The work which was once abandoned by the World Health Organization (WHO), the world’s largest health organization, considering it impossible, was completed in India on the basis of determination, research and penance. This is the story of Patanjali Yogpeeth, which created history by preparing a huge encyclopedia like World Herbal Encyclopedia. And today the situation is such that the giant company of the digital age, Google is also knocking on the doors of Patanjali to get the same knowledge.
When WHO left the project midway
In the year 1999, WHO started a big project. Its purpose was to collect medicinal plants and traditional medical practices from around the world in one place. After about 11 years of hard work, WHO stopped it in 2010. The reason was that this task seemed very big, complex and almost impossible. Ultimately this project was limited to only three volumes.
Big preparations were going on quietly in India
Meanwhile, Patanjali Yogpeeth in India started work in this direction around 2003-04. The special thing was that the institute was not even aware of this project of WHO. While this work stopped at the global level, it continued to progress in India. The reason was strong determination and long thinking and after nearly two decades of continuous research and compilation, this work came out in its full form in 2022.
Knowledge encyclopedia prepared after 20 years of hard work
This project was completed in 2022 after nearly two decades of continuous research and data collection. During this period, 50,000 medicinal plants were identified out of 3.60 lakh plants, traditional knowledge of more than 2000 tribes was documented, 964 healing practices were collected, more than 9 medical systems were included, more than 12 lakh local names (vernacular) were collected and research was prepared from more than 2200 sources. By combining all these, a World Herbal Encyclopedia of about 1.25 lakh pages was prepared.
Announcement made in Doon Book Festival
Acharya Balkrishna informed about the completion of 109 volumes of this great book at the Doon Book Festival in Dehradun. He told that this is not just a book, but a big initiative to save the traditional medical knowledge of the entire world.
Now Google also wants this data
The most interesting aspect of this story is that in the era of digital and AI, a big tech company like Google has shown interest in this data from Patanjali. According to reports, Google wants to use this evidence-based data to further improve artificial intelligence. This is not just a collaboration, but a sign that India’s traditional knowledge has now reached the center of global technology.
Global recognition of India’s knowledge
According to Acharya Balkrishna, this is not just a project but a victory of thinking and determination. While big global institutions remained limited, Indian tradition and scientific approach together created history. Overall, the World Pharmacopoeia is proof that if the intention is strong, even the seemingly impossible task can become an example for the world and now the whole world is moving towards adopting this knowledge.