Hermit Surviving Without Food

[Ghostman]

This story is worth mentioning in a sceptics forum, as the implications, if it were true, would be profound; science would have to reformulate what it means to be human:

Indian hermit stuns doctors surviving without food

An elderly Indian hermit man has stunned doctors in the western city of Ahmedabad, after claiming he has not eaten of drunk anything for seventy years, and then proved that he can survive without fuel or water for four days.

Prahlad Jani who is known by his followers as Mataji, which means the Mother Goddess, is an 82-year-old.

Medical staff, researchers and scientists from New Delhi-based Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences of India (DIPAS) carried out an observational study on him after he made his claim, to verify whether it was a hoax.

But, staff are astonished that he has survived even their four day test, let alone seventy years without food and drink.

Neurologist Sudhir Shah of the Sterling hospital where the study was conducted on Jani claimed that his survival and biological processes are miraculous.

He said: "I want to tell you that we are all watching a miracle in the science, or biology so to say, because it is already 108 hours since Mataji's admission into this hospital and he has not eaten anything; he has not drunk a little drop of any kind of liquid but more importantly, he has not passed a drop of water or stool.

"That makes science a little difficult. A person can live without food and water for three or four days."

Mataji claims he was blessed by the Hindu goddess Amba when he was just eight.

itn.co.uk/a91d4f3a764a424d652db8d5d4b8661d.html

[Ma'amJo]

I read this too, Stanton, and like you, am fascinated by it and the implications should this be true. They reckon he was continually monitored or recorded during the study, so if this is the case, and he truly hadn't eaten or expelled anything, who knows what it will all mean from a scientific perspective. Interesting stuff.

[Cassus]

If it turns out that Prahlad Jani can really survive without food and water for several years, I will pay £1000 to every member of this forum who has at least 50 posts.

That's how confident I am that the story is baloney.

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

Ok, i just spoke to the to scientists in India, and they can confirm he really did live with food and water.
Can I have my £1000 now please Cassus?

[bujin]

May 28, 2010 7:16:44 GMT Ma'amJo said:

They reckon he was continually monitored or recorded during the study

He wasn't.

As I understand it, the observations of him were far from what you'd call "controlled conditions".

If you want to test something like this, why not just lock him in a room for a week with no food or water? If he then passes the test, you have something interesting to investigate.

[Cassus]

Interesting that the testers committed the classic mistake of trying to "explain" the effect - by wheeling the old man around from one MRI scanner to the next - without first establishing whether the effect exists.

[badpenny]

Not surprisingly, the reporting of this seems to have got a bit garbled along the way.

According to this article
PROLONGED FASTING - HOW IS IT POSSIBLE - A HYPOTHESIS

- originally published in scientific index journal Gujarat Medical Journal - March 2001 - he did have a daily intake of boiled water, but apparently nothing else.

[fluffet]

He is alive surely that alone is enough to reasonably conclude his claim of 40 years survival on thin air is false.
Everything since the beginning or recorded time tells us we cannot survive without food or water for little over a week nevermind 40 years , the man eats and drinks in some shape or form.

[trouble]

I have to say I'm *very* skeptical about all this. I mean yeah sure they monitored him for a while, but how long? How long can a body work without food and water? Sadly I should know this because I aced biology at school; mind you that was a few eons ago. I suppose with meditation and not moving about much he could use any body fat reserves and such, but even so....that wouldn't hold him for long surely?

If they can have someone provide evidence that he really did survive 40 years without food and water then fine; but even Jesus only did 40 DAYS......so, me, skeptical? Yup, sadly I am a doubting Thomasina. I ALWAYS question - it drives everyone around me nuts. I even made a teacher cry once.... ;D

I recall there was a young lad, in India too, that said the same thing; his family were making a mint out of pilgrims and press people. But, when people started getting suspicious, his brothers spirited him away and he's not been seen since. I think CH4 even made a documentary about it. There was also a woman who said she survived on air - which was utter garbage too; after all, we all know us women can only survive on chocolate.

[Mr. Jon Donnis]

I survive without food and water for at least 12 hours a day!
In fact I have done so for over 5 years now!

[trouble]

Actually you're right - 12 hours is fine. I reckon I could go without general food and water from now on. Just give me my chocolate and I'll survive quite nicely thank you for the next few decades or so.