Sick Money
By Blim Blim
60 Rupees market price in india for a bottle of medicine…so cost price 30-40 rupees or even less…of it at all he was paying this 30-40 rupees/bottle to Sri Sri Ayurveda Trust (which is founded couple of years ago, earlier VVMVP/AOL complex was manufacturing it) may be wholesale price is different for him or nears to zero…(who knows!!!) i.e. less than 1 US Dollar and is being sold in Europe for 15 Euros (i.e. almost 18-20 US $)Actually it is not officially allowed to sell this medicines (or food supplement as they call it but on bottle it is medicine) in EU without getting several tests and approvals done, so basically they are smuggled in to EU, HOW? Different ways…
1. they are sent to Holland through flight cargo – Ewald and Lilian gets them
through them then to Bad Antogast and also to other chapters in Europe…via devotees and friends etc. aol network
2. HHSSRS and/or teachers, ashramites coming along or alone brings full bags (not only one bag!!) of them and then they are sorted in Bad Antogast and distributed over aol network
When you ask about why so expensive prices in Divine Shop or in Holland to respective representatives they will say get it very expensive from india itself, 8-10 Euros per bottle…(through Arvind Exports) and they have to cover their salaries and other costs through it so prices goes high you could understand…
Cargo doesnt charge so much per kilo…in fact shipping is the least expensive compare to medicine prices…
So all these $$ and €€ are going to Arvind Exports.
and if you ask “little employees” of Arvind Exports, some of them live in ashram, get a bed in dormitory (shared room) and breakfast + 2 meals etc. + ashram bus drops them to their jayanagar office in the morning and picks them up in the evening, if bus is not available they arrange a car or other vehicle to commute and do you know how much they earn???
between 1500 to 2500 Rupees per Month.(this i am talking about average little employee) of course the boss who knows it all earns a lot (as many other people like accountants etc. at good positions) and you never know like they stay in ashram so this expens is def. not beared by arvind exports but vvmvp so alll the costs they put or sri sri ayurved and vvmvp etc trusts and all the profit is being booked by these companies…
may be you know the American or other side of this story and could add it here…
just like medicines it is same for books and other products like clothes and accessories etc.
medicines and books and cds/dvd/vcd prices are also exponentially high outside india…so all these $$ €€ goes go Arvind Export. So before spending any €€$$ one has to consider and think where this money goes..
if you need more details or have questions please let me know..
Comments are closed.
Beyond The Art of Living 
‘The Divine Shop’ business has many irregular dealings including direct implications of ‘money laundering’ for all parties including AOL, SSRS, Bhanu’s family, Board members of various countries, accountants, etc.
Over-invoicing of many products being sold by Family has business complications from using funds of a supposedly charitable ‘Non Government Organisation (NGO)’. The products are not necessarily sub-standard ‘ however’ to generate business in India they are still forced to offer 40 to 50% discount to retailers. All manufacturing costs are apportioned to AOL and all revenues are usurped by the FAMILY. The 100% of sale goes towards the family pocket.
The over-invoicing or products across borders is also a mechanism to transfer money (called money – laundering by Police) from the cash rich AOL accounts in OECD/western countries (US, Russia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore etc.). SSRS himself direct respective board members to purchase divine shop items from a particular seller. The items are overpriced ten times. Where the money goes is anybody’s guess. It reduces the availability of funds with local AOL board and technically they money is transferred to the FAMILY’s accounts. Most of the involved people do these things with a pious purpose of transferring donations to Ashram. However, they do not understand that incase these transactions are ever investigated they will also be implicated as “accomplice in crime”.
What about Sumeru Solutions?
Where does the money from that go?
Isn’t Mr. Narsimhan running that company also?
Who knows the details of that?
Does SSRS think this is all ok? I mean he wants to risk his reputation and sink AoL because of his family? I don’t understand – does he think that it’s all legal and fine and the Indian way to do things?
I just wonder…
ssrs knows that he has fooled the world for the last 28 yrs.hence he is confident that he can handle all this
I don’t know all the details but I know whatever has been mentioned in the post is true and worth analyzing.
