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The Man Who Defies Medical Science

The Man Who Defies Medical Science

Investigations of a sadhu who has not eaten for sixty years give food for thought to

scientists and spiritualists.

Ambaji, Gujarat: I am sitting in front of Prahlad Bhai Jani, a sadhu who claims that he has not eaten or drunk anything for past 60 years.  “IMPOSSIBLE.” If this is your reaction then check out the report by a team of reputed doctors and scientists from DIPAS (Defence Institute of Physiology And Allied Sciences). After observing the sadhu in strict controlled environment for 15 days, they declared: “For 15 days, Prahlad Jani did not eat, drink, and pass urine or stool.” The medical community calls him a miracle.

I look at him. For his 83 years of age, he is agile and alert, lean and quick on his feet. There are no wrinkles on the face, but a thin bluish ring encircles the cornea of the eye representing cholesterol deposition due to aging. He has grey hair and a medium size beard. About five feet tall, wearing red robes of a renunciant, he sits with a straight back.

We introduce ourselves. He folds his hands and bows his head. “Can we take your pictures,” I ask. He nods. We begin snapping. He sits unfazed, looking away from us. When we are done, we again come nearer and with the help of a translator conduct the interview. Because of prolonged vows of silence often lasting for years, we were told that his speech is slurred and he seldom speaks for long. But as he lay on the swing in his ashrama, he spoke candidly and at length with us.

Some excerpts from the interview:

 

BTG: By seeing your devotion and power, many people are getting faith in spirituality.

He smiles and raises his hands towards the heaven.

BTG: What is your message for the public?

Prahlad Jani (PJ): Nothing.  I just give them blessings. Whatever their karma, they will get benefit accordingly.

BTG: What was the purpose behind doing this investigation?

PJ: We want to tell the world that man can live without food and water. Man can live without water even in drought. There is nothing new in this. However you train your body it will adjust. Previously, sages and rsis could eradicate sickness and live. Everything is there in the body, but we search outside. There is nothing outside; whatever is there is in the body, with us. Scientists want to search such a method that the soldiers can live during wars without food and water. But science deals with outside.

BTG: Vedic scriptures mention that one should eat food, so how can you live without food and water?

PJ: In whichever way we train the body, it adjusts. For nearly 80 years, I have been living in the forest.

BTG: What is your age?

PJ: 83 years.

BTG: Are you happy after doing this austerity?

PJ: I have now achieved siddhi. I have to show this to the world that even stone can speak, even stone melts. Man can do anything. Man has power in body but he searches outside. Whether I live for 11 years or 5000 years, I have no desire in life. I don’t want to possess anything. I had a desire to build an ashrama it is now fulfilled. In Allahabad Kumbha  and Nasik Kumbha mela different saints come. So many saints attempt to get this siddhi but they die without getting it. Only I achieved this siddhi.

BTG: What inspired you?

PJ:  Divine power. Devi Sakti se. I got the mercy of Goddess Amba in my childhood.

BTG: How can common masses get to do this?

PJ: Only if they search on their own.

BTG: Is it possible for a common person?

PJ: They will take many years. It is very rare. Till we become expert, it’s very rare to achieve it. Otherwise, we will be neither here nor there. Na ghar ke na ghat ke. People with less knowledge may advance little, but due to lack of complete knowledge, they eventually back out.

BTG: People are running away from spiritual life. What do you say?

PJ: I don’t involve with people of this world. Apni masti mein mast rahta hoon. I am happy within. Till I achieve my aim I will have no interaction with this world. My life is different from the world.

BTG: How does your body function?

PJ: Amirasa (Amrta or nectar). It runs on amirasa. When Pan davas, went to Himalayas, they survived on amirasa . . . . Sun rises and sets at its pace. If it did not do this, there will be chaos in this world. Time reigns. So many saints come for Kumbha mela, but where they go back after the mela? How many know about it?

After the interview, he requests us to take some milk and fruit. He gets up, walks swiftly, climbs over a stool, takes out some sugar candy prasada from a tin and offers it to us. For a person in international media limelight, he is humble and down to earth.

We come out of the ashrama. On our right is a small white temple on a big hill. It is Gabbar, a holy place associated with Mother Durga. In a cave of this hill, Prahlad Jani spent years in meditation and austerity. The temperature is around 480C. I wonder, “Does this sadhu really live without food and water?”

For the answer, we travel 200 km to Ahmedabad to meet the doctor who tested this sadhu.

