Rhein-Lahn-Zeitung Saturday, 3 March 2007 Bad Ems

Ayurveda Health Centre is Hoping for More Support

Secretary-General designate of the CDU Josef Rosenbauer visits world-renowned Bad Ems institution – Criticism of pharmaceutical lobby

BAD EMS. A pilot project involving a major health insurance company, with scientific support from a university: this is the aim of Lothar Pirc, managing director of the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre at Bad Ems. "Health reform is designed to allow health insurance companies to explore new avenues. I have written to many such companies, offering to work with them," he says. His desire: to present studies on the efficacy of Ayurveda to the State Parliament or to a Committee of the Bundestag (Federal Parliament).

Recently Pirc asked the secretary-general designate of the provincial CDU, Josef Rosenbauer, together with the CDU Member of the State Parliament Matthias Lammert, for their support in this matter. Both of them, along with other local politicians, had visited the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre. Pirc informed the CDU politicians about the development of the Health Centre, which at present employs 65 people. "We have made Ayurveda well-known in this region," Pirc explained. He made it clear that the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre should not just be put in the "Ayurveda corner". Ayurveda itself is not a protected name, he said: It is the name Maharishi that indicates its origin and stands for authenticity. He emphasised the numerous international honours and awards received by this institution and its medical director Dr. Karin Pirc (as reported by our RLZ newspaper), pointing to the fact that she has published eight books.

Just recently the Maharishi Ayurveda Clinic became the first clinic in Rheinland-Pfalz to be awarded a service certificate. A large and well-known publishing house in Holland has produced a book about the 25 top spas in Holland and neighbouring countries; it mentions only three German institutions, one of which is the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre in Bad Ems. This clinic, which has existed in the health resort since the early 1990s, is considered by experts to be one of the best in the world.  While talking to the CDU representatives, Pirc also spoke about the pharmaceutical lobby, which has successfully driven the medium-sized producers of natural medicine out of the market. The law has been changed in such a way that only the big pharmaceutical companies can now fulfil the requirements it imposes. "The pharma lobby is acting against the will of the citizens, 80% of whom are known to be in favour of natural medicine," Pirc said.

Rosenbauer and Lammert affirmed that they know how difficult it is in Germany for those offering natural health programmes. "We will find out how we can support the Maharishi Ayurveda Health Centre and how we can advance this matter to the proper office," Lammert promised. The CDU politicians intend to get in touch with the national level of the CDU in order to submit Pirc’s request. (sm)