Tests Confirm Sadhu Lives on Air

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Test confirms 'sadhu' abstained food, water for 66 years

Press Trust of India

Ahmedabad, November 27

 

It's no fast-unto-death, it's no hunger strike. But a septuagenarian

sadhu's apparently simple decision to switch off food since the age

of ten after being "blessed by the Goddess" that has left scientists

perplexed.

 

Prahllad Jani, the 76-year-old 'sadhu' from the pilgrim town of

Ambaji in north Gujarat, has scientifically proved that he neither

ate nor drank anything for the past 66 years.

 

Jani claims that he has managed to fight hunger and thirst after he

was blessed by "Mataji" (Ambaji deity) at the age of 10 years.

 

The medical fraternity did not believe it prima facie, but after a

close 10-day observation, including sonography twice a day, at the

Neuro ICCU of Sterling Hospital, medicos had to admit that Jani has

the ability to survive without food and water.

 

Hospital authorities confirmed that Jani not only refrained intake

through mouth or any other route but he also did not excrete, while

under observation.

 

"No doubt, his bladder produced 400 ml urine during the day, but the

next day it was absorbed by the bladder itself", Dinesh Desai, a

doctor at the Sterling Hospital said.

 

"Mataji blessed me at the age of 10 with energy in the form

of 'Amrut' from my upper jaw to sustain me and since then I have

never felt the need for food nor water nor have I fallen ill," Jani

claimed.

 

"I will continue to live like this till she commands," he added.

 

"Though no normal person can continue without passing stool or urine

for more than seven days, Jani is absolutely normal and shows the

same physiological process like any other person. He is fit and

fine," Dr VN Shah, a member of the Association of Physicians of

Ahmedabad (APA), said.

 

The panel formed by APA, which took it upon itself to verify the

authenticity of Jani's claim to observe him included a physician,

cardiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, gastoenterologist,

diabetologist and an ENT surgeon.

 

The Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), New

Delhi would be conducting further research on him, Shah added.

 

Jani has now been discharged from the hospital but doctors intend to

keep a track of him as this could result into new findings.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_473961,0008.htm

 

76 year old Sadhu lives on air; hasn't eaten since he was 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ahmedabad: Medical tests to determine the veracity of a claim of a

saint subsisting without food or water for the past 65 years were

suspended as the hospital authorities found the heavy rush of

devotees for "darshan" disrupting the procedure.

 

Clad in women's attire, Prahlad Jani or 'Mataji' as he is popularly

known, carries a trident. He belongs to the temple town of 'Ambaji,'

about 150 km north of Ahmedabad.

 

The 76-year-old Jani is believed to have spent most of his time

meditating in the caves of Ambaji. He claims to have received divine

blessings when he was eight and since then his need for food and

water have disappeared.

 

Mataji's' medical observation for 11 days at Sterling hospital from

November 12 had aroused the curiosity of the medical faternity here.

Even New Delhi's Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences

(DIPAS) and Association of Physicians of Ahmedabad had evinced

interest in the observation.

 

Speaking to UNI, the Director of Sterling Hospital Dr V N Shah said

during the observation period of 11 days the saint did not pass urine

or stool, nor did he take a single morsel of food or drink a drop of

water.

 

"A normal human being can remain without urinating for a maximum of

seven days, after which they are bound to suffer from renal failure,"

opines Dr Sudhir V Shah, in-charge of the observation.

 

"He had shown evidence of formation of urine, which seemed to be re-

absorbed from his bladder wall. However, the present committee does

not have any scientific explanation for the same," he added.

 

"The observations ere conducted to find the scientific truth behind

Jani's ability and to see if such abilities can be replicated in

other humans," Dr Shah said.

 

"The 11-day observation, however, do not justify his claims that he

has been living without food or water for the past 65 years," he

added.

 

The team of doctors monitoring the 'mythical Mataji' are now planning

to resume their observations in the near future.

 

Giving details, Dr Shah said Jani had been under observation from

November 12. He was kept in a specially prepared room enclosed in

glass. The toilet was sealed off. His activities were monitored round-

the-clock through two cameras kept in the room and with security

posted outside the room. Hospital staff, on a rotational basis,

stayed inside the room all the time.

 

"However, he was allowed free movement in the room and was allowed to

offer prayers as per his requirement," he added.

 

"Initially the attempt was to monitor Jani for seven days but his

excellent health allowed us to prolong our observation. But the mad

rush of visitors seeking 'darshan' at the hospital forced us to

discharge him after 11 days. He walked out of the hospital in fine

health," said Dr V N Shah.

 

"The results of the first phase of observation, though inconclusive

can be summed up as: Jani remained fit and survived his 11 days of

observation, he did not take food or water in any form, his blood

pressure and pulse were within the physiological range of a normal

human, the observation revealed that Jani had an extraordinary

ability to stay alive for prolonged periods without eating or

drinking," Dr Shah said.

 

"His biological organs and systems are in far better shape than those

of people of his age," he added.

 

 

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