In 2003, the film "21 grams" was released - a drama, one of the slogans of which was the phrase "How much does life weigh?" At the end of the film, it is argued that all people lose 21 grams at the time of death, supposedly this is how much the soul weighs.
But is it really so? Is there some kind of scientific basis underneath, or is it all fictional?
Dr. Duncan MacDougall from the American city of Haverhill, Massachusetts (Massachusetts) in 1906 conducted a number of interesting experiments to study changes in body weight at the time of death. He proceeded from the assumption that the human soul has weight and when it leaves the body at the time of death, the weight of the physical body must decrease. The difference in body weight before death and after death will give the value of the weight of the soul itself. Soul has weight, physician thinks, New York Times, March 7, 1907.
At his clinic, Dr. Duncan McDougall built a special bed, which was a giant scale with high sensitivity, up to several grams. He put on this bed successively six patients in the dying stage. Mostly tuberculosis patients were observed. they were in a state of real estate during their dying hours, which was an ideal case for the precise operation of the delicate mechanism of the scales. When the patient was placed on a special bed, the scales were set to zero.
Then the indications of the scales were monitored until the death of the patient. Weight loss was recorded at the time of death. For example, in one of the patients it was 21 grams. Dr. McDougall published the results of his experiments first in periodicals, and then in scientific publications. So, in particular, in the scientific journal "American Medicine" he wrote:
“My first study involved a terminally ill with tuberculosis. This disease, as it seemed to me, was best suited for my experiments, because the end of this disease is accompanied by extreme exhaustion of the patient, whose death is not accompanied by any muscular movements that could affect the spontaneous movement of the balance needle.
The first patient was followed up for three hours and forty minutes until death. He was lying on a special bed, arranged on a weighing mechanism, which was balanced and had a scale with an arrow. When the patient was placed on a special bed, everything was done to make him as comfortable as possible, although in fact he was already dying. During several hours in the special bed, he slowly and constantly lost weight, approximately one ounce [30 grams] per hour due to evaporation of moisture through the respiratory tract and through perspiration.
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For all three hours and forty minutes, I held the scale hand slightly above the center of the scale in order to more accurately determine the loss in weight, if this happens. Three hours and forty minutes later, the patient died, which suddenly coincided with a sharp movement of the scale arrow to the lower end of the scale, which was accompanied by even an audible hit of the arrow on the lower edge of the scale, where the arrow stopped. The weight loss was set at three quarters of an ounce [21 grams].
This sudden weight loss could not have occurred due to moisture evaporation through breathing or perspiration, because these processes occurred gradually, in this case, at a rate of one sixtieth ounce [0.5 grams] per minute, whereas the weight loss at death was sudden and large - three quarters of an ounce [21 grams] in a few seconds. The movement of the patient's internal organs also could not affect the weight, because the whole body was on the scales. The bladder excreted one or two grams of urine, but it remained on the bed and it may have only contributed to the slow weight loss due to her natural evaporation, but this in no way could explain the sudden weight loss.
It remained to test another possibility of rapid weight loss due to the rapid expiration of air from the lungs. I myself lay down on a special bed, and my colleague set the scale to balance. We determined that the most intense inhalation or exhalation of air by my lungs had no effect on the arrow of the scale. Then my colleague climbed onto the special bed, and I watched the scales. And his breathing exercises had no effect. Thus, in the case of the first patient, we certainly have an unexplained three-quarters ounce [21 grams] weight loss. Is this really the weight of the soul? If so, what does this prove?"
In the second case, a sudden change in the patient's weight was also observed, but since It was very difficult for doctors to determine the exact moment of death, they doubted the reliability of the numerical data. In the third case, at the time of death, a weight loss of 45 grams was recorded, and after a few minutes - another 30 grams. The fourth experiment failed, because other colleagues who were against conducting similar experiments interfered. In the fifth case, it was found that the patient's body weight at the time of death decreased by 12 grams, but then again the weight increased by these 12 grams, and after 15 minutes it again decreased by the same 12 grams. The last sixth case was unsuccessful, because the patient died while the balance mechanism was being adjusted. Dr. McDougall draws the following conclusions from these experiments:
“The indisputable result of experiments conducted with the participation of dying patients is evidence that at the time of death there is a sudden loss of body weight, which cannot be explained by any natural causes. Is this lost weight really soul stuff? It seems to us that this is exactly the case. According to our hypothesis, proof of the existence of the soul substance is a necessary prerequisite for the assumption of the continuation of the life of an individual after physical death. And here we have experimental proof that the substance of the soul can be weighed at the moment when the soul leaves the human body at the moment of death."