A bussiness that mints money in the name of your growth and spiritual developement.
Isn’t it sick that this Spiritual organization first makes you feel low , sick, worthless, makes sure that you feel depressed sad guilty by various subtle techniques and then they cash on it..by selling courses or ayurveda medicines or panchakarma.
I don’t doubt Spirituality , I don’t doubt power of pranayama, I dont doubt Ayurveda ….
But my trust in AOL’s spiritual business. The way they are churning out Swami’s and Rishis, they way they are producing Ayurveda doctors… they think its a game… Go seek a real Ayurveda Doctor and you will know the difference.. The way AOL is doind mass production of Ayurveda Doctors I feel I can also do it even sitting at home reading about vata pitta khapa and prescribe the regular medicines to just about anyone. Oh yeah It must be woeking on the knowledge of FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT!!!
– Stop playing with people’s health, their life and their spritual and emotional growth.
I am amazed to see how so called Godman are turning Spirituality to full fleged Bussiness.
Wow how enlightened these saints are!!!
By the way I have never heard of mom , dad, sister, brother, brother inlaw , aunts, uncles and nephews of any other Guru –
Anyone out there know who was Osho’s sister or brother, or Ramakrishan Paramhansa’s family or Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s or any others.
ALL OF US HAVE HEARD A THOUSAND TIMES – CHARITY DOESNT BEGIN WITH AN EMPTY BOWL. – OH YEAH.
HATS OFF TO THE BUSNIESS OF SPIRITUALITY – where you mint Euro Dollars in your Silver and golden begging bowls.
Dear Blim Blim, Bless you for this excellent post, which I also know to be true. And as Rational said, same applies to divine Shop stuff. Ayurvedic stuff are lighter & easier to carry, hence more profitable per weight than books & tapes! But it is all about $$$!
Between AOL teachers & Ashramites we had a joke that no matter for what illness one went to Ayurvedic clinic in the Ashram, one would get the same medicine! We knew all the names of different medicine by heart. And if anyone would confront the Ashram Ayurvedic “doctors(!!)” with this, they would be told these medicines won’t do you any harm even if you take the wrong one! SriSri himself quite often prescribes different Ayurvedic medicines to AOL students & devotees! But when it comes to his own health, he consults the Western doctors & alternative Western healing practitioners!
And it wasn’t Ayurvedic medicine & doctors he & his family sought when their mother was ill!
And Ewald and Lillian that you mentioned also live off AOL income totally. All these people preach about volunteering but when it comes to themselves, they all get paid quite handsomely. There was even some competition between Arvind & Ewald in selling Divine shop products to other countries (fighting over their patches you see) & of course SriSri & Bhanu always behind the scenes would promote Arvind over Ewald. But still enough for Ewald to consider it very profitable business. Besides he came to AOL totally bankrupt with no real skill & no money.
Check this link…
http://in109698216.trustpass.alibaba.com/aboutus.html
this answers everything…
these companies belog to Arvind exports or it’s holding company…
http://www.srisriayurveda.in
http://www.sumerubeverages.com
http://www.sumerusolutions.com
http://www.sumerurealty.com
http://in109698216.trustpass.alibaba.com/aboutus.html
Arvind exports is a flagship company of Sumeru Ayurveda Pvt Ltd, wich has diverse activities from herbal products, ayurvedic products, food and beverage to realty.
SRI SRI AYURVEDA:
Sri Sri Ayurveda has a global vision of bringing the best of Ayurveda to the world.
“The institution manufactures quality products and offers
a wide array of facilities with the common goal of reviving Ayurveda in its truest form”.
We can experience Sri Sri Ayurveda as the “mother” of all medicines and as the path to holistic health.
SUMERU BEVERAGES:
Sumeru Beverages Pvt. Ltd. a company supplying purified packaged water, founded in 2007 by the promoters of Rani Mineral Pvt. Ltd. which is an ISO 9001:2000 company.
At Sumeru Beverages the emphasis is on quality and each bottle of purified packaged water originating from its plants goes through multiple filtration and sterlisation steps including bacterial and pesticidal tests before it receives the nod of approval.
