The basic Structural & functional unit of the human body is "Cell".Clusters of cells make Organs & groups of organs form a body.For the existence of life proper function of these organs are mandatory.The necessary energy for the functions of organs is generated at cellular level by using Glucose which is found in blood,as the fuel.The food stuff whatever it is digested in our digestive system, the ultimate products are the Glucose, Amino acids & Fatty acids- Glycerols.(Even fats & proteins sometimes converted to glucose when needed by the body). Even we are in absolute rest the internal organs like Heart, Kidneys & lungs are functioning in order to maintain life.(The basic metabolism).when we become physically active extra energy needed.
                                                                     when a person starts fasting(without taking any food orally or by other means like I.V.Fluids) his blood glucose level also starts to fall down.But blood glucose levels should be maintained at a certain level(usually not less than 60mg/dl).Hence our body itself adopting a mechanism by which energy stores in the body are utilized automatically.First day of the fasting, glucose storage in the form of Glycogen,the main store of which is the liver &  to some extent by skeletal muscles, are broken down and used to maintain the blood glucose level.But this storage is limited & available for only a day.Therefore second day of the fasting fat stores are broken down-(The main store of fat  are under the skin,around the kidneys & around the eye balls.) fatty acids which is the end product of fats are converted in to glucose & utilized by the cells.As fasting continues, at a certain point, when no more fat stores are available, proteins are broken down(Remember, basic structure of a cell is proteins & thus there is a self destruction to organs taking place to maintain the blood glucose level.)
                                                                        According to human Physiology & Biochemistry, one can live up to 40 days without any food but with water.But life is possible only up to 12 days when a person fasts without taking foods as well as water.My question is How it is possible for Yogis & Maharishis live without food or sometimes even without water for a long time may be years, only " eating air" alone.

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  • There is one story in Shri Ramkrishna Param Hans life...
    "Once, a Self-realized Man was standing at the river-shore; waiting for the boat to go across the river. Meanwhile, a Yogi approached him and asked: "Why are you standing here, Sir?" The Holy Man humbly replied: "I am waiting for the boat to take me across the river". The Yogi sarcastically laughed at him and said: "Don't you know how to walk on the water?" "No, Sir", said the Holy Man. "You don't even know how to walk on the water, what kind of Holy Man are you?", inquired the Yogi. Before the Holy Man said anything, the Yogi jumped into the river and started walking on the water. To make a big show of his inflated ego, he traversed the river in every direction. Meantime the boat showed up. Before embarking on the boat, the Holy Man asked Yogi as to how long it took him to master this supernatural feat. "Twenty years", pompously replied the Yogi. The Holy Man asked: "Dear Yogi, tell me how much the boat costs to go cross the river". "Five pennies", replied the Yogi. "That means you earned only five pennies in twenty years!" Saying this the Holy Man left!"
    In short I suggest not too get interest in such things but to keep your Body fit for Sadhana and Getting that ultimate goal of reunion with the supreme power. Staying live for many years without food and water may be or may not be possible. But getting that "Sat Chit Anada" is main goal of any soul. It is een through many Santa and seers life that such and many other miraculous acts happened in their life but every one repeated to say that "surrender to Him and do Japa sadhana" with few rules to follow while not leaving your daily and family duties.

    Jai Shree Ram!!!
  • When yogis do Sadhana in pursuit of spritual path, they get shiddhis as by product, with that they can live without food water and much more supernatural powers are at their command following are some of important shiddhis yogis posses:


    1. PARKAYA PRAVESH

    Parkaya Pravesh means entering one’s soul in the body of some other person. Through this knowledge even a dead body can be brought to life.

    Just about three thousand years back, Shankaracharya had to take help of this knowledge in order to defeat Mandan Mishra in a spiritual debate. But as time passed this knowledge became extinct in the society and today only a very few Yogis have full practical knowledge of this unique practice.

    This knowledge is considered to be so important and secret that only a few Yogis, known to me, know of this practice and after them this practice shall perhaps vanish from this earth.