Science Studies the Sadhu

We meet Dr. Sudhir Shah, an eminent neurophysician based in Ahmedabad, who studied Prahlad Jani twice in seven years. Since the matter is under defence authorities, Dr. Shah is unable to disclose information about the investigations and tests. But he has great interest in spirituality and agrees to discuss the interface between science and religion with us.

Some excerpts from the talk:

BTG: How did you test the claims of Prahlad Jani?’

Dr.Sudhir Shah (SS): In 2003, I studied Prahlad Bhai for ten days. This was to verify if the claims were true. They were. In 2010, we did the tests to see how this can be true. For this study, the DIPAS decided the protocol. Prahlad Bhai was kept in a closed room with a glass door. The toilet was sealed. There was 24 hr monitoring with CCTV and a person lived in his quarters for observation. He was given only 100 ml water for washing his mouth and it was measured afterwards. He did not bathe for the first seven days. After seven days, he was given water for bathing and it was measured before and after the bath. He did not pass urine. He would form around 100 ml of urine, but later absorb it within the bladder.

The investigation protocols were decided by DIPAS. They are an independent body who came in to picture after I requested the former President Dr. Abdul Kalam to consider the vast potential of this case.

BTG: What can be the reason behind this phenomenon?

SS: I have formed a hypothesis, which includes a) chronic adaptation, b) deriving energy from cosmic sources c) recycling energy within the body, and d) genetical or structural changes. For more details, check my website www.sudhirneuro.org

BTG: Okay. We see that the Vedic literature and tradition is filled with stories of sadhus possessing mystic powers. For example, in astanga yoga there is a kriya called khecari mudra, in which the practitioner elongates his tongue, rolls it back, and then touches it to the back of the uvula hanging from the palate above. Once the yogi does it, he can access nectar, which descends from the head.

SS: Yes. Also by raising the kun dalini (a subtle energy located in the spine) to the top of the head, one can access the nectar. This nectar has the power to provide all nutrition. There are some contemporary yogis who have this power and also there are two cases of non eating sadhus mentioned in The Autobiography of a Yogi.

BTG: Yes, they are postulated to access the solar energy through the medulla oblongata, a part of the lower brain, just above the spinal cord. Also yogis like Baba Ramdev mention that there are subtle nutrients in the atmosphere, which can give nourishment to the body.

SS (laughs): May be this is the reason why some people are unable to put off weight, even when they hardly eat anything.

BTG: Yes, it makes sense. But does science believes in all these spiritual theories?

SS: Science fails here. I am bewildered. This case debunks all our theories about the human body as we know of it. If the kidneys do not form urine for four days, a person needs dialysis. This man did not urinate for 15 days in our controlled environment! Despite fasting, he is in perfect condition. His pulse is 45. Only highly trained athletes have such low heartbeats.

Although Dr. Sudhir envisions finding a physical process behind this strange phenomenon and using it for helping armed forces, astronauts, victims of natural disasters, etc.; his real motivation is spiritual. “These yogis are the wealth of our nation,” he says. “They are the pride of our culture. By scientifically verifying and presenting their amazing powers we are glorifying our vast heritage.”

We are pleased to see his spiritual interest and gift him a copy of Science of Self Realization by Srila Prabhupada. “Please keep in touch,” he says and requests us to share further spiritual insights on this phenomenon.

The Spiritual Science

Modern science sees the human body as a fine machine, where life is a product of a special combination of matter. Like any machine, the body needs fuel in the form of food, and after absorbing the useful components from food, the waste is discarded as stool and urine. Although man can survive without food for a few days, survival without water is possible only for 4-5 days. Therefore, this case makes modern medical science completely clueless. But when we examine it from the Vedic paradigm, many possibilities open up.

The Vedic literature describes that there are yogis who possess the powers to manipulate laws operating in material world. These mystic powers are called siddhis, and are broadly of eight types:

Anima: becoming small like a particle

Laghima: becoming lighter than a soft feather

Prapti: getting anything from everywhere

Mahima: becoming heavier than the heaviest

Isitva: creating something wonderful or annihilating anything at will

Vasitva: controlling all material elements

Prakamya: possessing such power as will never be frustrated in any desire

Kamavasayita: assuming any shape or form one may even whimsically desire

The Vedic literature is filled with supernatural events and feats which, according to modern scientific paradigm, were considered miraculous and therefore impossible and imaginary. Due to innocent faith in the feats of modern science and stubborn pride, which assumes that science is the only means of providing information about the cosmos and its phenomenon, unfortunately educated persons were generally unwilling to accept the Vedic system of knowledge. But this one sadhu clearly shows that there are higher laws and phenomenon, but our science is pitifully ignorant of them. Therefore, we should not just dismiss the Vedic body of knowledge as superstitious or mythological, but try to approach with a fresh and open mind. Then feats like Krsna  lifting Govardhana Hill or Lord Rama building a bridge to Lanka by floating stones on water will not appear as flights of fantasy, but a reality that is possible by simply adjusting the laws governing the material world in these cases the law of gravity.