The present production capacity of the plant is around 38,000 1 litre bottles per day and 500 jars of 20 litres. In the next three years Sumeru Beverages will have a plan Indian presence and 20 purification plants and will launch beverages like fruit juices and medicated water (Tulsi Flavoured).
Sumeru Beverages orchestrates all its efforts to ultimately provide its consumer with Safe & High Quality Drinking Water by adopting Technologies, Processes & Quality systems that ensure safety and meet all regulatory norms.
AND MANY MORE……….
Company Profile
Basic Information
Authenticated and Verified.
Click here for more third-party Authenticated and Verified information about this company.
Company Name: ARVIND EXPORTS
Business Type: Manufacturer, Trading Company
Product/Service
(We Sell): herbal products,herbal cosmetics,herbal face cream,face lotion,lip cream,lip balm,protein powder,masala,herbal tea,drinking water,ayurvedic products,realty,amla,ashwagandha,herbal medicines
Registered Address: 288/C, 10th Main Road, 5th Block,, Jayanagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India Zip: 560041
Company Website URL:
http://www.srisriayurveda.in
http://www.sumerubeverages.com
http://www.sumerusolutions.com
http://www.sumerurealty.com
Ownership & Capital
Legal Representative/Business Owner: Mr. Arvind Varchaswi Narasimhan
Trade & Market
Main Markets: North America
South America
Eastern Europe
Southeast Asia
Africa
Oceania
Mid East
Eastern Asia
Western Europe
Factory Information
Contract Manufacturing: OEM Service Offered Design Service Offered Buyer Label Offered
http://in109698216.trustpass.alibaba.com/aboutus.html
Arvind exports is a flagship company of Sumeru Ayurveda Pvt Ltd, wich has diverse activities from herbal products, ayurvedic products, food and beverage to realty.
SRI SRI AYURVEDA:
Sri Sri Ayurveda has a global vision of bringing the best of Ayurveda to the world.
“The institution manufactures quality products and offers
a wide array of facilities with the common goal of reviving Ayurveda in its truest form”.
We can experience Sri Sri Ayurveda as the “mother” of all medicines and as the path to holistic health.
SUMERU BEVERAGES:
Sumeru Beverages Pvt. Ltd. a company supplying purified packaged water, founded in 2007 by the promoters of Rani Mineral Pvt. Ltd. which is an ISO 9001:2000 company.
At Sumeru Beverages the emphasis is on quality and each bottle of purified packaged water originating from its plants goes through multiple filtration and sterlisation steps including bacterial and pesticidal tests before it receives the nod of approval.
The present production capacity of the plant is around 38,000 1 litre bottles per day and 500 jars of 20 litres. In the next three years Sumeru Beverages will have a plan Indian presence and 20 purification plants and will launch beverages like fruit juices and medicated water (Tulsi Flavoured).
Sumeru Beverages orchestrates all its efforts to ultimately provide its consumer with Safe & High Quality Drinking Water by adopting Technologies, Processes & Quality systems that ensure safety and meet all regulatory norms.
AND MANY MORE……….
Company Profile
Basic Information
Authenticated and Verified.
Click here for more third-party Authenticated and Verified information about this company.
Company Name: ARVIND EXPORTS
Business Type: Manufacturer, Trading Company
Product/Service
(We Sell): herbal products,herbal cosmetics,herbal face cream,face lotion,lip cream,lip balm,protein powder,masala,herbal tea,drinking water,ayurvedic products,realty,amla,ashwagandha,herbal medicines
Registered Address: 288/C, 10th Main Road, 5th Block,, Jayanagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India Zip: 560041
Company Website URL: http://www.srisriayurveda.in
http://www.sumerubeverages.com
http://www.sumerusolutions.com
http://www.sumerurealty.com
Ownership & Capital
Legal Representative/Business Owner: Mr. Arvind Varchaswi Narasimhan
Trade & Market
Main Markets: North America
South America
Eastern Europe
Southeast Asia
Africa
Oceania
Mid East
Eastern Asia
Western Europe
Factory Information
Contract Manufacturing: OEM Service Offered Design Service Offered Buyer Label Offered
Could you edit the post to make it clear right at the top that he is the nephew.
this is his facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/srisri
he also has a blog
http://varchaswi.org/
has he dropped his last name to avoid embarrasment?