    2. HAADI VIDYA

    This Vidya or knowledge has been mentioned in several ancient texts. On acquiring this Vidya a person neither feels hungry nor thirsty and he can remain without eating food or drinking water for several day at a stretch.

    Several Yogis of the Himalayas, remain engrossed in deep Sadhanas for months and years without eating or drinking anything. When they do not eat or drink, they do not even have to empty their bowels. Thus they are able to perform long penance for years and their bodies also remain healthy and fit, even without food. Acharya Vishnu Sarang, the famous Tantrik from Nepal and Yogi Manohar are proficient in this Vidya.

    3. KAADI VIDYA

    Just as one does not feel hungry or thirsty in Haadi Vidya similarly in Kaadi Vidya a person is not affected by change of seasons i.e. by summer, winter, rain etc. After accomplishing this Vidya a person shall not feel cold even if he sits in the snow laden mountains and shall not feel hot even if he sits in the fire. Thus a Sadhak can perform incessant penance without being affected by change of weather or seasons.

    The Jain scholar, Pragya Sun had accomplished both the Haadi & Kaadi Vldyas. Guru Gorakhnath and Matsayendranath too had accomplished them.

    Today the Jain scholar of Mahabalipuram Sun Maharaj and Yogi Vishambhar of Badrinath are accomplished in these Vidyas and have kept these practices alive.

    4. MADALASA VIDYA

    On accomplishing this Vidya, a person becomes capable of increasing or decreasing the size of his body according to his wish. Lord Hanuman had miniaturised his body through this Vidya while entering the city of Lanka.

    The average height of a human being is six feet. Through this Vidya a person can reduce the size of his body to the size of a mosquito and can even enlarge his body to a size of over hundred feet.

    A few years back a conference of Yogis was held on the Bhairav hill, near Dehradun and in this conference Tailang Baba (an ascetic) demonstrated this miraculous practice before hundreds of Yogis. This Vidya is almost extinct today and in my opinion only Tailang Baba has accomplished it.

    5. VAYU GAMAN SIDDHI

    Through this Siddhi a person can become capable of flying in the skies and travelling from one place to another in just a few seconds. The Jain scriptures speak of Jain ascetics who could fly from place to place in a few seconds. Swami Divakarsuri and Swami Pragyasuri have been such accomplished ascetics.

    About eight years back Vishuddhanandji demonstrated this practice in Varanasi and proved that it is not a myth.

    Today Yogi Chaitanya Swami of Madurai and Yogi Niranjan Swami living near Kanya Kumari are the Yogis who have accomplished this practice. But it seems that this knowledge shall perish with them.

    6. KANAKDHARA SIDDHI

    One can acquire immense and unlimited wealth through this Siddhi. It’s said that once Shankaracharya saw a very poor and destitute woman and with the help of the Kanakdhara Yantra he showered gold in her house. This Yantra is made on a silver plate and 36 squares are formed by drawing 7 lines each, horizontally and vertically. Then the Beej Mantra is written in these squares. Today only a very few people have full and authentic knowledge of this Siddhi.

    7. PRAKYA SADHANA

    Through this Sadhana a Yogi can direct his disciple to take birth from the womb of a woman, who is childless or cannot bear children. Several Yogis have thus blessed inferti1e women with children. Swami Vishuddhanand had accomplished this Sadhana and had used it to bring happiness into the lives of several women. But today only two or three persons are accomplished in this Sadhana.

    8. SURYA VIGYAN

    This Solar science is one of the most significant sciences of ancient India. This science has been known only to the Indian Yogis and using it, one substance can be transformed into another through the medium of sun rays.

    Swami Vishuddhanand had demonstrated the miracles of this science about 50-60 years ago, by transforming a paper into rose and a cotton ball into gold.

    This science has been kept alive by Divyendu Ghosh and some other Yogis, otherwise it has become almost extinct.

