A yogi from India who claimed that he spent years without food or water died on May 26, according to his neighbor. The yogi's claim earned him hundreds of devotees and doctors voiced their skepticism over the matter.
Decades of no food and water
The yogi, named Prahlad Jani, had long hair and beard. He was also known to wear red and he wore nose ring too as a tribute to Hindu goddesses.
Jani was from Charada, a village located in the western state of Gujarat, and that was where he spent his life constantly meditating and doing yoga. He also claimed that he was born in August 1929. Jani said that as a child, he was blessed by a goddess, and it gave him the ability to survive without taking any food and water.
Despite the doubts of doctors regarding his claims, he still won hundreds of followers. Sheetal Chaudhary, Jani's neighbor, said that the yogi died early morning of May 26 at his residence because of old age.
Jani was immediately rushed to the hospital, but the doctors declared him dead upon arrival. Jani's corpse was taken to Ambaji, which is a town known for its temples.
It is also where he had built a small ashram, and it is also a place where he is known as Mataji, which means goddess. His neighbor said that his body will be kept at the ashram for two days, so that people can pay their final respects before he gets cremated on May 28.
Jani told the Associated Press in 2003 that he got the elixir of life from the hole in his palate, which enables him to go without food and water.
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There was no way of verifying the claims of Jani, but doctors have said that a person can't go without food or water for long periods of time without any damaged organs or without the body breaking down.
The doctors debunked his claims that he went on for decades without taking any food and water, but surprisingly he gained followers because of his alleged "miracle". Even the medical community in India was interested in him.
In 2010, an experiment was conducted and military doctors studied Jani for two straight weeks at a hospital in Ahmedabad, which is a city in Gujarat. Jani was observed by doctors, and cameras and closed-circuit television monitored him for 24 hours, for two straight weeks.
The doctors scanned his blood vessels, his organs, his brain, and they also tested his heart, his lungs, and his memory capacity. According to the doctors, Jani did not eat, drink, or even go the bathroom for two weeks. The only time he went to the bathroom was when he showered and gargled.
Sudhir Shah, a doctor in Ahmedabad, said that they still have no idea how he survived. The phenomenon is still a medical mystery. The results of his study that was initiated by India's Defense Research and Development Organization, were never published or submitted for review.
How long can a person survive without food or water?
An article in Archiv Fur Kriminologie states that the body can survive for 8 to 21 days without any food and water, and it can survive for two months if there is access to an adequate water intake. Water is more essential to the body than food, so you can survive for two weeks without food but you can only survive for a maximum of five days without water.
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