The man who eats nothing: MP govt greenlights study on monk surviving on water & ‘energy from pebbles'
Government officials said the project aims to allow researchers from the international community to study the biology of Dada Guruji Maharaj, who walks from village to village to inspire spiritual devotion in people.
Samarth Bhaiya ji Sarkar, popularly known as Dada Guruji Maharaj, is said to derive his energy from nature—trees, flowing rivers, as well as the earth and small pebbles he touches as he walks along the river banks.
Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has approved a proposal to conduct scientific research into the 'nature-based' life and extreme physical endurance of a Jabalpur-based spiritual leader, who claims to have given up food since October 2020, relying solely on water from the Narmada since then.
'Dada Guruji, who is a spiritual leader, has been surviving without any food and simply on water while undertaking the 'parikrama' (ritual of moving clockwise round an object of devotion) of the Narmada,' Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla told ThePrint.
'This was a topic of research and so a team of medical experts from Jabalpur's medical college carefully observed him for a specified duration and then submitted their report.'
He said it had still not been decided who would be approached to conduct further research.
Dada Guruji Maharaj's growing popularity for his extreme endurance caught the attention of the Mohan Yadav-led BJP government, which constituted a panel of experts from the state-run Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in May 2024 to examine his case.
The issue came up for discussion in the Cabinet on 3 June, nearly a year after the medical college in Jabalpur conducted a week-long comprehensive study between 22 and 29 May on the 'various body and mind parameters during prolonged fasting and continuous physical exertion'.
Following the presentation of the committee's 124-page report, the Cabinet decided to send the proposal for further research.
'The government decided that this report will be sent to researchers, individuals and institutions so that researchers from the country and the world can investigate and research the nature-based life of Dada Guru,' panchayat and rural development minister Prahlad Patel said on 'X'.
Shukla, who also holds the charge of health minister, added. 'It came up for discussion during the Cabinet meeting and it was felt further research should be allowed on how a human body can sustain without food for such a prolonged duration and still have normal vital functioning.'
Marginal aberrations seen during observation
During the week-long research, Dada Guruji was kept in a CCTV-monitored medical room at the Jabalpur medical college under police surveillance.
Experts closely observed his physical, mental, biochemical and other parameters in the morning and evening, essentially before and after he completed a 20-25 km walk on the banks of the river. They found that Dada Guruji did not consume any food during this period and only had 300-1,000 ml of water from the Narmada at the end of the parikrama.
Despite 40 to 45 degree temperatures, the medical team found that his body was fit and agile with no symptoms or complaints.
'There were only a few marginal aberrations in blood sugar, uric acid, blood urea, iron and ferritin, which were consistent after fasting for seven days. In our opinion, Dada Guruji's response to strict fasting and strenuous physical activity is unique and hitherto unreported in world medical literature,' the medical college said in its report to the health department.
The report was prepared under the guidance of P. Panikar, a professor of medicine; R. Mahobia, a professor of patmedhology; and Dr R.S. Sharma, an AIIMS cardiologist.
'Based on existing evidence of humans and animal studies, we suggest that this unique response of Dada Guru is due to 'medical adaptation' and markedly increased 'endurance power' for fast and adverse conditions,' they said in the report.
The report also quotes Dada Guruji saying that when doctors and scientists asked him why only he derived energy from the earth and the Narmada while so many others walking the banks didn't, he explained: 'One has to be selfless and pure of heart to get this energy.'
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Also Read: Sexist jibes to communal remarks, the many controversies of MP minister Kunwar Vijay Shah
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