Interesting article…Read this… He fleeces the devotees and claims to be an entrepreneur.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/01/14/stories/2010011451931700.htm
I hope all young men & women who are slaving away their lives for SriSri & Bhanu Didi wake up & see. Don’t believe in what they say, look at what they do. They send their own kids to study in USA (that with full luxury too) and they set up very profitable businesses for them, all on money earned from fruit of your labour. They preach about voluntary work to all AOL members, but see how it is all a big and very profitable business for RS & his family & their lackeys.
Not a single dollar goes to any charitable work. Indeed they use the banner of charity projects to fleece people more.
Naomi Klein in her book, The Shock Doctrine, talks about Disaster Capitalism Globalized. Well SriSri/AOL would be a perfect case study. As soon as there is a disaster, they put their bowls out there collecting money for victims, but the funds collected never reach the victims.
Any charity project you see, is done by individual volunteers with their own money or the money that they fundraise themselves (AOL is well known to even try to take some of these funds too!). SriSri/AOL are just too cunning & too quick to take credit for other people’s charitable/voluntary work & even use these to deceive public & members to fleece them more!
Cheating Case – Nithyananda vs Sri Sri Ravishankar
Who is a bigger fraud ?
Sri Sri is in bed with BJP that rules Karnataka in India and he may ride fine now.
Sri Sri has way more millions of $$ than Nithyananda and has played with the trust of mostly educated crowd in western world in the name of spiritiuality.
If he is a true enlightened master , he should walk away from his money and stop cheating the public and operate from a cave or a jail.
A business enterprise on one end and preaching seva and volunteerism to the gullible masses.
Media likes sensational news like catching a politician, pedophiles or saint with their pants down than going after smooth talking white robed ones who have ammassed millions through international money laundering schemes.
It is rather offensive considering I can’t help but remember of all the times SSRS “cried” to me saying he had no money, AoL had no money, they “barely” make it to pay all the bills to take care of the ashrams. Those were his intelligent replies whenever I asked him for money because I needed to cover medical bills, or simply, eat, or not even mention, a place to sleep. I did not get a 10% income of all the courses and I even put money from my pocket to run his “poor” organization that never had enough money. People like Ewald and Lilian bought a lovely house in the border of Belgium and Holland, and live very well and have all the gadgets they want. His nephews live like Kings. And while he told me, for example, not to waste my life pursuing a Masters degree, like I wanted to at some time, he has his nephew doing how many masters degree that people like ME helped finance? Thank you Blim Blim for detailing such fraud. Those are the only real “seva” projects AoL finances: SSRS, Bhanu, her husband, and those 2 little brats.
Dear Klim,
It is reading your heartfelt posts that one is reminded that we are not here just talking about some money making scams by RS & his family & his lackeys, but that we are talking about criminal activities.
To me it is criminal to use the good-intentioned volunteering of so many people worldwide in the name of charity & spirituality to fill up one megalomaniac , greedy man’s coffers.
It is years of our lives that they stole from us & all volunteers. We worked hard thinking money goes to charitable projects ; little we knew it all went to RS & his family & his lackeys’ luxury lives & personal bank accounts & real estates. And no, Ewald wasn’t stupid like the rest of us to work for free for RS. For him it is his business. The guy brags about not doing any daily Sadhna nor Kriya nor going to any Adv courses. Furthermore he says he told RS all these & he replied: “that is fine, you just love me!” Loving RS instead of doing Sadhna?! The guy lives on coke & his Sadhna is going to Gym & watching TV till late into night & sleeping in till lunch!! He has no integrity & there is nothing spiritual about him. Very arrogant & self-serving individual. Rs told him to break off with Lillian, but he continued living in sin with her & RS got used to the idea! How many Ewald’s students out there who were told by him to do kriya daily & not drink soft drinks & to do daily Yoga & do Adv courses every 3 months?!And how one can justify RS’ reply to Ewald?
