Imperishability is the property of the human body not to undergo natural decomposition after death. Such bodies are an object of veneration for believers, because in Catholic and Orthodox Christian culture, the incorruption of the body of this or that saint of God is considered a sign of holiness. Scientists managed to explain the reasons for the incorruptibility of some bodies. However, this secret cannot be considered completely solved.
The smell of holiness
Imperishability should be distinguished from mummification - the natural process of drying out of a corpse. Often an incorruptible body emits the so-called scent of holiness - a special sweetish aroma of flowers, incense or myrrh.
The most famous imperishable body is the remains of Saint Bernadette Soubirous, to whom the Virgin Mary once appeared. Bernadette was then 14 years old. Soon the girl went to the monastery. Her body lies there to this day. Bernadette died at 35 and was buried in 1879. Before recognizing her as a saint, the Catholic Church opened the grave three times. The exhumation was witnessed by doctors, priests and other respected members of the community. And each time they were all convinced: the body of Bernadette Soubirous is untouched by decay.
On March 21, 1943, the corpse of Saint Catharine Labour, who died in 1876, was exhumed in Paris. The doctor, who was present at the exhumation, then said with surprise that the woman's arms and legs were flexible, as if she had died only yesterday, the skin remained intact, and the hair was striking in its shine. The eyes were in orbits, and their bluish-gray color did not fade. An analysis of the saint's internal organs showed that they were in an almost vital state.
Bernadette and Catharine Labour are among the many Christian saints whose bodies were reburied in the 20th century and found intact.
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The coffin fills with an oily liquid
After the death in 1899 of Saint Chabral Maklouf, whose remains were kept in the Lebanese monastery of Saint Maro Annai, a bright light shone around his tomb for 48 days. During the exhumation in 1937, the body of the saint was found perfectly intact. The remains were reburied and left alone for another 13 years - until 1950, when pilgrims entering the crypt noticed a strange liquid seeping through the walls of the coffin. After a second autopsy, the saint's body was still incorrupt, and his clothes turned out to be … soaked in blood!
Moreover, the flesh of Saint Chabral exuded a strange liquid, sticky and oily. This substance continues to ooze to this day, and with an annual exhumation, the coffin is five centimeters filled with it. They say this liquid has healing properties.
Buryat lama Itigelov
Khambo Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov died in 1927, and his body was exhumed in 2002. It was taken out of the ground, where it was kept in a cedar box, covered with salt. Eyewitnesses claim that Itigelov had soft skin without any signs of decay, his nose, ears and eyes were preserved. The fingers and elbow joints were mobile. Moreover, the body was fragrant.
The lama was placed under a glass bell in the Ivolginsky datsan (monastery) near Ulan-Ude, and on certain days long lines of believers lined up to him.
In 2004, employees of the Russian Center for Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation examined the remains of a Buryat lama. Spectral analysis of his hair, nails and a piece of skin did not reveal any destructive changes. Body tissues were no different from those of living people. The internal organs of the lama were intact. The blood in the vessels was in a jelly-like state. Scientists said they were faced with a phenomenon that science cannot yet explain.
Reached Nirvana
In Thailand, on the island of Koh Samui, in the Buddhist monastery Wat Kunaram, a glass box with the imperishable remains of the monk Pra Kru Sanatakitittkhun, who died in 1973, is exhibited. Pra Kru came to the temple at the age of 20, served for two months and left. He got married and became the father of five children. After 30 years, he returned to the monastery. And after another 30 years, he sat in the lotus position - for meditation, warning his disciples that he would die in it. And he died. The disciples tried to cremate the body, but it did not burn. Then the disciples built a glass sarcophagus and placed the monk there. It is said that Sanatakitttkhun still has nails and hair, and they even have to cut them. Perhaps he did not die at all, but attained nirvana …
Special diet
In 1994, the surviving body of Buddhist monk Pu Chao, who had died 11 years earlier in Taiwan, attracted thousands of pilgrims. Visitors examined the monk in the cave where he meditated and died at the age of 93. The novices wipe the corpse with a damp cloth once a week. According to the monks, Pu Chao remained incorrupt thanks to a special diet of leaves and rainwater.