From the point of view of Living Ethics, this conclusion is absolutely correct, since in the book "Illumination" (part 2. V.10.) it is said: "… astral bodies have both volume and weight and carry away many features of earthly life." It is at the moment of death that the final exit of the astral body from the physical body occurs, which is accompanied by a sudden loss of weight in the physical body. This fact was recorded by Dr. McDougall in his experiments. Of course, the astral body is different for everyone - it has a different volume and different weight, different specific gravity.
The results of Dr. McDougall's experiments can be interpreted as follows. A sudden, single loss in weight is the result of the astral body leaving the physical. Weight loss, and then weight recovery, followed by weight loss again, suggests that the astral body of the dying person first left the physical body, then returned, and then left it again. Weight loss in two times most likely indicates that the patient was possessed, i.e. in his body lived two astral bodies - his own and the possessor. In this case, at the time of death, the physical body first left one astral body and then another.
In all cases, Dr. McDougall recorded different weight loss - from 12 to 45 grams. This suggests that the astral bodies of different people have different weights.
Which is better - more weight of the astral body or less? To answer this question, let us read the following quotation from the 582nd paragraph of the book “The Fiery World”, part 3: “From the subtlety of thinking one can imagine the shell of the Subtle World. The subtle body is also weighty in the subtlest measures. But the fiery body is no longer measurable. If we remember that the more spiritual a person is, the closer after death he is to the Fiery World, then we can conclude that the lighter the astral body, the more spiritual the person and his body will soar closer to the Fiery World. And vice versa, the grosser a person, the heavier his astral body, and the further he will be from the Fiery World, i.e. after death he will dwell in the low, coarse strata of the Subtle World.
The above quote from the 582nd paragraph also says that the matter of the Subtle World, as well as the subtle (astral) body, has weight. It is this astral matter that is that cosmic dark matter, the so-called. hidden mass, which modern physicists are so persistently looking for, and which they lack to accurately calculate the motion of cosmic bodies. Dr. McDougall's experiments prove that astral matter has mass, although it cannot be observed with the help of classical optical or electromagnetic devices.
Dark cosmic matter has long been observed by astronomers indirectly from the gravitational effects exerted on the observed space objects. But scientists cannot prove the existence of dark matter on Earth. And here the experiments of Dr. McDougall come to the rescue, because his experiments can be improved on the basis of today's high-precision measuring equipment and applied in different cases when the astral body leaves the physical body. This happens not only at the time of death, but also in sleep: “Of course, you noticed the state between sleep and wakefulness. It is especially remarkable that at the slightest movement there is a kind of dizziness, but in a calm position you can feel the phenomenon of weight loss. This is not an illusion.
Indeed, it is possible to track the change in weight on the scales. (Fiery World 1, p. 526). Likewise, a strong hypnotist can make a person's astral body stand out. He can make a person fall asleep on a special bed (with accurate scales) and not move, and then order the astral body to stand out - this is how you can achieve the most accurate results in determining the weight of the astral body of the observed person. In these cases, it is possible to carry out a purposeful weighing of the astral body, and then compare its weight with the ethical and spiritual qualities of this person. What amazing, visual and instructive results would be achieved!
People would understand that good and spiritual people have thin, light souls, and evil and bad people are rough and heavy. And how easy it would be for people to understand that spirituality is not an abstract concept, but a purely physiological fact. On the basis of such experiments, it would be instructive to carry out educational work among the population, to whom it was possible to explain in an accessible and understandable way not only the existence of the soul and the afterlife, but also how the soul develops and how it lives. For example, such a quote from Living Ethics might be appropriate in this case: “Urusvati knows that the subtle body feeds on good deeds. Many will take this as a paradox or absurdity. For them, the subtle body does not exist, and the concept of good deeds is very relative. But, in fact, the subtle body gets stronger from everything sublime, that is why good thoughts and deeds are so useful. (Overground, p. 557.)
