Breatharianism
 

I believe some if not most people of this site have already heard about fasting and It's benefits, but have you guys heard of breatharianism? It is basicaly a beliefe or ability for one to go without food or water and be sustained only by prana for extended periods of time and maybe even indefinitly, just imagine the possibilities if one did not need to eat or drink to sustain their bodies. Just search for breatharianism and you will find some interesting information about the topic :wink:

We need food and water to sustain ourselves. You can't wish the body's basic needs away..
Fasting (with water!) could be done for a while but only if you have no health issues, but breatharianism is asking for serious trouble.

Yeah sure....sooner or later you will eat and drink....or you will die!....It's that simple.

Some people just aren't open minded enough to think that this could be possible. Everything is energy, so I don't see why it couldn't be possible to be sustained by prana. I'm pretty sure there have even been people who have proven this. I think there is one main that hasn't eaten anything in 70 years. I believe they do sun gazing and claim to get the prana from the sun.

While true, it's also a good idea to keep things in healthy perspective. Extremism is as bad as close-mindedness.

My own suggestion would be to start where I did: I did some research, found some info that seemed relevant to me, and then went from there. One suggestion for example was to water down your fruit juice until it was mostly all water. So I slowly, over a period of a couple of years, cut out certain types of food, then I cut out solid food altogether, and then all food other than vegetables and fruits. Anyone can have the very real EXPERIENCE of learning that the human being in fact requires very little in order to live and still be healthy.

My food intake is a fraction of what it was years ago. I have a veg/fruit smoothie for breakfast. It fills me up so completely that I don't experience hunger pains until noon. And if I do feel hungry, I drink a glass of water, and that fills me up. This is what happens; this is how the body and mind adjust. This is the part that is real. And anybody can try this and experince this for themselves.

The question is: How far can, or should, one push it? Could I live on even less than I do now? Yes I can, because I have tried. But once I start restricting my diet even further -- no vegetables, just fruit; or reducing my meal portions -- I start to feel weak and sick after a while. So it doesn't work for me personally. But it just might for someone else.

Woman hasn't eaten or drank for 50 years - Yogananda
 

In Paramahansa Yogananda's book, Autobiography of a Yogi, he dedicates a chapter to a woman who reportedly hasn't eaten or drunk anything for five decades. Here's the link.

https://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/chapter-46/

In addition, when I was at the Khumba Mela in Haridwar in 1998, I personally saw a yogi who reportedly hadn't eaten or drunk in years. However, since I was only there for three weeks, I could only verify that I hadn't seen him eat or drink during that period. I met him personally and , through an interpreter, he indicated that he lived on "prana". (The article says: “Your nourishment derives from the finer energies of the air and sunlight, and from the cosmic power which recharges your body through the medulla oblongata.” This is somewhat consistent with what the yogi told me.)

I do not think that non-eating is necessarily a sign of being spiritual, but it is nonetheless a very fascinating phenomenon.

Maybe sun-gazing would have helped your body absorb the energy/prana you needed that you were no longer getting from your food. And maybe you can get prana from the air as well like Still Waters just mentioned.

How can you tell he didn't eat and drink, were you observing him 24/7 for three weeks? I'm sure you had a good time, but come on!

And you're right, it isn't necessarily a sign of spirituality.. I would even say it's not a sign at all! To keep the body healthy is necessary for spiritual growth. You can't focus or be at peace or improve yourself if you're starving or dehydrated!!!

Yes I could understand how that might work for a Yogi for example, someone who spends their time in a deep meditative state and relationship to life. And that's not me -- I'm no Yogi -- which may well have to do with why it doesn't work for me as I said.

You are absolutely correct that I was not able to observe the non-eating yogi 24/7 while I was at the Khumba Mela for three weeks....nor did I want to make that the objective of my stay there.

I watched him at the bandaras (the feasts) where he did not partake of the food and drink. I would wander by his tent on the shores of the Ganges on some nights (not every night) where he would be either teaching or sleeping on the floor with a tent full of devotees. I never saw him eat. His disciples said that they had never seen him eat. Other sages confirmed that he didn't eat or drink.

Could I have been deceived even with so many confirmations? Absolutely.

That's why I included the link to Paramahansa Yogananda's story about the yogini who hadn't eaten or drunk for decades. That yogini's experience would better suit your understandably demanding questions.

https://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/chapter-46/