This should help us trust the words and wisdom of holy scriptures. We should be prudent enough to put our faith in things and facts that are beyond our direct observation, but are mentioned by the holy scriptures.

THE TOPMOST MYSTIC

While the average person will find the case of Prahlad Jani as giving faith in God and ample food for philosophical thought, a yogi or transcendentalist should use it to go deeper in the pursuit of the absolute truth. Srila Prabhupada writes in purport of Adi lila (1.91) of Sri Caitanya caritamrta:

“Mystic powers can make a yogi materially powerful and thus give temporary relief from the miseries of birth, death, old age and disease, as other material sciences can also do, but such mystic powers can never be a permanent source of relief from these miseries… In the Bhagavad gita (6.47) it is clearly defined that the most elevated and powerful mystic yogi is one who can constantly think of the Supreme Lord within his heart and engage in the loving service of the Lord.”

The permanent relief from miseries mentioned above is only possible if one possesses the ability to get out of the entanglement of this material world. It, however, does not depend on ones own endeavor; it needs mercy from a higher source. Devotional service is the process to attract that mercy. Lord Kapila, an incarnation of Lord Krsna, explains in Srimad Bhagavatam (3.27.30)

yada na yogopacitasu ceto
mayasu siddhasya viNajjate ‘nga
ananya hetusv atha me gatih syad
atyantiki yatra na mrtyu hasah

Translation: When a perfect yogis attention is no longer attracted to the by products of mystic powers, which are manifestations of the external energy, his progress towards Me becomes unlimited, and thus the power of death cannot overcome him.

Sri Sukadeva Gosvami describes in Srimad Bhagavatam (2.1.6): “The highest perfection of human life, achieved either by complete knowledge of matter and spirit, by practice of mystic powers, or by perfect discharge of occupational duty, is to remember the Personality of Godhead at the end of life.”

Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is described as Yogeshvara, the master of all mystic powers. He declares, “And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body, remembering Me, attains immediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this.” [Bg. 8.5]

It is impossible for most of us to undergo the great austerities that Prahlad Jani has performed, and for most of us, even the end point of forgoing food and water will be highly undesirable. Bhakti yoga, however, offers a much easier and faster method of spiritual elevation. Simply by chanting the holy names of the Lord, honoring Krsna prasada and performing the rules and regulation of devotional service all perfection is guaranteed. Bhagavad gita (18.78) says, “Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality.”

 If only we become open minded and try to learn from the vast treasure of knowledge available in Vedic literature, we will find many gems enriched both in knowledge of the external world and of the internal world within us, leading to peace, prosperity, happiness, and enlightenment. Srila Prabhupada’s books can help us direct our lives to the ultimately extraordinary goal: an eternal, spiritual life in a world of spirit, where all of us can become free from hunger and all other bodily pangs. Prahlad Jani’s particular form of extraordinary achievement may not be attainable by us, but the principle of freedom that it represents is accessible to all of us.

(Readers interested in understanding more about scientific exploration  of paranormal phenomena can refer to chapter “Paranormal modification of biological form” in Human Devolution by  Michael A. Cremo).

The author thanks the following people for help in compiling this article: Ramesh Bhai Patel, Madhvacarya Dasa, Suhasini Radha Devi Dasi, Kalanidhi Dasa, Vaàsi Gopala Dasa, Kisori Radhika Devi Dasi, Dilip Patel, Deven Patel, Hitesh, Caitanya Carana Dasa, Jessu Bhai and other followers of Sri Prahlad Bhai Jani.

Ref:

•  Autobiography of a Yogi, Ch. 46.
•  Classical Hatha Yoga by Swami Rajrashi Muni, Ch. 11.
•  www. sudhirneuro.org

A Dinner Party

With every breath my patient was choking !

A distressed patient. A dinner party.  Investigations that seemed to take ages. I was waiting for the reports for documentation, although clinically sure of diagnosis. Finally the reports arrived. Meanwhile, the patient had been shifted to the operation theater, ready for surgery. I made a small incision on his chest wall on his left side, inserted my finger and cut open the outer layer covering his lung. Hiss. . . I pushed a tube connected to an under-water seal and bubbles of air escapeed as he coughed. Now he could breathe easily.

