Ramdev, based at his ashram near the Indian holy city of Haridwar, has been dominating national politics after his hunger strike in New Delhi to protest against graft was forcibly ended by police before dawn on Sunday.[break]
Before his latest high-profile appearance on the political stage, he was already famous throughout India as a leading exponent of yoga who attracts millions of followers through his daily television programmes.
Many, such as 27-year-old graduate student Kajal Thakur, travel to Ramdev´s ashram to follow his regime and to live -- at least for a short time -- an austere life of communal dormitories and canteen food.
"I had severe arthritis as a teenager and could hardly move from bed for five years, it hurt so much. I took steroids and ballooned in weight," Thakur told AFP as she waited to buy herbal medicines at the ashram pharmacist.
"All I could do was lie in bed and watch television and that´s when I saw Swami Ramdev´s yoga broadcast."
Thakur, now svelte, said she followed Ramdev´s disciplined brand of breathing exercises and yoga for six months, and finally she was able to walk again.
"The crippling pain was just gone," she said.
"He can cure anything" is a common refrain among visitors to Ramdev´s sprawling complex, and their devotion now extends to supporting his fight against the corruption that infiltrates many aspects of Indian life.
"My yoga teachings have made people healthier. Now I am tackling the illness of corruption, and my efforts will make the people of this country wealthier," Ramdev told AFP on Monday.
His hunger strike and the violent manner in which police ejected him and 50,000 supporters from the protest site in Delhi have posed a major dilemma for the government of India, where Hindu gurus are treated with great reverence.
The road to Haridwar, where the Ganges river emerges from the Himalayas, is festooned with hoardings exhorting people to join his battle to repatriate all "black money" -- cash in foreign bank accounts used for illegal transactions.
Ramdev´s own vast wealth has been criticised, as he controls multiple trusts in India, Nepal, the United States, Britain, and Canada, with declared revenues since 1995 of 11 billion rupees ($246 million).
But to his fervent followers, he is beyond reproach.
Medical doctors examine Indian yoga guru Baba Ramdev during his hunger strike against corruption at his ashram Pitanjali Yogpeeth in Haridwar, some 240 kms from New Delhi.
At the ashram -- where Ramdev has resumed his hunger strike -- visitors from around the country approach him, touch his feet as a gesture of respect and seek his blessings.
Architect Subhendu Ranjan, 37, travelled with his baby daughter from the eastern city of Patna to see the guru.
Waiting for Ramdev to arrive at the dais where he holds court, Ranjan said he had come to personally thank the man whose simple exercises helped him lower his blood sugar levels.
"He is like God to me, so unselfish and honest," Ranjan said, holding his daughter in his arms.
Most of the visitors said they began following Ramdev when they turned to his traditional yoga and herb-based medical remedies for help, often as a last resort after trying modern medicines.
Anita, a teacher from Delhi, first visited the ashram in March, after suffering a severe bout of food poisoning.
"My son rushed me here because antibiotics weren´t helping and my blood pressure kept falling. You won´t believe it, but after three days here I was able to start doing yoga. It was a miracle," she said.
"I have full trust in him, and as for his money, whatever he has got, he has used it well, to build this place and offer free treatment to so many poor people."
Like another famous spiritual guru, Sai Baba, whose death in April this year was mourned by top politicians, cricketers, Bollywood stars and legions of the poor, Ramdev attracts devotees ranging from the powerful to the needy.
His daily appearances on India´s top religious channel Aastha TV have helped him build a following, as has providing cheap and occasionally free medical aid to sick and destitute visitors to his ashram.
"There are many yoga gurus in India but very few of them reach out to people the way he has," Ramdev devotee Thakur said.
"Without his help, I wouldn´t be able to walk today. I tell people, I am not his fan, I am a living example of his power."
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