Nationality India Name Ramesh Bijlani | Role Author | |
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Occupation doctor, writer, teacher Books BACK TO HEALTH THROUGH YOGA | ||
Interview with Dr Ramesh Bijlani
Enriching the Journey of Life with Yoga by Dr. Ramesh Bijlani [part 1/4]
Ramesh Lal Bijlani (born 1947) is an Indian writer, inspirational speaker, medical scientist and retired Professor of Physiology who has specialized in physiology, nutrition, and yoga. He is the author of more than 200 scientific papers, more than 50 popular articles, and 14 books, including a 1000-page textbook for medical students and teachers, Understanding Medical Physiology (2004), and a 32-page picture book for 5- to 8-year-olds, Our Body: A Wonderful Machine (1986), which was the best selling title published by the National Book Trust for the decade 1995–2005.
Contents
- Interview with Dr Ramesh Bijlani
- Enriching the Journey of Life with Yoga by Dr Ramesh Bijlani part 14
- Education and training
- Awards
- References
Education and training
Ramesh Lal Bijlani was born in 1947 in Sukkur, Pakistan. He was brought from there to Delhi when he was one month old. He attended school in Delhi. He went to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and received an M.B.B.S. degree in 1970.
He continued his studies at the AIIMS and received an M.D. degree in physiology in 1973. He happily joined the faculty of the Department of Physiology at AIIMS in 1977, became a full Professor in 1987, and head of the Department of Physiology in 1996.
In 1978, he came to the United States, studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and received a master's degree in nutrition from MIT in 1979.
In 1992, he began an in-depth study of the works of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. In 1998, he started giving a monthly talk at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi Branch. In 2000, his personal and professional life converged when he initiated a patient care facility at AIIMS to provide yogic lifestyle courses for prevention and management of chronic disease in tune with the latest advances in mind-body medicine.
After being on the faculty of AIIMS for nearly 30 years, he took voluntary retirement in 2005 to plunge deeper into yoga. He was conferred an honorary doctorate (D.Sc.) in yoga by Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, a deemed university in Bangalore, India, in January 2006.
He was elected to the Fellowship of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of India in November 2005.
Awards
Dev Raj Bajaj Prize for innovation in physiological techniques from the Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India (APPI) in December 1978.
First prize for essay entitled "How can UNU help fight hunger?" by the United Nations University in April 1980.
Dr. K.K. Sharma award for the best essay entitled "Is medical research in India a fraud?" in August 1981, and for the essay entitled "Dilemma of fresh medical graduates" in August 1984 by the Delhi Medical Association.
B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) Internal Oration award for contributions to the vision, mission and goals of BPKIHS in September 1996.
Dr. M.L. Gupta Prize for contributions to medical education by Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India (APPI) in December 2001.
Atmajyoti Award for Excellence in Yoga and Medicine given jointly by the Research Institute of Vedic Culture and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (India) in October 2004.
General S.L. Bhatia Prize for contributions to physiology by Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India (APPI) in December 2004.
Professor R.C. Shukla Oration Prize by the Lucknow Branch of Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India (APPI), King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, in June 2005.
Dr. Manasi Mohanram Memorial Lecture by the Department of Botany, Miranda House, University of Delhi in 2011. The title of his talk, delivered in February 2011 was "Decision Making: the Spiritual Dimension".
Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Physiologists and Pharmacologists of India (APPI) in 2010. Bijlani gave a presentation during the award ceremony in March 2011 called "What is Life for Anyway?" Excerpts from the talk are on YouTube.