How come RS & his senior teachers tell other AOL students about importance of doing daily Kriya & regular Sadhna & Adv courses etc. Ewald is exempted on what basis? for loving him? There are so many devotees out there who love RS more than Ewald does; they work for free for AOL!! Shouldn’t they be exempted from daily Kriya & Sadhna & paid at least a minimum wage for their work for RS?
Klim, you & Skywalker are doing a great service by exposing RS. May all AOL readers who read this blogs wake up & free themselves from slavery for RS/his family & his lackeys.
blog is fine but lets make this information to nation and international press so that more innocent public could be saved.
So how exactly should we send this information to the press?
This post on SSRS’s nephew and the associated businesses being run under AoL is incriminating.
And there are many amongst us, including me, that can give evidence.
Yes I agree we should go to the press, anonymously. Any ideas or contacts?
we should compile this information and mail it to all the leading news channel and press. see in India the press will be keen to investigate it. off course there are certain news group who can be manipulated by ravi’s gang.but even then media is largely unaware of the game being played by aol in the name of spirituality.infact information can improve their TRP ratings
ABSOLUTELY… WE GOT TO DO IT AND DO IT FAST
I can’t agree more to all the above comments.
I mean we all know it..WE ALL KNOW IT IN AOL..but only few of us have the strength and confidence to speak up and take the lead for such a cause..
Lets reach out to as many people ..circulate the links to these blogs to everyone
Come on people don’t be scared the real God will always be there for each one of us
You can’t just mail stuff to a news channel and expect it to be on tv next day… you need a thing called PROOF for all the conclusions you’ve drawn above.
I think blogs open one’s objective nature and make one sit up and think. Which is why I write in when i have something to say.
But the reality is this: there is at least an iota of truth in the fact that AOl is being run by the family. If truth is spherical, then this is definitely a part of the truth. The other part of the truth is that a whole lot of people are being benefited by the courses AOl offers. For some it is an escape route from their abusive families, distraught life, loneliness, boredom, whatever. For some the Guru is God (and bless them).We cannot deny all this.
But, that said, in the eyes of the law, if money is being misused or not being used for the actual cause, then it is up to the government to wake up and rectify this. But the organization is grown far beyond any ONE PERSON or one org to correct. They have the clout, the voice and the banner.
In the world we live in, all we can hope is: You can fool one person for some time, all people for some time, but not all people for all the time.”
In our own world, we can merely sigh, speak a bit and wait for any change to happen, if at all it does.
But God’s land, the karmic law takes its own course. But ultimately, may the sincere, the righteous, the honest, the good win- hands down. We may not live to see this, but some day…just some lifetime, it will be different.
Hare Krishna.
MONEY MONEY MONEY…. ITS A RICH MANS WORLD…..
Check out the latest mail in circulation –
It is our earnest appeal/request to everyone NOT to upload/download Art of Living Audio & Videos. Also discourage this if you know or see others doing the same. Don’t upload Art of Living original songs to YouTube ( Guruji’s still photos and original songs)
As we all know, the profits from selling of Art of Living Cassettes, CDs, DVDs, Books and Ayurvedic products are used in various service projects around the world (5H programs, natural disaster relief programs, free education tribal and rural children, environmental care, prison program, women empowerment, etc.)
Also we have many deviated devotees, who are running DIVINE SHOP and its financial support to their family.
All Art of Living products are available in Divine Shop at reasonable price. Please buy from Divine Shop.
Sri Sri Publication Trust has got its copy right and paying regular taxes. Uploading to internet is an illegal act.
ALL RIGHTS OF THE OWNER IN THE RECORDED WORK RESERVED UNAUTHOSISED COPYING, USAGE PUBLISHING, PUBLIC PERFORMANCE, HIRING, RENTING, ADAPTING, SYNCHRONISATION AND BROADCASTING OF THE SOUND RECORDING PROHIBITED.
Jai Gurudev!
i cannot agree that all the prices at divine shop is reasonable. Whichever has the MRP printed can be told as reasonable. But there are some items, where no MRP is printed. I happened to buy a picture of Guruji the divine shop at trivandrum ashram with size 10cm x 15cm. They charged INR 15 for it. The same picture in A3 size is available for INR 10 outside.
