Jain Spirit 2003 10 No 16

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 24

Q&A
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - FASTING
Atul K. Shah interviews Hiraratan Manek, a unique expert on fasting
TR. MANEK WAS BORN IN 1937 AND BROUGHT
up in Calicut, Kerala, South India. He is a mechanical
Lengineer by profession. “Since birth, I have been traditionally fasting - eight days, sixteen days, one month and one year. Later, inspired by Lord Mahavir, for the last eighteen years I have learned to fast in the original Jain way. I completed a 411-day fast in 2001, which was supervised throughout by medical scientists and NASA. During the last eight years I have lived only on liquids for hospitality and social purposes like tea, coffee, buttermilk and water."
Mahavir's practices and principles of atap and atapana, walking in the hot sun for days barefoot and frequently looking at the sun, I have rediscovered the Jain science, Solar energy can be tapped by humans as a primary source of energy -food is a middleman in this context and involves a lot of wasted energy. I am merely reliving an ancient technique developed by Lord Mahavir. If energy is received from the sun directly, the body can be sustained and long fasts can be done; man can remain on sun energy for his entire life. That is all I have been practising and a lot of people are now following this.
Why is fasting important to you?
How can we tap into solar energy?
Fasting is important in Jainism to eliminate our past karmas - nirjara. The past comes from so many births, and accumulated karma can only be eliminated by fasting (tapas). I am thirsty for liberation.
Would you say that fasting is central to Jainism?
The brain is a powerful recipient and the retina and the pineal gland are equipped with photoreceptor cells. When we worship the sun by gazing at it (Surya Namaskar), a kind of photosynthesis takes place. Starting with just gazing at the sun for ten seconds on the first day, one can gradually increase it in three months to ten-twelve minutes. The circuit inside the brain has to be charged very slowly and at the appropriate time, which is one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. In three months, one can realise the freedom from mental disturbances and fear, thus achieving perfect balance.
Definitely. The most important desire of man is food, and if food is totally eliminated, all other desires will disappear.
Medical science would suggest that prolonged fasting is probably nutritionally not healthy and can seriously damage health. Yet you say that fasting in the Jain tradition is very important. We indeed know of a lot of people who do long fasts and they do survive.
Could you elaborate on the proper method of fasting? A lot of people want to fast, especially during Paryushan, but they do not know the right technique.
I have been successful in convincing medical scientists that if fasting is done in the correct way the body can sustain it without difficulty. If we fast the traditional way, we are sustained only by the accumulated energy of the body. You cannot fast for years and years as Lord Mahavir did, purely on the basis of this accumulated energy. Having understood Lord
Lord Mahavir says that when you fast, food is always there in the emotions or desires. As long as food is in your mind, it does not qualify for the alleviation of your past karmas. He says: "Hunger has to disappear from you." If there is no hunger, you won't eat anything. During the safe periods of
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Jain Spirit
September - November 2003
Photo: Dinodia