Scientists have investigated several cases in which people who claim that they have not eaten or drunk for many years remain completely healthy. However, all the scientific studies that test these claims remain controversial.
It is believed that a person can survive only a few days without water and no more than 30-40 days without food. In the Buddhist tradition, there is a belief that those who leave society for the purpose of meditation and improvement in the mountains can live without food much longer. Their bodies, as they say, enter a different state. And since the need for food can prevent them from concentrating on prolonged meditation, they can overcome this need in some supernatural way.
Buddha Boy Ram Bahadur Bomjan (Nepal)
In 2005, a young Nepalese Buddhist, Ram Bahadur Bomjan, reportedly meditated for eight months without food or water.
Discovery filmed him for four days to confirm that during this period he did not take any food, as shown in their film "The Boy Endowed with Divine Power."
“96 hours of filming challenged modern science as Ram continued to meditate and stay alive,” the film says. If it was a prank, it would be an incredibly sophisticated and skillful prank, the filmmakers say.
Promotional video:
Some people, commenting on the Discovery Channel, said that this kind of fasting is usually hidden from the public, as it is part of esoteric spiritual practices.
Hira Ratan Manek, pranoed
Hira Ratan Manek from India is a retired mechanical engineer who began reviving the ancient tradition of Pranoology in the 1990s. He claims to have been living on solar energy since 1995, which he absorbs while looking at the rising and setting sun. He only occasionally drinks tea, coffee and buttermilk (a by-product of milk processing, obtained in the production of butter, translator's note).
Rumors that Maneka studied the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and confirmed his amazing ability have sparked controversial controversy.
Manek told Dr. Mercol, who wrote about his Prano-eating method: “The media sometimes report something rash, I never said anything about NASA. Those who believed, they believe, and those who do not believe - you will not convince them, no matter how hard you try.
Indian neuropathologist Dr. Sudhir Shah expressed his support for Manek, personally vouching for the authenticity of his constant hunger strike.
In 2011, the documentary "Swallow the Sun" by director Peter Sorcher was released, where Manek is called a fraud. There is a photo of Manek with normal food.
However, Manek claims that he just posed for the shoot. The film also shows a letter allegedly written by Manek, where he apologizes for lying and not eating. However, his recognition did not appear anywhere else.
Optician Ralph Chow warns of the dangers of prano-eating
Optician Ralph Chow warned of the dangers of prano-eating in an article on the NASA website: “The only time you can safely look at the sun without special eye protection is during a total solar eclipse, when the moon completely covers the sun's disk … Even when 99 percent of the sun's surface (photosphere) darkens during partial phases of a solar eclipse, the rest of the Sun is still quite intense, and can cause a retinal burn, although the level of illumination is more like twilight.
Prahlad Jani, Indian yogi
Dr. Skhah describes Prahlad Jani, a yogi, in the same way, who shows by his example the possibility of liberation from the ordinary needs of the human body.
From April 22 to May 6, 2010, Shah, together with a team of researchers, constantly monitored Gianni, who did not eat or drink all this time.
The study was shown on the Indian channel. Sanal Edmaruku, author and president of the Indian Association of Rationalists, condemned the study as flawed.
In an article for The Guardian, he described some of the omissions he found:
“In the official video, Jani was shown occasionally out of sight of video cameras, allowed to communicate with followers and leave the test room for sunbathing. Edamaruku also said that the gargling and sunbathing procedures were not well controlled, and so on."
Michael Werner, western chemist
Oriental cultivators weren't alone in claiming the possibility of living without food. Dr. Michael Werner practiced prano-eating and claimed that he had been living without food for several years. In the official introduction to his book Life from Light: Is It Possible to Live Without Food?
A scientist's report on his experience, "says:" Michael Werner throws a new challenge to the skeptics. Approximate family man in his 50s, with a degree in chemistry, and director of a research institute in Switzerland. In this study, he describes how he stopped eating in 2001 and has been doing fine without food ever since. In fact, he also feels as good as never before! Unlike people who have previously achieved this, this is an ordinary person who lives a full and active life."
Could it be melatonin?
The Q4LT blog reflects on the hormone melatonin - in the human body, it regulates sleep cycles and metabolism. Perhaps it has to do with the ability to survive without food. Q4LT is investigating a variety of questions about the pineal gland, located in the back of the human brain, the secretion of melatonin, and so on. The article on Q4LT is called "Explaining the Unexplained" and notes that it is melatonin that regulates adenosine triphosphate (ATP);
ATP is the main nucleotide that allows you to store and release energy in cells. Q4LT cites several scientific studies in recent years that show that melatonin can normalize ATP production. The pineal gland, in turn, can produce melatonin. The pineal gland in Eastern spiritual traditions is considered the location of human consciousness and, accordingly, the physiological connection with the soul.
While the increased production of melatonin (possibly caused by the effect of meditation) cannot be said to allow a person to go without food or water for years, it is interesting to speculate that it may have some effect in this regard.