I happened to see a pathetic scene in the divine shop at trivandrum ashram. We can see a glimpse of storage area through a door at the divine shop. I saw two A3 size pictures and a framed photo of guruji lying in the floor of the storage area, which was soiled by foot prints and dust. It seems that those pictures are lying there for a long period of time. If they had a little devotion or fear to the master, will they do it?
people pay extra in the mistaken belief that money goes towards a good cause – but in reality, it goes to private pockets.
NO BODY IS JOINING “NO NO SRI SRI IS NOT ENLIGHTENED” YOUR GROUP ON FACE BOOK
That is to be expected, most of us ex-aol people are not very keen to have our name associated with a cult. But try searching “Sr Sri Ravi Shankar” under groups in Facebook, and see what pops up 😉 This blog actually gets quite a number of hits through Facebook. So the group is serving its purpose very well.
Well how did you think the family should survive? They had a very modest home, an old car, narasimha had a little job. Then came the foreign $$$$ signs. Out went narasimha’s job (he should ‘design’ for the ashram, and oversee…..) Education in the US is expensive! How was something like that to be funded? Foreign $$$ and Euros and now Indian Rupee. It’s truly disgusting. How do these people sleep at night? By the way, because the westerners here don’t know Kannada, you will possibly not know that Bhanu “didi” and others in the Indian Inner Circle refer to westerners who have given up their lives and careers for SSRS service (at his request most times) as “foreign beggars”. Yes, that’s right. And they laugh. They also laughed and gossiped in Kannada about stupid westerners cleaning ashram toilets, proudly saying that you guys don’t know any better, that of course they would only do kitchen seva, if pressed into service…..
What a group of crows, the whole lot of them.
I came across this research paper about ayurvedic products that we could commonly buy on internet and many of them are contaminated with several metal poisons such as Arsenic, Mercury, Lead
Click to access 915.pdf
Though there are no brand AOL products tested in this one, I am sure (considering the sources from where AOL products are made), is carrying these contaminants.
It was surprising to see Maharishi Ayurveda, Baidyanath products.
AOL sells its Ayurvedic products illegally in Western countries. It has not a license to bring these to Western countries. So these are usually sold to AOL members during AOL courses and events and through AOL centres.
Usually the AOL teachers who travel to Ashram come back with their suitcases full of these AOL Ayurveda products.
It amused me that Dinesh recently spent two weeks in a Bangalore Hospital (he is sick quite often, like all other senior AOL teachers), remembering how he and Bawa pack their suitcases with these products and sell them when they go overseas (to supplement their travel expenses).
And before Mr. Yezdi (Bawa’s dad) cries defamation, let me say this has been witnessed by many AOL members overseas who have even been asked to help Bawa and Dinesh to sell these products and know the money didn’t go to centre or Ashram, rather Bawa and Dinesh spent it.
And the funny thing is that if you offer AOL Ayurvedic pills to these senior teachers when they are sick, they refuse! However the same teachers recommend these pills to AOL members without even prescription!
More data on Ayurvedic products, Ayurvedic medicine itself could be very beneficial to health, however the preparations are not done very carefully as these industries are not regulated or required to maintain any standards.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5326a3.htm
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_262/ai_n13675750/
AOL Ayurvedic products can’t be any better than most others in fact could be much worse, it simply means these products didn’t show up for these studies.
thanks for posting more links abt issues with ayurvedic formulations.
i would love to hear back from an AOLer, if they had ever submitted batches from their produces for such testing.
I have personally experienced ayurvedic products being confiscated at tradeshows/newage confereces, by the health authority. A lot of them is directly illegal….
I don’t know about illegal smuggling and the modus operandi of how its being sold/marketed. But, I am curious, if it would be possible to submit samples of brand AOL ayurvedic products to some labs that do similar research and find out the facts. If that gets int o a top journal like JAMA or something, it could be a death blow to this trade.