Strengthening and harmonious development of the subtle body is the most important task for an embodied individual. But how is this goal achieved? - Only by expanding consciousness, only by comprehending the true laws of the universe, one of which is the threefold structure of man. And the experiments of Dr. McDougall provide indisputable proof of the existence of one of the three human bodies - the astral (subtle) body. In addition, the presence of the weight of astral matter is indirectly proved. Let's hope that future generations of courageous researchers will continue the experiments of Dr. McDougall.
Scientists have approached the issue of "weighing human souls" thoroughly. At different times, several experiments were carried out to determine the weight of a person's soul.
The weight of a person's soul ranges from 2.5 to 22.4g.
American physician McDougal in 1915 in the magazine "Good News" described a scientific experiment in which the weight of the soul was determined as the difference in the mass of a human body before and after his death. The study was carried out on a special bed capable of picking up the slightest fluctuations in the weight of the object under study. Six hopelessly ill patients in the dying stage were weighed before and after death. The difference in measurements was five and a half spools or 22.4 grams.
The community of scientists of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, headed by Doctor of Natural Sciences Eugenius Kugis, studied the human body in its dying state. The data obtained showed that at the time of death, a person loses from 3 to 7 grams. It has been suggested that this difference is the weight of the human soul.
A group of 23 volunteers in Sweden took part in an experiment using an ultra-sensitive bed scale. On the verge of sleep and wakefulness, the human body became lighter by 4-6 grams. Scientists agreed that this difference is the weight of the human soul, which leaves the human body at the time of sleep.
Data obtained in the intensive care unit of Cook County Hospital in Illinois indicate that a person's body weight after biological death is reduced by 9-12 grams. The same values were reflected after a person suffered clinical death, but in this case, if the manipulations for resuscitation were successful, the weight of the human body became the same.
American researcher Lyell Watson discovered that the human soul is his bioplasmic counterpart, which leaves the human body after his death. It was found that the weight of a person's soul is 2.5-6.5 grams.
All studies were documented and made public. There were both skeptics and supporters of the theory of the weight of the human soul.
To begin with, even a complete coincidence of the results in 6 subjects is not enough to draw conclusions about the remaining 6-7 billion people. But this is not even the biggest problem.
The fact is that from McDougall's notes, it appears that the New York Times published only a part of his research, or rather the most profitable part of it. As it turned out, only 1 out of 6 patients of McDougall at the time of death irrevocably lost 21 grams of weight. The results of two patients were not scored due to "technical problems". One of the subjects at the time of death lost 10 grams, but then his weight recovered. The weight of the other two patients first decreased at the time of death, and then again after a few minutes.
Another problem is the technology of the time. Let's not forget that even with all modern technology, doctors sometimes find it difficult to determine the exact moment of death, and McDougall conducted his experiment more than a hundred years ago. Many people question the accuracy of his equipment and even the scales themselves. In addition, there are many types of deaths: clinical, biological, final, brain death, etc., and which of them the scientist had in mind is not entirely clear.
How to explain weight loss after death?
Despite all the arguments about technical imperfection and ambiguity of the results, one quite logical question arises: why did the weight of people decrease after death, while the weight of dogs remained the same? Doctors attribute this to the fact that at the time of death there is a jump in body temperature, since the lungs no longer cool the blood. In humans, this jump leads to perspiration, which causes the corpse to "drop" a few grams. At the same time, sweat glands in dogs are very poorly developed - they cool themselves mainly by breathing through the mouth. That is why, after death, moisture does not leave the dog's body and its weight does not decrease.
In conclusion, it can be safely argued that McDougall's experiment could neither prove nor disprove the existence of the soul, and the statement that it weighs 21 grams can hardly be taken seriously.
By the way, where is the soul?
Since ancient times, man has been looking for differences between the world of the living and the inanimate. Ever since man became man and opposed himself to the animal world, the term "soul" has firmly entrenched in him as an invariable attribute of any human being, a carrier of consciousness.
And since our body is a vessel, a receptacle for the soul, what part of it does it live in and what does it look like? The search for answers to these questions began in ancient times.
The ancient Greek philosophers and doctors wrote many works in which they tried to describe the physical properties of the human soul. Empedocles, Anaxagoras and Democritus, after conducting a series of observations of the human body at the time of death, came to the conclusion that the soul is a kind of subtlest substance located in the bloodstream.
