Ramdev was born as Ramkishan Yadav in 1965, in Alipur in the Mahendragarh district of Indian state of Haryana. He attended school till the eighth grade in Shahjadpur. He then joined a gurukul in Khanpur village to study Sanskrit and Yoga. Eventually, he renounced worldly life and entered into Sanyas (monastic living) – taking his present name.
He then went to Jind district and joined the Kalva gurukul and offered free Yoga training to villagers across Haryana.
Ramdev spent many years undertaking an study of ancient Indian scriptures. At the same time, he also practiced intense self-discipline and meditation.
In 1995, Ramdev established Divya Yoga Mandir Trust with Acharya Karamveer and Acharya Balkrishna. Acharya Karmaveer is well-versed in Yoga and Veda while Acharya Balkrishna is a physician with a degree in Ayurveda.
He has also founded the Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust, an institution for treatment and research in Yoga and Ayurveda, in Haridwar. The trust provides several free services to all visitors.
Ramdev has taught several aspects of traditional Indian scriptures such as Ashtadhyayee, Mahabhashya and Upanishads along with six systems of Indian Philosophy in various Gurukuls. He has helped establish Gurukuls in Kishangarh, Ghashera, and Mahendragarh in India.
His educational show is broadcast on the religious TV channel Aastha, as well as shows on Zee network, Sahara One and India TV. He has been regularly conducting yoga camps all over India and even abroad.
For changing governance policies, he has initiated a movement named Bharat Swabhiman along with Rajiv Dixit.
The five goals of Bharat Swabhiman campaign are:
100% voting
100% nationalist thought,
100% boycott of foreign companies and adoption of swadeshi,
100% unification of the people of the nation and
100% yoga-oriented nation.
As a part of campaign, Baba Ramdev has been organising yoga camps across India to create awareness amongst people against corruption and black money.