This could be a hoax, a mistake, or bad observation. But if it isn’t, it means that science does not truly understand human beings or our exceptional capacity to remake reality, or perhaps, tap into realities beyond testable comprehension. From the story:
An 83-year-old Indian holy man who says he has spent seven decades without food or water has astounded a team of military doctors who studied him during a two-week observation period. Prahlad Jani spent a fortnight in a hospital in the western India state of Gujarat under constant surveillance from a team of 30 medics equipped with cameras and closed circuit television. During the period, he neither ate nor drank and did not go to the toilet. “We still do not know how he survives,” neurologist Sudhir Shah told reporters after the end of the experiment. “It is still a mystery what kind of phenomenon this is.”
The doctors’ response, it seems to me, illustrates the shortcomings of the purely scientific approach in these kinds of circumstances:
Jani has since returned to his village near Ambaji in northern Gujarat where he will resume his routine of yoga and meditation. He says that he was blessed by a goddess at a young age, which gave him special powers. During the 15-day observation, which ended on Thursday, the doctors took scans of Jani’s organs, brain, and blood vessels, as well as doing tests on his heart, lungs and memory capacity. “The reports were all in the pre-determined safety range through the observation period,” Shah told reporters at a press conference last week. Other results from DNA analysis, molecular biological studies and tests on his hormones, enzymes, energy metabolism and genes will take months to come through. “If Jani does not derive energy from food and water, he must be doing that from energy sources around him, sunlight being one,” said Shah. “As medical practitioners we cannot shut our eyes to possibilities, to a source of energy other than calories.”
To be sure, these potential causes should be investigated–as seemingly improbable as they are. The experiment should be repeated with international observers to prevent bad technique. But there are other possible explanations for a phenomenon that would seem to defy all known scientific laws and theories. Again, assuming this isn’t a hoax, it could also be literally a case of mind over matter–or even, evidence of the supernatural–neither of which are to ever be acknowledged in the purely materialistic scientific understanding.
This is the second time, the yogi has been observed by doctors. Still, one response fr0m the science sector is to demand longer periods of observation. From Live Science’s “Bad Science” column:
Reports claim that Prahlad Jani “has now spent six days without food or water under strict observation and doctors say his body has not yet shown any adverse effects from hunger or dehydration.” Assuming the claim is true — and it’s not clear just how strict the observation is — Jani’s inedia so far remains unproven. If he really doesn’t need food or water, he should be under close observation for months or years to prove it. Given that he claims not to have consumed anything since World War II, this shouldn’t be a problem.
That sounds right. But if anyone of us were to go totally without hydration for two weeks, we would either be dead or very close to it.
I am not saying I believe this. But I do recognize that “things” sometimes happen that can’t be explained scientifically nor repeated to pass scientific muster. And in these few and far between cases–by refusing to recognize that there may be more things in heaven and earth than dreamt of in the scientific philosophy (to paraphrase Shakespeare)–science may actually prevent itself from fully comprehending reality.
May 10th, 2010 | 5:35 pm
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May 10th, 2010 | 5:51 pm
Most likely a hoax like other “breatharians”. The yogi lost significant weight when previously monitored …
from Bad Science,
“This is not the first time that Jani has made this claim. He was examined in 2003 for about a week, during which time, he apparently did not eat or exercise — but he did lose weight. If Jani’s abilities are real, it seems odd that he would lose weight during the time that his food intake was being monitored. If he truly gets all the sustenance he needs from air and meditation, there’s no reason he would lose weight when he doesn’t eat.”
Let’s say he lost a mere one ounce for the week his intake was monitored. Over the time he claims to have had no food or drink, 70 years x 52 weeks x 1 oz = 3640 oz lost or 227.5 lbs. If he lost a lb in that week of not eating, he would have lost 3640 lbs over his past 70 years.
The experiment is easy. The yogi need only submit to a truly independent observation (not Dr. Shah) for a few days and measure his weight, urine output, CO2 output, O2 consumption etc.
You state “But I do recognize that “things” sometimes happen that can’t be explained scientifically nor repeated to pass scientific muster.” Any examples?
I wouldn’t trade in science for magic and miracles just yet.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
May 10th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
You don’t trade in science. You expand its parameters in certain instances.
May 10th, 2010 | 6:29 pm
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May 10th, 2010 | 8:31 pm
There is one conspicuously missing item. Notice, the article doesn’t say a word about the yogi having actually DONE anything while the study was underway. He may well have been in a self-induced state of “hibernation” in which his metabolism was reduced to near-zero.Some talented yogis are able to do this to the extent that they’re capable of being buried without suffocating. It would be consistent with the lack of any need to relieve himself during that time.