His lung was damaged due to years of smoking, and had ruptured partially. The escaped air was trapped between the lung and the chest wall and due to one-way leak the volume of air was expanding and compressing the lungs, leading to his distress. As he inhaled, more air leaked and squeezed his lung. He was choking with every breath!  Now that I had released the air the lungs expanded fully and he could breathe comfortably.
 I looked at the the watch. . . 10:30 p.m. I was hungry and had missed the party.
  I returned home and explained the situation to my wife. She understood. I heated the leftover food from lunch, sat and ate. It was simple and meager, but I was satisfied.
I took a deep breath. Now I could sleep peacefully, sure that my patient could too.

(second image is X-ray before surgery. Note the dark air on ur right side.  The lungs and heart pushed to opposite side. First X-ray, note how the lungs have expanded and heart is back to its normal position.)

Holy Patients

One night, during my night duty in ICU, an 65 year old man arrived with a history of fall from scooter in the morning. Now he had severe pain in the left groin and weakness in the left arm and leg. He had a stroke few months back and weakness in the right side.  Suspecting a hip injury and a re-stroke, I ordered the required scans and came out. His sons were sitting on a couch in the corridor. As I crossed them, one of them called out, “Excuse me doctor!”

I turned. “Yes.”

“May I know which path you follow?”

“Well, I follow ISKCON…Gaudiaya Vaishnavism.”

They smiled. “We are Goswamis of Radha Raman Temple, Vrindavan. Hope you have heard about it.”

I was floored. Here in Amritsar, in this God-forsaken hospital, at dead of night, amidst all the chaos of sick patients, of all people I run into Goswamis of one of the seven most important temples of Vraj!  Phew! My lucky day.

We had a long conversation that night and many more in the coming days in which we discussed about Lord, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and Shri Gopal Bhatt Goswami-the founder of Radha Raman Temple, to whom the Deity of Radha Raman ji appeared. They told me that their service comes once every two and a half years, for ten days, during which they give up their worldly duties and stay full-time in Vrindavan.

The next day, I again met their father and out of reverence pressed his good leg. He lovingly protested but I persisted. He told me that he served in the Indian Air Force. “I was posted in Leh for some time,” he said. “it was very cold and everyone said that I would have to drink liquor and eat meat to survive. But I said no way. I took two kg almonds and some ayurvedic medicine to help in digestion and metabolism and managed to live at sub-zero temperature.”

He described that his younger brother was a full time Bhagwat Katha speaker and his uncle is the current head Goswami of Radha Raman Temple. The most amazing thing was that he had met Srila Prabhupada in 1962. “Face to face…Just like I am talking to you, I spoke with Srila Prabhupada.”

My hair stood on end.

It was a wonderful experience discussing Krishna katha and associating with a wonderful Goswami family. I am sharing a shayan darshan video of Radha Raman ji, given to me by the family. Please hear the nectarine flute played by their guru ji.

click here for the video:

https://plus.google.com/photos/113730277881515387188/albums/6030771131373186609/6030771134553246354?banner=pwa&pid=6030771134553246354&oid=113730277881515387188

Forget it

Life has been a roller-coaster ride past few years. After eight long years of living as a monk, I changed ashram with the blessings of my Guru HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj in Jan'11. Got married to a wonderful devotee and a very compassionate soul, Parijata DD. Joined post graduation in Family Medicine and began my new life.

Things were difficult. At times impossible. Somehow by Lord's mercy I am still surviving . 
I hope to move forward and begin serving Krishna in some way. I read "Seed of  devotion", a devotional blog by my God-sister Bhakti Lata DD, and got inspired to begin writing after a gap of almost one and half year. My index finger is bandaged due to a small surgery for an infected nail. So typing is difficult. Yet I try.
 Here is a gem of an advice from HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj to maintain peace in relationships. This is an excerpt from a talk he gave before my marriage. Trust me it works.

 "Srila Prabhupada explained there is a simple formula to resolve the differences we have. The formula is two words – Forget it . That means all these things we disagree with and everything else and all of our different conditionings and desires - they are not important. The only thing that is important really is the higher principle of why we are together. 
The ego says, "I am right, you are wrong." As long as you think that way, you make no spiritual progress. And if you have children, you will ruin the mentality of the children when they feel that in your house. (You should think) Somehow for whatever reason, we are married and I have made vows and you have made vows to keep Krishna in the center. And we have to tolerate our differences. And we have to forgive each other for our transgressions. And we have to unite with honour, respect and affection on this higher principle of seva--service to Krishna, service to each other, and as a team of husband and wife, service to humanity and all living beings. "

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj blessing us on our marriage 

Leave Godmen Accept God

At any given time in India, there are a number of holy men claiming to cure all by their mystical powers. However, a similar miracle man is now in the news for all the wrong reasons. First the media and now the police are accusing him of spreading superstitions, charging money for his cures, and cheating. On the other hand his faithful followers swear by his magical powers.

