Jawans learn survival skills from fasting jains

[ashdoc]

They survive without food for over two weeks, living only on boiled water. And, they may hold answers to quests other than spiritual. So thinks the Indian Army, which has made the rigorous fasting by Jains during the holy period of Paryushan a subject of focussed study to find solution for the Indian soldier who has to face harsh situations in adverse climes.

With Paryushan on right now, a team of 18 scientists from the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS) are camping in the city to seek answers: How does the body and mind of the fasting Jain react to such nutritional deprivation for days? Can fasting be consciously imbibed by people, especially soldiers and astronauts, for survival in challenging situations?

Scientists are studying about 45 Jains in Ahmedabad who have undertaken fasting ranging from three to eight days. Some are also fasting for 16 days. Children, youth in their 20s who have never fasted and religious Jains used to fasting annually are part of this voluntary study project being undertaken at Ramnagar Mota Derasar in Sabarmati area.

"The project began on August 8 and the last batch would complete their fasting on Sunday. The test reports of chemical, physiological and the psychological testing of the volunteers before, during and after the fast period would be documented and analysed," said neurophysicianDr Sudhir Shah, whose team had pioneered medical documentation of long-term fasting by medically profiling Prahlad Jani, an octogenarian sadhu, who claims to live without drinking and eating and thus not pass urine or stool as well.

"We documented him for 10 days under CCTV cameras. His case features in the book titled 'Mysteries of the World'," said Dr Shah. "The results of this study may help the Indian soldier who go through great adversities, having to stay in areas where food is not available. It can also be applied in prevention and treatment of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart diseases," he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/n...ow/4923887.cms

[Sane Less]

Aisey hi dushmanon aur terrorist ke haath maarey ja rahe hai... now on top of that... bhukey bhi marna padenga

[rameshp]

Originally Posted by Sane Less

Aisey hi dushmanon aur terrorist ke haath maarey ja rahe hai... now on top of that... bhukey bhi marna padenga

your post is not only insulting but also belittles the efforts of our soldiers! -ve rep!

[echarcha]

Originally Posted by Sane Less

Aisey hi dushmanon aur terrorist ke haath maarey ja rahe hai... now on top of that... bhukey bhi marna padenga

You did not read it properly. The Jains fast for 40 plus days with just water as the only intake. The soldiers want to learn the technique so that they too can survive for long periods without food in cases where there is no food available. Its quite possible that such a situation will arise in war and hence this study.

[ashdoc]

Originally Posted by Sane Less

Aisey hi dushmanon aur terrorist ke haath maarey ja rahe hai... now on top of that... bhukey bhi marna padenga

anything even remotely related to religion and sanelessbhai sees red.

sanelessbhai ko gussa kyun ata hai?

even i particularly dont believe in god ,but i participate in religious activities.

for example i am participating in ganesh festivites in my house .

i am even going to go for visarjan of ganesh idol .

nonbelief should not translate into a hatred for anything religious.

just a thought.........

[indiantiger001]

there is a point to note . No doubt that it is great that Jain monks do fasting but along with that they engage themself in spiritual activites to distract their their mind from the impulses of hunger . In case of the Jawan He is already tired and exhausted and if such studies are conducted on him instead of him being fit enough to fight the enemy he himself will die of starvation .

[Sane Less]

Originally Posted by rameshp

your post is not only insulting but also belittles the efforts of our soldiers! -ve rep!

Originally Posted by echarcha

You did not read it properly. The Jains fast for 40 plus days with just water as the only intake. The soldiers want to learn the technique so that they too can survive for long periods without food in cases where there is no food available. Its quite possible that such a situation will arise in war and hence this study.

Originally Posted by ashdoc

anything even remotely related to religion and sanelessbhai sees red.

sanelessbhai ko gussa kyun ata hai?

even i particularly dont believe in god ,but i participate in religious activities.

for example i am participating in ganesh festivites in my house .

i am even going to go for visarjan of ganesh idol .

nonbelief should not translate into a hatred for anything religious.

just a thought.........

You guys are really not as far-sighted as me... hota hai... hota hai... you guys still need some more speed as well as distance thinking. So, we have the soldiers trained on food-management... each of our soldier can last for 40 days on a single lunch and water. Then what? Ever thought how our ball-less politicians will act then? They will reduce the defence budget... 'cos our soldiers can survive on less. Hell, they may even reduce salaries... soldiers ko bolengey, "hawa khao".

Look at Indaintrigger pai's post... he seems to have got the right attitute. How are the soldiers supposed to stay alert on the border... with just a meal for 40 days? And how do you deduce that I am bringing in religion into this?

[motowner]

Originally Posted by indiantiger001

there is a point to note . No doubt that it is great that Jain monks do fasting but along with that they engage themself in spiritual activites to distract their their mind from the impulses of hunger . In case of the Jawan He is already tired and exhausted and if such studies are conducted on him instead of him being fit enough to fight the enemy he himself will die of starvation .

These are survival skills.. meant to train the jawans in case of dire situations if/when they arise. E.g. being stranded in enemy zone. Does not mean that jawans will be kept starving if they acquire this skill

[landyaBhai]

I misread the title "Jaswant Learns Survival Skills from Fasting Jains"

[Zorro]

well...its a good skill to have, but I wonder what happens to a soldiers state of awareness when all he's concentrating on is his hunger.

Wouldnt it be better to learn survival skills from Bear Gryllis? That dude can teach soldiers to survive in extreme conditions from the Arctic to the Sahara desert. If you have not seen it watch his show Man vs Wild on the Discovery channel.

[viking]

I hope they dont learn how to walk naked like them

[Sane Less]

Originally Posted by viking

I hope they dont learn how to walk naked like them

That will make the enemy laugh out loud... and then our soldiers can snipe them off, one at a time

[viking]

Originally Posted by Sane Less

That will make the enemy laugh out loud... and then our soldiers can snipe them off, one at a time

Yeah but then most of the jain monks look like salesmen of Aligarh made locks.

Well the big dangling things from far away look like locks !

[swami]

And with the drought like situation in India the politicians will ask the citizen to learn something from the jawans and atleast eat once in 20 days ,or our Sharad Pawar would see to it that the prices of foodgrains reach such a height that people dont even think of eating for 40days

Originally Posted by Sane Less

You guys are really not as far-sighted as me... hota hai... hota hai... you guys still need some more speed as well as distance thinking. So, we have the soldiers trained on food-management... each of our soldier can last for 40 days on a single lunch and water. Then what? Ever thought how our ball-less politicians will act then? They will reduce the defence budget... 'cos our soldiers can survive on less. Hell, they may even reduce salaries... soldiers ko bolengey, "hawa khao".

Look at Indaintrigger pai's post... he seems to have got the right attitute. How are the soldiers supposed to stay alert on the border... with just a meal for 40 days? And how do you deduce that I am bringing in religion into this?

[Origmos]

War is a psychological game too.

The fact that our Jawans can go on without food for weeks will be a demoralizing factor to the enemy even before a single Jawan is committed to a war. This myth whether true or not can be a crucial force multiplier during conflict.

All nations are in need in myths of superheros and I believe this is just a psychological attempt to make another.