    9. MRIT SANJIVANI VIDYA

    This Vidya was created by Adi Shankaracharya. Through it even a dead person can be brought back to life. This practice may seem to be a myth but it had been used by Guru Gorakhnath several times. Today only a few persons have practical knowledge of this Vidya.

    It is but our misfortune that we consider most of our rich heritage to be just myth when in fact through it we can achieve all success, wealth & comforts in our lives. It’s really very shameful that a nation where such unique & distinguished Yogis were born, today, the people of the same nation disbelieve and make fun of their ancestral heritage.

    The golden Vidyas which can elevate a human life both materially and spiritually form an indivisible part of the great personality, famous as Poojya Gurudev Narayan Dutt Shrimali.

    An ordinary person may feel surprised to know how all these Vidyas can be known by a single person, to such levels, that he has even become capable of imparting it to His disciples. But the scholars having some knowledge of these Vidyas know that Poojya Gurudev is in fact a divine personality more famous as Swami Nikhileshwaranand Paramhans before whom all the Yogis bow down in reverence.

    These Vidyas and Siddhis are of very high spiritual level and are not meant to be demonstrated publicly. Today the world is filled with deceit, fraud, violence and greed, hence it has become even more essential to revive and resurrect these divine Vidyas. And to achieve this it also becomes necessary to recognise the true divine form of the personality, who alone is capable of endowing this knowledge on others.

    Such knowledge cannot be acquired through books and neither can it be properly explained through this medium. For this a person shall have to become a disciple and learn these rare practices sitting in the Guru’s feet. One shall have to come close to the Guru and shall have to give up his position, his ego and all arguments.

    I seek the forgiveness of Reverent Gurudev for disclosing this aspect of his personality without his permission. He often says that he does not believe in imparting this knowledge to anyone without testing his faith, devotion and will.

    But seeing these ancient Indian knowledges becoming extinct I could not restrain myself from revealing these facts before the readers. I bow down in reverence before Gurudev’s holy divine form which is a confluence of so many unique and celestial Sadhanas & Siddhis.



    Source: Sidashram website
    • Quote:
      the scholars having some knowledge of these Vidyas know that Poojya Gurudev is in fact a divine personality more famous as Swami Nikhileshwaranand Paramhans before whom all the Yogis bow down in reverence
      Well there you have the essence: devil worship. Yes, all sorceries are indeed possible if you reject The Singular Holy Creator of this world and instead kowtow to (graven images of) long-dead or utterly fabricated parochial demigods. Unfortunately, that practice, though it can result in some eerie spectacles and the fainting of children, only makes evil stronger in the end. I know.
  • (20) As soon as the nadis are purified the yogi is able to retain the breath longer, the gastric fire is activated, nada [the inner sound] becomes audible and he enjoys perfect health.

    Perfect health alone is reason enough to concern ourselves with nadi purification. About the gastric fire and the nada sound we will learn more later. But it is the art of retention of breath that is so essential in the development of pranayarna.

    How is it that the power to hold the breath for a considerable length of time should depend on the purity of the nadis rather than on the capacity of the lungs?

    Breath gets short when the air held in the lungs has lost its prana. If the nadis areimpure (as is common), then the flow of prana is impeded and is soon unable to reload the breath. The breath becomes stale like a carbonated drink when it has lost its fizz. If the nadi path is pure, however, the prana flow can keep breath "alive" for a longer time.

    A yogi who can subsist on one breath for days--as has been demonstrated--causes the river of prana to circulate in the body and does not allow the prana to escape. He absorbs oxygen through his pores. Now let us look at the technique of nadi purification.


    Source Hatha Yoga book
  • They live on prana, the vital life force of air, food, water, everything.
  • I found this, in a web search

    http://ibnlive.in.com/news/man-survives-without-food-water-for-65-y...
  • Dear Sir,

    Isn't the oxygen ultimate fuel for the cells?

    Regards,

    Satheesh
This reply was deleted.