In an interview with Khaleej Times, the 38-year-old yogic, who is in Dubai for the first time to conduct a three-day yoga camp, said, “I have helped cure more than 1,000 people of cancer through yoga and pranayama (breathing techniques) over a period of time and have scientific documentation to prove it. People who had blood, uterus, breast and pituitary gland cancer and have had abnormal parameters, now have normal parameters.”

The spiritual guru, known to have had many a brush with controversies in the Indian subcontinent, however added that, “I am not saying you should abandon chemotherapy, but people with cancer can practise yoga alongside chemotherapy.”

Clad in saffron robes, the austere yogic, who is on a flying visit and presently put up in a plush villa in Bur Dubai, also discarded rumours that he could completely cure HIV/AIDS, but asserted that the CD4 cell count, that strengthens the immune system in HIV patients, had been increased and the effect of the virus decreased. “Through the practice of pranayama and healthy food, we have been able to help increase the CD4 count and decrease the presence of virus in the body,” he said.

The Baba also remarked that the people, who participated in his three-day yoga camp in Dubai, would definitely lose 2-4 kilos of weight. The yoga guru said, “I do not do any magic or miracle. Neither do I give any false hopes to people. But everyone can see that people who participate in the camp will lose 2-4 kilos in three days.”