I had invited senior scientists and journalists and the invitations were also sent offline to witness a demonstration, on the eve of International Yog Day, of a new human capability of surviving without environmental oxygen, that can be developed by the practice of ancient Yog. I got the inspiration of performing this experiment from the ancient yogis who used to practice Yog in a closed underground pit for many days. The ancient Yog became extinct thousands of years ago. There have been many attempts to revive this Yog in the history but what they landed up in was the Hatha Yog. The present day’s popular yoga, which is a posture-based physical exercise, is a derivative of Hatha Yog. The ancient Yog is a mental exercise that develops the concentration of mind. There is a well-defined practice of ancient Yog (or simply the Yog) that is given in an ancient text called Patanjali Yog Sutra (PYS). When Yog is practiced according to PYS, the thinking process slows down and finally it leads to a thoughtless mind with no involuntary thoughts at all. In this state, a person becomes full of energy all the time and there is a total transformation in the personality that will be described in next Blog. Many texts of Yog also discuss these benefits. This transformation takes place because the involuntary thoughts going on in our mind, engage most of our Vital Energy. (Vital Energy will be described in detail later in this Blog.) When the thought process stops, the engaged Vital energy becomes free, and it activates many dormant functions of brain that results in all the claimed benefits of Yog and cause a complete transformation in the personality. In addition to psychological changes, a great physiological change takes place that causes a transformation in health also. In this physiological change, when mind becomes thoughtless, oxygen is generated in brain, and it is possible to survive without environmental oxygen. This is demonstrated by an experiment shown in the video.
There is a sealed chamber with a half round transparent cover. The entire oxygen of chamber is flushed out by replacing it by 99.9% pure nitrogen gas. The gas from the nitrogen cylinder is passed through a copper coil, dipped in ice cold water contained in blue bucket, to lower the temperature of chamber in hot summer. A grey color, cylindrical shaped item marked SILENCER suppresses the loud sound produced when gas is discharged from a very high pressure to the normal pressure. Otherwise, the loud sound would distract the mind.
In order to filter the sound, the gas is passed through a silencer which contains multiple layers of glass wool sheets which allow free flow of gas but attenuate the sound. There are two paths of discharging the nitrogen gas into chamber. In the first path there is valve, which discharges the gas at full pressure to flush out the oxygen within couple of minutes. After that this valve is closed. In another path, there is flow meter similar to that used in hospitals to control the flow of oxygen. A flow of about 50 litre/minute of nitrogen gas is maintained in the chamber throughout the experiment. A slightly high pressure of nitrogen gas in chamber eliminates any possibility of leaking environmental oxygen into the chamber.
After assuring technically that there cannot be any oxygen in the chamber, the oxygen level inside the chamber is monitored by a medical oxygen sensor connected with an instrument with digital display. Initially it shows about 2.10, that means, the oxygen level in the chamber is 21% in the beginning. The video shows that when nitrogen gas is discharged into the chamber, the oxygen level quickly falls to zero. There may be some people who may not rely on the reading of instrument and may suspect some manipulation; therefore, a jar is connected to the output of chamber and a burning candle is put in the jar. The video shows that candle extinguishes confirming that there is no oxygen coming from chamber. The candle is taking some time to extinguish because at the time of putting in the candle there is some oxygen in the jar that helps the candle burning for some time. The absence of oxygen could have also been shown by enclosing a living animal (say a rat) in the chamber as placebo. The rat would die after few minutes, but it was not implemented for religious reasons.
To show that I am perfectly normal without oxygen in the chamber, I wore a pulse oxymeter in my finger and after spending 30 minutes in oxygen free environment, there was no noticeable fall in the oxygen saturation level in my blood. It implies that I could have continued for an hour or more. The purpose of experiment was not to set any world record but to establish the fact that oxygen is generated in my body by Yog and therefore oxygen saturation level in my blood does not fall after spending 30 minutes in oxygen free chamber. Not only that the pulse rate and oxygen saturation level remain in normal range, but I was also fully conscious and active. In the video I am doing light exercise by raising leg and showing pulse oxymeter to journalists who wanted to confirm that reading of pulse oxymeter attached to my hand is the same as the reading shown in mobile phone which was connected to the pulse oxymeter by blue tooth using the Healthtree App.
