yoga. An NRI, Vikram Chaudhary, reportedly applied for the patent of Yoga with the US administration.

Ramdev believes that Yoga and Pranayam cannot be patented as it is an ancient school of Hindu philosophy, which prescribes 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, can get patent of yoga, the traditional knowledge of India,” said Ramdev.

The techniques of Yoga had been compiled by the great Vedantist Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. It has 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 US 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. 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," Ramdev said at a yoga in India.

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 5 international languages, and 11 countries, including the US, Britain, Japan and China, so that the patent offices around the world can access it and know that it originated in India.

The data will be made available in five international languages, and 11 countries, including the US, Britain, Japan and China, would be able to access it.

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 US, Europe and in Japan.

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

Under a Rs. 100-million project, the health and family welfare ministry would be preserving all possible details of yoga postures in a multi-media digital library - Traditional Knowledge Digital Library. Nearly 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.