'Gayatri' power for mind-body balance

Those who are not fortunate enough to meet him personally in Patna try to catch up with him at his ancestral place in Saharsa, or in Mumbai, where his clientele includes the likes of Gopinath Munde, Poonam Mahajan, Udit Narayan or Milind Jhaveri, the renowned jeweller-cum-film producer. Back in Bihar, ministers, IPS officers, industrialists and social scientists wait for their turn patiently to get an audience with him and seek his blessings to overcome their respective problems — be it arthiritis, psychological disorders, or any other emotional issue. Excerpts:

You don’t appear to be a run-of-the-mill astrologer. No beard, no long hair, no saffron cloth?
(Laughs)… One need not have all the prerequisites which you mentioned to heal someone’s wound.  

Why have you made such a senior politician, or for that matter, a high-ranking IPS officer wait for long to meet you?
For me, every one is equally important. Be it the poorest of the poor, or any other VVIP.

What kind of people comehere to meet you?
Basically, there are three kinds of visitors. One variety who come for entertainment or fun, just because it’s free. Others who are really curious, like for example an MLA who wants to know when would he become a minister, or a DIG keen to know when he would be promoted. And the last category consists of those who are the real sufferers.

Please elaborate the last section.
Majority of them are those suffering from arthiritis. And they come to me only after exhausting all other means. I simply use ayurveda to cure them. In fact, recently a renowned physiotherapist had come to thank me for curing his ailing mother who was suffering from pain in the joints since ages. You will be surprised to know that the physiotherapist concerned admitted that all medical science had failed compared to ayurveda.

Is it true that people from even abroad come over to seek your treatment?
Yes. Germans, who suffer more from psychological disorders and Russians who complain of unemployment.

And among the Indian clientele?
All shades of people. Be it Udit Narayan, whose marital boat was almost rocked in 2006, or Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late Pramod Mahajan. Even Gopinath Munde, Milind Jhaveri or Chandrachud Singh. Even journalists from NDTV to BBC come to me with their respective personal problems. In Bihar, people like Pappu Yadav, Lovely Anand, bureaucrats, social scientists et al … every one with some or other problem.

It is said that you lay great emphasis on the Gayatri Mantra?
I have created a Gayatri Shaktipeeth in Saharsa precisely because Gayatri Mantra helps in striking the right chord between the mind and the soul. It, therefore, initiates a healthy coexistence of emotion and thought. Gayatri Mantra is an eternal source of divine inspiration to mankind.

Tell us briefly about your background?
I was born at a nondescript place in Saharsa in 1963. I earned a doctorate in ancient history, and married a girl from Mangalore — Abhinav Shetty in 1995, who incidentally was brought up in Mumbai.

Apart from a healer of bodyand soul, you are also a social worker?
I have established a residential school and its adjoining area is declared a tobacco and alcohol-free zone in Saharsa. Besides, I set up free eye check-up camps and medical camps from time to time. For instance, I coordinated with the Escorts medical team and organized a free heart check-up camp for the economically poor and downtrodden section. Even relief camps were set up to look after Kosi flood victims in 2008.

It is said that you are in high demand abroad for delivering speeches on stress management? Which countries do you generally visit?
Basically, it’s the US, UK and China. And my thrust area is lifestyle-management, stress management and the Art of Thinking. I practice ayurveda because it’s an ancient Hindu way of healing and curing people. Modern medicine is a management technique, it manages the disease.  But if people think in a right way and lead a healthy lifestyle, there is no chance of any disease creeping in. I often tell people that thoughts are more powerful than actions, and negative thoughts create such negative energy that even good tidings shy away from that vicious energy… Today a maximum amount of people’s energy and time goes into wasteful thinking. If the thought processes are right and healthy, life will automatically get streamlined.