And death from exsanguination occurs, first of all, because together with the blood itself the soul also leaves. The ancient Egyptians, however, tended to believe that a person's soul is located specifically in several organs - the brain, heart and liver. It is this fact that some sources explain the removal of organs during mummification with their separate burial.
With the passage of time, when science has stepped far forward and the material and technical base has made it possible to deepen research, the conclusions became much more unexpected. Where a person has a soul, according to Stuart Hameroff, professor of anesthesiology and psychology at the University of Arizona, the soul is truly immortal, and is nothing more than a quantum accumulation of the waste products of the brain.
According to the professor, the soul is a lump of quantum matter stored in a concentrated form in neurons. After the physical death of the body, quantum energy is released and in its pure form is added to the "absolute information field", which consists of myriads of the same clots that carry the memory of everything that ever happened in the Universe. Agree, for the supporters of the existence of an immortal soul, it sounds quite encouraging.
The weight of the human soul: myth or reality?
The weight of the human soul The belief in the existence of the soul is evidenced by numerous folklore sources from different peoples. In the verbal piggy bank of the Russian people, you can find eloquent proverbs and sayings about the soul: "The soul is gone," "Put your soul in - you can do everything," "His soul is wide open." That is, the presence of the soul, as a physical factor, was determined by its movement inside the human body and outside. The ancient Russians even identified the place in the human body where the soul is located. This "storehouse of the soul" was the depression between the collarbones, which forms a dimple on the body. Also, this place on the chest was intended to store money. Hence the expression: "there is nothing behind the soul." It is assumed that wearing a pectoral cross in this place is nothing more than protecting one's own soul.
The place of "residence" of the soul in the body of different peoples is determined in different ways: among the Indians it is in the nose, among the Papuans in the blood, the Polynesians "settled" the soul in the stomach, and the Siamese in the heart.
Despite the difference in the location of the ethereal substance, all nationalities believed that at the moment of death the soul leaves the human body and its further transformation already depends on the person's religious or pagan beliefs. That is, in any case, if the soul is inside the human body, it is an integral part of it and has a certain weight.
What can happen to this intangible entity in the future?
The most ancient source that has come down to us is the Egyptian Book of the Dead. It tells that the human heart was weighed by the gods Thoth and Anubis, the unencumbered soul weighed "lighter than a feather" and could not be heavier than the pen of Maat - the goddess of truth. A soul of this weight went to heaven. The "heavier" souls of sinners were sent to the mouth of a monster with the body of a lion and the head of a crocodile.
Most Indian religions define the subsequent purpose of the soul as moving to another body. Optionally, this body may be human. At the same time, a person cannot influence what the new "home" for the soul will be like.
Buddhism does not recognize transmigration. Death in Buddhism is a transition from one place to another; the outcome of such a movement is influenced by a person's actions during life (karma). That is, the soul has no weight, since it is incorporeal (spiritual) movement.
In Christianity, the destination of the soul, after the death of the human body, is either a purgatory for souls - hell, or heavenly prosperity - heaven. Medical studies of the state of clinical death show that at the moment when a person is "between heaven and earth", he sees and experiences such sensations quite realistically. A soul that has been in one of these places, later re-enters the human body and becomes its integral part.
The weight of the human soul in scientific facts
Science is skeptical about the proposed research results. The conclusions of scientists are based solely on facts.
Firstly, the first experiment on "weighing the soul" was carried out more than a hundred years ago, the existence of supersensitive devices that can record the exact change in weight and the moment of death itself is out of the question, therefore, the data obtained on weighing are criticized by modern scientists.
Secondly, the data obtained during the experiment were confirmed in 1 out of 6 patients, which does not indicate a 100% result. The experience is considered valid when more than fifty percent positive result is obtained.
Thirdly, similar studies were carried out on animals, in a dog, for example, at the time of death, changes in weight were not observed, which, according to scientists, is only due to the fact that at the time of death of a person there is a sharp jump in body temperature, so how the lungs cease to cool the blood, why fluid is released, which reduces body weight. And in a dog, the sweat glands are poorly developed and therefore the weight remains the same. And it does not in any way indicate that a person is endowed with a soul, and animals are deprived of it.
How much does the human soul weigh, is it material, where is it located and does it exist at all - a philosophical question and the answer to it is unlikely to be received in the near future, because the human body is still one of the most complex and unexplored mysteries. first of all, for the person himself.