Desecrated grave
The patriarch of the Sun dynasty - Gui Nene died in 712 and was buried in the Kuo-en monastery. During the fall of the Sun dynasty, in 1276, Mongol soldiers dug up the body of Gui Nene, wanting to be convinced of the truth of the rumors about its miraculous preservation. 564 years after death, the deceased's skin remained elastic. Then the Mongols ripped open the chest and stomach of the dead man and saw that his heart and liver were in excellent condition. Stunned, they fled from the desecrated grave.
The story of the incorruptible bodies of monks could be continued, but, perhaps, even more amazement is caused by the incorruptible bodies of people who did not differ in religiosity during their lifetime. And yet their bodies for some reason remained incorrupt.
By no means saints
In 1914, in the American city of Laramie, Wyoming, 24-year-old Ashley Whistel shot herself in the heart. Ashley's family was shocked, and her father, fearing a scandal, left the body in the living room, locking the door for years. After 52 years, one of Ashley's relatives decided to end a terrible secret and told the police that the girl's remains were in a locked room.
The detectives who arrived at the scene, and the biochemist Frank Sombert were in for a surprise: Whistel's body did not undergo noticeable changes, the skin was icy to the touch, and the face was deathly pale.
Some secrets revealed
It turns out that there is a natural process of saponification, as a result of which human fat turns into wax - more precisely, into a fat wax. In this case, the body after death completely retains its weight and outwardly may look imperishable. However, it is unclear why the saponification process occurs only in rare cases.
There is another reason for incorruptibility, which lies in the peculiarities of the external environment. An example of this is the catacombs located in the basement of the Capuchin monastery on the island of Sicily in the city of Palermo.
A certain monk Silvestro was once buried in the catacombs. Many years later, the remains of the monk were brought out into the light of day, and it turned out that the corpse looks like a living one. After that, many townspeople bequeathed to bury themselves in the basement of the Capuchin monastery. Thus, the number of imperishable bodies in the catacombs grew rapidly, and by the time of the official prohibition of the burial of the deceased in the catacombs in 1881, the crypt numbered more than 1000 bodies.
In the small town of Ferentillo, located northeast of Rome, there is the Church of St. Stefano, and next to it is a crypt with mummies. The priests claim that no one embalmed these mummies; the dead were buried in ordinary wooden coffins in the church basement. When the bodies were found, many believed that this place was specially marked by God. Meanwhile, experts argue that the mummification occurred due to the fact that the earth in the crypt is rich in sodium and potassium - substances that absorb moisture and dry out corpses. In addition, the warm and dry winds characteristic of this area constantly blew the dead, removing moisture and preventing the decay of the bodies.
Necrotic connection
Believers believe that the bodies of the most worthy were not subject to decay by the will of God, who kept them incorrupt.
The mystics believe that the cause of incorruptibility is meditation and special spiritual practices. Allegedly, with their help, you can change the biological processes taking place in the body.
There is a version that after the death of a person, his soul, located in the subtle world, is able to enter into informational contact with living people. At the same time, the energy component of the soul can manifest itself in the material world, entering into a "necrotic connection" with the remains of the deceased. Moreover, in some cases, as a result of this connection, there is such a strong energy supply of the tissues of the dead body that a protective barrier arises in it, preventing the decomposition of the corpse.
There are other versions, but none of them gives exhaustive answers to the questions of how and why the remains of not only God's chosen ones, but also the most ordinary people, sometimes turn out to be incorrupt. Perhaps, however, this is for the best. After all, it would be boring to live in a world without secrets and mysteries …
Nikolay BEL03ER0V. Magazine "Secrets of the XX century" № 24 2009