The funniest part is, many of the educated/over-educated AOLers use such products in their everyday life, without knowing the facts that they may be indeed contaminated with some deleterious toxins. The worst part is toxins such as Lead has serious impacts on the normal brain development in kids. Arsenic affects the kidneys and the bones in long run.
It may be a fact that we are getting exposed to such toxins in our everyday life through food chain, but, if it comes through a product that we buy is concerning.
AOL is well aware that their Ayurvedic products can not comply with the health and safety regulations required to export them to Western countries (the level of lead in their pills for example is well above those deemed safe). That is why they are importing these products illegally to Western countries and selling them through AOL networks.
Indian themselves do not consider AOL Ayurvedic products of high quality and prefer to use other well known and safe brands.
Where did this come from? Was there any report of AoL medicines having any lead ( Newspapers/Reports from any Govt body regulating these).
AoL Ayurvedic medicines sure may be priced double or triple than market value.. but I do not think they would sell contaminated medicines with lead etc.
I have used some of their Ayurvedic products and have found it expensive but pretty good and pure.
Their products, like many “high quality” Ayurvedic products come from main distributers of “high quality” herbs. Some of the brands that bought from those distributors and were caught with lead, mercury and arsenic in various preparations were: Banyan Botanicals (pride themselves on organic and pure, etc.) Maharishi Ayurveda, and Himalaya. Did you think that all these companies grow all of their own herbs? They have to buy from providers who, because of heavy pollution and bad growing practices, have polluted herbs. You can find more about this on the American CDC website, I believe. The compounds were tested and deemed dangerous. That would bring into question nearly any Ayurvedic company, since they share the same growers for many herbs. Just as I wouldn’t buy powdered milk from China right now, I would not buy any Ayurvedic herbs that have not been tested and passed by a reputable agency.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5326a3.htm
This is actually old news, but I’ve seen updated posts elsewhere which say basically the same thing — they have not improved processing.
Keep in mind, while taking these herbs: mercury and lead are lifelong. You can’t get rid of them once they are in your body. They just accumulate.
I do not usually trust the CDC reports which are usually directly or indirectly funded by the Pharma companies in the States which form a powerful lobby.
Most of your American drug policies are controlled by these companies as they pump a lot of money into the media and also the government.
Check out this ebook on How Pharma companies rip off american consumers.
Its a great read.
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Fix-Pharmaceutical-Consumers-Publicaffairs/dp/1586481851
Any such similar report of any western pharma company won’t even reach the public as the pharma companies have immense control over your media.
And there is a good chance( 9 out of 10) of the CDC reports against Ayurvedic medicines being doctored.
Usually there is no big producer of these herbs. As it is still not a profitable business out here.
AoL and Maharishi’s organization may be a little guilty on overworking their sevaks, but poisoning their medicines. No they would never do that.
This lead charge is something that is totally baseless.
Lets focus on some genuine charges so this blog doesn’t lose its purpose.
I read your comments about Naadi Pareeksha at AOL. Were you convinced about the way they diagonized through Naadi Pareeksha. I am specifically interested in Naadi Pareeksha only. I am not keen on buying their medicines. I am more interested in knowing the prakruti, diet to be followed for my prakruti and things like that. I am not interested in anything else. If you can suggest the best doctor among the ones whom you consulted it will be of great help to me.
Thanks in advance.
Chitra
Chitra there is an online test which you can take to determine your prakriti and vikruti…..
http://www.srisriayurveda.in
Some thumb rules… if you are getting too restless, worried, too many thoughts etc.. der is a Vata imbalance
If you get irritated, angry and flare up easily there is a pitta imbalance…
If you are feeling too lazy, tend to have heavy breathing, cold, cough, there is a coughaa (sorry Kapha 🙂 ) imbalance…
So whatever is the case just work out on balancing the imbalances and things will be fine.. its also good to know one’s prakriti and vikruti..
You can get pretty genuine and good medicines from Dabur , Zandu, hamdard etc at very reasonable rates.
