Kailash Mountains in Devbhoomi

By Reeta Rani Nayak

Acharya Balkrishna, Chairman Patanjali had led a joint mountaineer- ing team to Horn of Harsil Peak in the Himalayas last month for exploring hitherto undiscovered unique medici- nal plants. But to his astonishment, he found a peak shaped like ‘Om’ when seen from the top and formed like Kailash Parvat! The only difference was that there was no snow at its top because of its conical shape. So, he named it as ‘Kailash Shikhar’.

Acharya's joy knew no bounds when he reached Him Shikhar (snow peak) situated between Srikanth Parvat and Harshil Horn Peak-2, at a height of nearly 17500 ft. When the team reached the top of the mountain, three peaks were visible. On the right is Srikhand peak which has been already climbed and a little far down was seen in a shape like ‘Nandi’ and named so after the Shiva’s carrier. While trekking, our team was awestruck when the snow peak in the shape of Nandi appeared at a height of 16500 feet and Kailash shaped peak at 17500 feet.” Acharya Balkrishna on the team’s return said that the 17,000-feet high peak is also rich with many rare medicinal herbs. They will put on record the rare species.

But this is not for the first time the Acharya has discovered and named new peaks in the Himalayas. He had already mounted some unmounted, inaccessible peaks of Himalayas and discovered many rare herbs. Earlier, he also named a mountain as Rashtrarishi, Yogrishi and Ayurveda Rishi which were unnamed earlier. Acharya along with the Principal of NIM Colonel Anshuman Bhadauria and Patanjali’s team decided to climb the Himalayan ranges in two teams. Acharya said, “This feat will prove to be a milestone in making Uttarakhand’s Devbhoomi and Dev culture global and it will pave a new way for the awakening of the spiritual consciousness of the people. The joint team of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) and Swami Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved comprised Dr. Rajesh Mishra, Dr. Bhaskar Joshi, Suraj Lokesh Panwar, Colonel Bhadauria, Saurav Rautela, Girish Rankoti, Ravindra Singh, Govind Ram, Anoop Panwar trekked, besides Acharya. 

Acharya Balkrishna is a self-made Indian entrepreneur. He was reported by Forbes to have a net worth of US$2.3 billion in 2021. Born on 4 August 1972 in Haridwar he and Baba Ramdev founded Patanjali Ayurved, a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company involved in the manufacturing and trading of herbal, and ayurvedic products. Acharya Balkrishna published more than 330 research articles in various national and interna- tional journals, authored more than 200 books on yoga and Ayurveda and edited many unpublished ancient Ayurveda manuscripts.

To his credit Acharya Balkrishna had already received UN SDG 10 Most Influential people in the world by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. He was awarded the UN SDG Healthcare Award in Geneva. Under his leader- ship Patanjali Research Institute, research on many Ayurvedic herbs has been published prominently in various world-famous research journals.

Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttarkashi is rated as one of the best mountaineering institutes in India and also considered as the most prestigious mountaineering institute in Asia. It emphasises on instilling the concept of Adventure and following conventional environmental guidelines to ensure environmental awareness and conservation.

Patanjali is one of the fastest- growing FMCG companies in India. In the financial year 2022- 23, its total revenue was Rs 45,000 crore. Now it is one of the topmost companies in the coun- try. Patanjali Ayurved Limited produces quality Herbomineral preparations. To monitor quality, the Divya Yog Mandir Trust and Patanjali Yog Peeth grow many endangered herbs on its farm- land.

The principles of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are rigorously followed in the plant and the Company prides itself on being environment friendly. A high stress on quality, several quality circles and special quality circles and special project teams working on Total Quality Management (TQM) projects make quality a way of life in Patanjali Ayurved Limited. The allure of Ayurveda transcends borders, and celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Madonna, Demi Moore, and late ABVjpayee had faith in it.