As a card-carrying pragmatist I, too, would like to (more or less) paraphrase Shakespeare: “There are far, far FEWER things in heaven and earth, Wesley, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
May 11th, 2010 | 4:14 am
“it could also be literally a case of mind over matter”
Wesley, I really, really hope that you are not a Cripto-Cartesian!
May 11th, 2010 | 9:15 am
Jeffery is correct in that the “breatharians,” David Blaine, and any others making this sort of claim have all been shown to be either con men or skilled illusionists (or both). I might accept that this yogi can slow down his metabolism for a week or two but not for years.
There’s plenty of real miracles that happen every day, we don’t have to make them up.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 10:15 am
I should have been a bit more clear in the post. I don’t believe this. But I used it as an opportunity to point out that I think in certain circumstances, the philosophy of science prevents us from obtaining knowledge. And if miracles really occur, they are actually part of the natural order, albeit they are sporadic and unpredictable.
May 11th, 2010 | 10:20 am
Um, actually it would be that Horatio’s (or Wesley’s) philosophy was right on the money, and all that he dreamt of was all that there is. Otherwise, Horatio’s cutting-edge Wittenbergian education would be all for nought (or”naught”, as Shakespeare would put it, but that’s another kettle of fish entirely).
May 11th, 2010 | 11:02 am
Wes: “in certain circumstances, the philosophy of science prevents us from obtaining knowledge. ”
The science establishment may do so when it has an interest in preserving the status quo. The same could be said, and far more strongly, about the religious and cultural establishments. Look at the Texas schoolbook business. They’re trying to remove existing knowledge from their (using the term loosely) educational system.
The philosophy of science seeks to expand knowledge, not to stifle it. Any “scientist” who tries to block off avenues of discovery is acting counter to that philosophy.
May 11th, 2010 | 12:39 pm
“…The problem with science today is not that the naturalistic approach might occasionally be inadequate. The problem is that science would never know any better. This is science’s blind spot. When scientific problems arise, it is always assumed that the correct naturalistic explanation has not yet been found. Scientists may not be able to explain love very well, but they are sure there must be a way.
Today, science is assumed to be able to provide a true, or approximately true, explanation for all things. Simply put, naturalism is assumed always to be true. And so science can (and often does) proceed with quite unlikely explanations as though they were true…”
“…Science’s Blind Spot challenges the hegemony of naturalism in today’s science as bad for science. This hegemony was motivated and is sustained for non-scientific reasons. While naturalists accuse skeptics of religious motivations, it is in fact naturalists who constrain science with non-scientific beliefs. Ironically, as Science’s Blind Spot argues and van der Meer yet once again confirms, science is dogmatically constrained to naturalism for religious reasons. The blind spot is still there.”
Science’s Blind Spot Is Still There
http://tinyurl.com/3296hxb
.
May 11th, 2010 | 4:00 pm
I think that this is likely a hoax. But you do bring up an interesting point. We are, biased, against miraculous occurrences. Is this because, after using an open minded, rigorous, empirical approach, none are found, or, is it because, in PRINCIPLE, scientists, consider a supernatural explanation unacceptable. That is, they may discover, scientifically, that phenomena could be explained best supernaturally (this expanation is more congruent with the evidence), or, a “second best”, explanation could be postulated, and they choose the latter, because they accept a naturalistic methodology, where only “natural explanations are in bounds?
If so, that’s not science, that’s “scientism”, or “naturalism”, to be rejected.
But how do you know, Mr. Smith, that any so called supernatural explanations, would necessarily have to be part of the “natural order”? Aren’t you presupposing the the legitimacy of scientism, or the belief that any seemingly supernatural phenemena can “really” be reduced to inexplicable natural phenomena? I know you try not to “do” religion here, but that would entail that Jesus’s bones are waiting for for a lucky archiologist.
Wesley J. Smith Reply:
May 11th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Bret: Let’s say God sends an angel into Times Square to announce a cure for cancer. That would be miraculous. But only to us. In the end, if such a wondrous thing were to happen, it would be a natural part of the way things really are, e.g., divine interventions would be part of the order of creation. The fact that you couldn’t prove it scientifically would not make it any less so.
May 11th, 2010 | 6:35 pm
Wesley Smith : thanks for the clarification. I think it was just a semantic misunderstanding on my part.
May 11th, 2010 | 6:51 pm
All it takes is to find a few credible examples of natural laws being broken. The first helium balloon likely seemed like a miracle.
Show me an example of a known physical law being violated. Perhaps someone regrowing an amputated limb? A baby killed in a auto accident brought back from the dead days later to comfort worthy grieving parents?
To convince others that there are supernatural forces at work, or angels, or demons, or alien space craft, miracles or magic requires some evidence. And not a lot of evidence either. Every day there are trillions of opportunities for miracles to occur… yet, name just one.