Nobody needs to worry about justice in any of these matters: Karma cannot be denied. Karma will be paid. Every action has an equal reaction. The nephews cannot hope to forever have their uncle’s pujas erase the negative effects of having started businesses with stolen money (intended for charity, but instead used to set up family businesses). Eventually, God will take what is due from each person who has taken what was not really theirs. Even if they didn’t know what they were doing, the source of the money is not clean, and so they will begin to see subtle and not-so-subtle signs of “payback” in their daily lives: disportionate amount of sickness in their family. More misfortune than they expected, and more than others. Sadness in daily life increasing. Having to fake more and more. This is how they will live until they come clean, give back what they shouldn’t have, and just live from their present educations, completely free from AOL and HHSSRS. So nobody reading or writing here ever needs to think: “This is unjust!” Because everything always comes clean in the final wash. God is not blind or stupid. All who are guilty, whether they knew they were doing wrong or not, receiving stolen goods or not, will pay in the end. It’s a pity, but it’s true. Hopefully, they wake up before it’s extracted from them. The fact that their extraordinarily expensive educations were paid for mysteriously (they were both from a previously poor family with no means to pay for such things), would mean that they could give back on that account by teaching in the poor regions for free, thereby paying this all back. They would feel immense Grace of God then, and all would be well.
“Nobody needs to worry about justice in any of these matters: Karma cannot be denied.”
That does not mean that you become a mute spectator. You have to speak up when you see wrong done. Personally, I’m more concerned about innocent people trapped in the web of lies. I hope they read this blog and it opens their eyes.
The money one contributes towards the Art of Living course is peanuts when compared with the benefit one gets from it . It is intentionally kept low , so as to be accessible to everyone . Ayurveda is the medicine of the 21st century and Sri Sri Ayurveda is reviving the knowledge globally . No organisation is perfect . In all systems of medicine there is no guarantee that all doctors will give you exactly the same diagnosis and medicines . It doesn’t take much intelligence to realise this effect . The western pharma lobby is very powerful and they will do anything to protect their economic interests. Truth will prevail . For the Guru the whole world is his family . Every living thing is a part of him . There is not a selfish bone in his body . There will always be the Judases among us . Take pity on them . They are just playing their role . The wise will not be deceived .
While I agree with some of your points on health, I don’t agree the costs are low. “Low” is a fairly relative term, isn’t it? The courses are becoming more and more expensive. Courses with SSRS used to be somewhere between 100-250$. Now they are usually over 500-1000$ or more. Sahaj Samadhi courses used to be less than 100$, now they are often 250$. All of the courses are going up, in a time when people are less likely to spend money on things like this. There is absolutely no good reason why these courses should cost over 25-50$. If AOL really wanted to reach more people, they should lower their prices substantially. It might be a good thing though that the prices remain high, as it will keep some people away from possibly hurting themselves.
>>”The money one contributes towards the Art of Living course is peanuts when compared with the benefit one gets from it .”
I’m fine with it if AOL says it is a business, and this is the fee they are charging. They should not then add that money goes to social work/or it supports full time teachers. Or that they represent the vedic tradition.
The courses don’t even provide value for money. The teachers are badly trained – A three week crash course is apparently sufficient for anyone to teach spiritual knowledge. It is clear that course exists to teach sudarshan kriya and not wisdom. I’m not sure how much mechanical breathing can make you a wiser or a better person in the real world. I do highly encourage people to take the spiritual journey, but from my experience, AOL is not a good place. It gives a false sense of spiritual achievement and wisdom. You can see it so clearly in so many teachers. Of course people say teachers are not perfect, but am I wrong to ask for a reasonable good understanding of life and philosophy from teachers in a “spiritual organization”.
>>”For the Guru the whole world is his family . Every living thing is a part of him . There is not a selfish bone in his body .”
That’s your wishful thinking. I wish it were so, but reality is different. RS is not what you think he is. Try to see things for yourself instead of listening to what other in AOL or he says about himself.
“For the Guru the whole world is his family .”
But the Guru does not sponsor expensive foreign education for the whole world. He does it only for his nephews. The Guru does not grant stock holdings in his benami companies to the whole world. He grants it only to his brother-in-law. The Guru does not bestow diamond jeweleries to the whole world. He gives it only to his sister.