The article below was published on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of the All India Ayurvedic Congress in the monthly newspaper ‘Sanjivani Medical Times’, India. Sanjivani Medical Times (SMT) is being published for 15 years. SMT is being read by approximately 200,000 people.

The All India Ayurvedic Congress (AIAC) held its centenary celebration from 6th October to 8th October 2009 at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi. Since its foundation in 1907 AIAC has been working for the protection, propagation and promotion of the eternal science of Ayurveda through its branches spread all over India. This event was the biggest ever conglomeration of Ayurvedic scholars, physicians, manufacturers, suppliers, buyers and sellers from India and abroad.

Years ago the All India Ayurvedic Congress declared: “Maharishi Ayurveda makes available the principles and practice of Ayurveda in a complete, systematic and authentic manner, which has rarely been achieved in recent times in India ….”

The Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Bad Ems, Germany, is since 1992 one of the most successful Maharishi Ayurveda Clinics in the world. The state government of Rheinland-Pfalz asked us to open a Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in the well-known spa (health resort) of Bad Ems, in the former residential palace of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm I. By now more than 12,000 guests have been treated with Panchakarma and Maharishi Ayurveda herbal preparations - many of them are visiting us regularly.

About 1.500 people have learned Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation which has given a lot of bliss to the teachers and those who learned this wonderful technique.

The Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre is in Germany a uniquely state-recognized private clinic with hospital status. It has about 70 employees working on an area of 1200 square meters of treatment in the east wing of the royal building. During the past 15 years we have successfully treated the common chronic diseases such as asthma, hypertension, arthritis, cancer, gynaecological disorders, stress-related diseases, disorders of the gastro-intestinal tract, in a very effective way and without producing harmful side-effects. About 500 journalists visited the clinic during numerous press conferences. More than 1000 very positive press articles and several hundred TV reports have been published and created a very good name for Maharishi Ayurveda. Governmental representatives like the President of India, many Government Ministers from various countries have come into contact with the clinic. Top executives, famous artists and leaders from all areas of society from Germany and various other countries have visited the clinic, which is located in the beautiful and historic building which attracted in the past kings from all over Europe because of the healing capacity of the 18 thermal springs of the famous traditional spa Bad Ems. There are very powerful springs of healing water directly in the north east of the building. The leaders of the clinic, Lothar and his wife Dr. Karin Pirc, presented the success of Maharishi Ayurveda at numerous international conventions to doctors, public leaders and the general public. The clinic is also being presented by the most popular tour operators in various countries. The very extensive website www.ayurveda-germany.com is online in 10 languages and has very top position also on the international level in the most popular search engines like “google” and has about 50.000 visitors each month.

In the last 20 months the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre Bad Ems and its directors have received many awards:

1. Award “Best Ayurveda Physician of 2006” from an Indian medical associationOn the 6th of September 2006, Dr. Karin Pirc became the first European doctor to be awarded with the Indian “Global Hakim Ajmal Khan Award” for outstanding achievement in Ayurveda. With this honour, the Award Committee placed Dr. Pirc on the same level as the best known Ayurveda experts in India, the home of Ayurveda.

2.3.4. Honoured in the Moscow Academy of Science with 3 awards On the 28th February 2006, the Maharishi Ayurveda Clinic Bad Ems, Managing Director, Lothar Pirc and the senior doctor, Karin Pirc, were invited to the Moscow Academy of Science by the Patrons of the Century Benevolence Foundation to be honoured for their life's work. The grant celebration was broadcasted in 56 TV-Channels and a life TV- interview in the morning news was broadcasted in other 33 television channels.

• The clinic and its employees received the award: “For their outstanding contribution to the revival and flourishing of peace, for the magnitude of the soul and for altruistic generosity”
• Each of the staff members was awarded the medal “Good Citizen of the Nation”. In addition a Gold medal award for “Generosity and Usefulness” was given to Mr Lothar Pirc
• A silver medal award for “Compassion” for Dr, Karin Pirc
  

Following this event the mayor of the city of Bad Ems had organised a celebration for the city to honour the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre about which the press had reported extensively.

5. Award for high quality in service from State Government Quality Service It was the first private hospital in Rheinland-Pfalz to be
awarded the status of quality enterprise for good service by the State Secretary for the Ministry of Economy on 27th April 2006 in Rockenhausen. Stage one of Total Quality Management (TQM– is the European counterpart for ISO 2000)

6. RELAX
The Maharishi Ayurveda Clinic Bad Ems was included in a list of the best 25 facilities for healthy relaxation in and
around Holland. Only 3 institutions from the whole of Germany were awarded. This list was presented in the respected Dutch Wellness guide, “Relax”, published by the 'momedia group'. “Here it really is all about health”, commented the authors.

7. 8 German medicinal spa association
The German medicinal spa association, a holding organization which represents approx. 350 German spas, has honoured a vacation offer of the town and tourism marketing of the spa town Bad Ems. The Ayurveda “sniffing days” and 10 days of Panchakarma of the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre were honoured with the stamp of quality “Wellness in the spa”. The official stamp of quality with the legally protected name “Wellness in the spa” honours only those vacation offers, which can guarantee the highest quality of the offered performances in the Wellness and health tourism.

9. 'Global Hakim Ajmal Khan Award 2007 for Vedic Social and Organisational Services'
In the Indian capital New Delhi on 2 November 2007 during a grand celebration in the presence of 250 invited guests and media representatives in the festival hall of the state ministry building, Smt Sheila Dixit, Chief Minister of the State of Delhi presented the award to the winner Lothar Pirc, chairman and co-founder of the Maharishi Ayurveda Private Clinic in Bad Ems, Germany, which specialises in the ancient Indian system of natural medicine.