May 12th, 2010 | 3:40 pm
This was Smith’s best post, ever.
LMAO
Maybe he can tell us where Noah’s ark and Atlantis are.
Meanwhile, I’m gonna go ride my unicorn with Merlin in Middle Earth while you people discuss this.
May 12th, 2010 | 7:11 pm
It would take a much better test/demonstration than this to prove the apparently preposterous claims. If it were proven, though, the fact would remain that normally, all animals need food and water, and die without them. It would be up to science to provide an explanation for BOTH facts: the one we know about, that all animals need water and food, and the (putative) fact that this guy is somehow an exception. It’s not a question of being biased against miraculous claims, or outlandish claims; it’s just that all empirical claims are subject to 1) the attempt to disprove them, and 2) an attempt to explain them if they’re not disproven.
Bridey Murphy didn’t check out, Uri Geller didn’t out, none of these things ever check out.
If and when one ever does, it will be incumbent on anyone committed to scientific discovery to accept it, and then to look for an explanation. Don’t hold your breath (for longer than a few minutes).
Here’s what’s wrong with the “experiment” or demonstration:
1) for an inactive, elderly (hence low-metabolism) person to go ten days without food in a warm client is not even remarkable, and it does absolutely nothing to substantiate the claim of “decades” without food. Let him do the same test, without outside verification, for 180 days— no, don’t. I don’t want the responsibility for his death. But a much longer time period is what it would take to substantiate this claim.
2) To go ten days without water, even when inactive, even in a humid climate, is indeed remarkable, but not necessarily evidence of miracles. The guy might just be an outlier who can go without water longer than most people, especially under very favorable conditions. Again, 10 days doesn’t come close to proving that he can go without water for “decades”. If he can do it for decades, why not demonstrate for at least a month?
3)BUT HELLO! THEY’RE GIVING HIM WATER!
He’s getting water, to use as “mouthwash”. Supposedly he spits it out, but it’s not possible to wash your mouth out with water, without a few drops staying behind. They don’t say how often he gets this “mouthwash”. If he doesn’t need water to drink, doesn’t eat, he probably isn’t subject to bad breath, which anyway should have been endurable for ten days. WHY DOES HE NEED MOUTHWASH? If you really want to test this claim, why in the world are you giving him water every day?
It may be that this inactive man in this humid climate of India can get by for a few extra days on a very limited amount of water. Once again, that’s nothing to do with the outlandish claims of “decades”.
4) The article I read says that urine is forming in his bladder and being reabsorbed. How could they possibly know that?
5) Yes, a “hole in the palate” is an abnormality, but it has no bearing on these claims. Why is it even mentioned?
The last two wildly unscientific, irrelevant statements, plus the use of water as mouthwash for no reason that makes any sense (other than that the guy needs water like everyone else) demonstrate clearly that these doctors are not serious about, or not competent for, the conducting of a definitive test. The same could be said for the short time duration of the study.
May 12th, 2010 | 7:15 pm
meant to say “with outside variation”, of course.
May 14th, 2010 | 1:03 pm
Even if it is true, this yogi looks really sick. He needs to eat and drink. I mean, if he doesn’t have to- great. But really. He looks gross and skinny.
May 20th, 2010 | 6:44 am
According to the above article, this yogi was being monitored by several India military scientists/doctors. Anyone out there to dispute their method of tests by those Indian scientists ? If so, i hope some western professor from Harvard or some other higher recognize institution do team up with this group of Indian scientists.
Jerry Larsoni’s points carry water. Did this Yogi’s experiment stop at day 10 ? And is this Yogi given water to clean his mouth ?
If this Yogi experiment stop at day 10, than this is no miracle because many earthquake survivors did manage to go without food & water for 8 days. There are plenty yogis out there that can go without water and food for 2 weeks, it is all due to years of training.
If this Yogi is given water for cleaning his mouth, did the scientist took down the measurement/quantity of water before and after he had cleaned his mouth.
I don’t know whether this experiment stop at 10 days or is still being carry out. I guess, if this experiment goes on for 6 weeks if good enough. It don’t have to go for many months. Apart from hibernation, for 6/8 weeks, i don’t think any mammal can goes without food for 6/8 weeks (only reptiles are able to do so).
If this yogi is genuine than our world has hope, we don’t need so much food, less food, less crop and less climate changes … LOL.
This new area shall be taught to normal human being as a kind of survivor package. And it should be very an important asset to the Nasa/astronauts.
Don’t ever taught this to the army. Army are killing machine …. LOL.
May 28th, 2010 | 1:40 am
[...] here. Really, this is exasperating. Wesley J. Smith wants so bad for humans to have a mystical power [...]
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