illustration by Suman Choudhury

Hardly anyone is breathing a word about it, but spirituality on the tube is drawing people in droves. India, which has so far been glued religiously to the architects of the PMS (pativrata-mangalsutra-sindoor) syndrome ? Tulsi, Prerna and Kkusum ? now have something new to gasp about.

Five in the morning, the K-serial loyalists, among others, are up and about warming up for lessons in pranayam, the art of breath control. They take their seats in front of their TV sets, switch to a faith channel ? and hang on to each word uttered by one Maharaj Ramdevji.

The channel, evidently, is taking India?s breath away. At first glance, the swarm of ordinary people seated in rows on floor mats in a huge stadium belie faith. But pause a while, and as an IT professional Swarup Gupta puts it, ?the magic begins?.

The camera zooms in on a bearded, saffron dhoti-clad, somewhat telegenic yogi, black flowing hair tied in a knot, stomach drawn in to outline his ribs. A melodious flute plays in the background as the millions gathered on the grounds try to follow the yogi?s instructions.

The yogi, Maharaj Ramdevji, is holding forth on the merits of pranayam. ?If you do pranayam half an hour daily, you will never fall sick,? he claims, his voice carrying the conviction that comes easily to men who bask in the glory of the halo people have created around them.

His sole objective, he declares simply, is building a nation of healthy individuals. And like all godmen ? but with a difference ? he enjoys a huge fan following: India?s elite, including several Supreme Court judges and other senior government officials and politicians, are ever ready to seek his blessings. His VCDs on yoga sell like egg rolls, Patanjali Yog Peeth in Hardwar is much in the news, as are his ?yog? centres ? ?whereby man may never fall ill? ? coming up in all the metros.

?Diseases are nothing but imbalances of the body, and yoga corrects those imbalances,? he contends. Hold your breath, there?s more: ?Yoga can clear blocked arteries, lower blood pressure and cure diabetes, asthma, cancer, slipped discs, cervical and arthritic pain, kidney failure and poor eyesight,? he vows.

The yogi?s personal story is as stereotypically intriguing as those of other Maharaj types who help define India as a land of snake charmers and yogis.

Consider this: he suffered paralysis on the left side of the body when he was two but fully recovered by the age of 10. The only visible sign now is his slightly shrunken left eye. He spent eight years in school, dreaming of becoming a saint. At 14, he ran away from home to a nearby gurukul to study Sanskrit and Vedic literature. Then he spent many years wandering in the Himalayas learning yoga and meditation. He sleeps only five hours a night, from 10 pm to 3 am, but is eternally fizzing with energy. He eats only fruits and vegetables, and claims he has always abstained from sex.

Enough reason for people to have developed aastha in him and, in turn, in the channel. For them, it is a way of walking back in time to our roots, our rich cultural heritage, and moving ahead to a healthy and happy life.

Talk to any of them and you meet with the same response. ?In this dog-eat-dog world, there is no better way to get a daily dose of wisdom right in your living room,? says housewife Chandrima Bhattacharyya who had first heard of the programme from a friend in Mumbai. ?All this isn?t so much about God and religion as it is about both physical and mental well-being. It calms the mind and offers cures for diseases,? she reasons.

Take a deep breath!