What is the truth? Does this miracle baba have the ability to see the past, predict the future, heal the sick and give mercy through his supernatural powers? Or is he a crook?

Our answer may surprise you. He might possess supernatural powers, as many others like him do. Mystic powers that are beyond you, me, and modern science do exist. Srila Prabhupada explains: There are eight kinds of yogic perfection (siddhis): aëimä, laghimä, präpti, éçitva, vaçitva, mahimä, präkämya and kämävasäyitä. A real yogé can become smaller than the smallest, lighter than the lightest and bigger than the biggest. Whatever he wants he can produce immediately in his hand. He can even create a planet. (Teachings of Lord Kapila Verse 13 purport)

So what?

Does it make these people god? No. God is God, the supreme controller, enjoyer and proprietor, the most beautiful, the all-attractive—Krishna.

But then why do people decide to turn to these godmen and not God? Lord Krishna explains this psychology in Gita 4.12, “Men in this world desire success in fruitive activities, and therefore they worship the demigods (or these godmen). Quickly, of course, men get results from fruitive work in this world.” Nothing wrong here, we may feel, it’s a simple case of demand and supply. But surprisingly, Lord Krishna calls this approach less intelligent (Bg 7.20). Because there is catch—these boons and solutions are temporary, barely lasting for a while. They are not eternal and surely not powerful enough to help us cross the cycle of birth and death.

If we are sick and we eat some magical ash, we may find benefit. But if this simple cure turns us into swooning followers of these miracle men, we are in for a rude shock. Either their powers will dwindle or being mere mortals, they will have to succumb before the all-powerful time and death. What, then, will be our shelter?

Surrender to Lord Krishna

If we are still in awe of these mystic powers, let’s see how Srila Prabhupada responded to such cases. (Following is a paraphrased version). When told about someone’s mystic feats like levitation, he dismissed them by saying that even cockroaches fly (TKG’s diary July 26). When someone charged money for giving mantra or mercy, he asked, “Why not give it free?” (Los Angeles, February 18, 1969). When someone claimed to be god, he asked, “When there is some tooth pain, you go to the doctor, and you are God?” (Mumbai, April 11, 1974) Srila Prabhupada’s point was simple—instead of surrendering to these fallible miracle men, surrender to Krishna. Krishna is infallible. He is yogeshwar, the master of all yogic powers and the original source from whom all these powerful personalities derive their power.

Therefore the Bhagwatam implores us to be prudent and  turn to Krishna, “A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead” (SB 2.3.10).

But we may have our doubts. “Will Krishna free us from our terrible sufferings?” Lord Krishna may remove our miseries like these miracle men or He may not, but He will surely make us strong enough to bear them. One may also have reservations due to apparent lack of direct access to Lord Krishna. But thanks to a mentorship process prearranged by Lord in the Gita (4.2), we can access His wonderful teachings through His bonafide representatives. These spiritual masters can guide us to live a holistic and harmonious life even in these turbulent times. The process is simple—a mindful meditation on the holy names of the Lord: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/ Hare Rama Hare  Rama Rama Hare Hare. You can chant this mantra anytime, anywhere, anyhow. It can deliver us from this world of miseries and take us to Vaikuntha, the place of all peace and love.

Try it. It’s free.

ICE-COLD

Early morning, I stepped out of my warm room to the dew-covered lawn to pluck flowers for puja. It was icy with 4^o C temperature.  As I took my hands out of my cozy jacket pockets, they brushed against an unclean surface. My fingers had been sore due to cold, and the very thought of washing them with freezing water sent shivers down my spine. But one can't make offerings with unclean hands. I clenched my teeth, picked the hose and put my hand under the running water, ready for the bitter jolt. To my utter surprise the water was warm and gentle. I realized it was the municipal water supply and probably freshly tapped from ground.

My eyes brimmed with tears. Here I was, accepting some pain to serve Lord and how He was reciprocating by saving me that torture. The warmth of that water was overflowing with the infinite love and mercy of Lord. I could feel His care and benevolence.  The bleak moments of my life shone with the light of His grace.

I picked up a rose and offered to Lord Gopinath at the altar. He smiled. And I realized He was there, watching me, His estranged son.