There were four senior scientists present to witness the experiment. The person marked “Scientist 3” in the video is H.S. Vora and he was also associated with the development of this experiment since beginning. He injected the nitrogen gas in the chamber and maintaining the flow of nitrogen. He is seen in the video, explaining about the experiment, to other scientists. These scientists were convinced that there was no oxygen in the chamber, and I was perfectly normal inside the chamber. I had invited a yoga expert seen in the video. He is Chandra Shekhar Azad who used to teach yoga on Nation TV channel, Doordarshan. He was not convinced that I was in Samadhi inside the chamber because I was waving to people, raising my legs and showing pulse oxymeter to journalists. It is a common perception that Samadhi is a state of trance and the person in Samadhi lies down without motion and without awareness of what is happening around. There are many different interpretations of Samadhi in the literature of yoga. This nescience over Samadhi prevails because Yog became extinct thousands of years ago. Yog was taught under a Guru-Disciple system, in which Guru taught Yog to his disciple with close interactions and this teaching passed from one generation to next by oral communication. It is not known exactly when and under what circumstances the tradition of Guru-Disciple teaching came to an end. What left was the Patanjali Yog Sutra, an ancient and authentic text on Yog. The PYS is not very well organized and is presented in very abbreviated form. It is written in Sanskrit where a single word may have many different meanings. One can reach to the real meaning only by practicing Yog and gaining the experience. Unfortunately, most of the commentaries on Patanjali Yog Sutra are written by intellectuals who never practiced Yog. Further confusion created because the authors interpreted sutras, taking into account the religious concepts. When I practiced Yog according to PYS, I attained various Samadhis as described in PYS. Then only, I came to know the meanings of sutras that Rishi Patanjali intended to convey. According to PYS, Samadhi is a state of unbroken (continuous) focus of mind. The word Samadhi is a composite word comprising of ‘sama’ and ‘dhi’. ‘Dhi’ stands for Dhyan that is, the concentration of mind and ‘sama’ means, uniform, continuous without ups and downs. In Samadhi, a person can do what is needed but his mind must be focused on the action and oxygen will continue to generate. There is no specific posture needed to enable the generation of oxygen in body. In order to illustrate this, I was performing various activities in the chamber. This implies that oxygen is generated in my body while doing any activity, after sufficient and proper practice of Yog, that is discussed in detail in my book; “Yog Science, Theory of Mind and Atman.”
On the eve of International Yog Day, I addressed the gathering, to explain briefly the ancient Yog and how it is different from Yoga, a posture-based physical exercise. Following is the video of this address;
The Text of the Address on the Eve of International Yog Day
Hello friends tomorrow will be the International Yog Day and millions of people will practice Yogaasans and Pranayam across the world. The yoga postures and breathing exercise are the parts of a popular Yoga practice. On the eve of International Yog Day, I am going to introduce an ancient Yog to the world, which is so powerful that, by practicing it a novel human capability can be developed by which it is possible to survive without environmental oxygen. The popular yoga is a kind of physical exercise while the ancient Yog is a mental exercise, and it can be considered as an advanced meditation technique. Ancient Yog can be written simply as Yog with capital Y. The practice of Yog develops the concentration of mind and slowly stops the streams of involuntary thoughts. During the thoughtless state of mind, brain generates oxygen, and it is possible to survive without environmental oxygen.
The Yog was developed by the Rishis of ancient India and Rishi Patanjali put it in a text form which is known as Patanjali Yog Sutra (PYS). Swami Vivekanand has written a book on the commentary on PYS. I began the practice of Yog following this book 25 years ago to cure my depression. During the practice of Yog, I found that my breathing slows down appreciably and after a practice of 20 years, the inhalation part of breathing disappeared completely, implying that the oxygen consumption of my body reduced to zero. I was also studying to understand this phenomenon from the perspectives of Neuroscience, but I couldn’t succeed. Then I began to study Vedant, an ancient science of India and got the clue. The fusion of modern science and an ancient science gave rise to a new science, that I have referred to as the Yog Science. This new science describes a mechanism in the language of Physics, that is responsible of generation of oxygen in the brain during Yog.
It was a great achievement, but nobody could believe it because normally it is not possible to survive without environmental oxygen for more than few minutes. In order to demonstrate this power of Yog, I am going to perform an experiment in presence of senior scientists from RRCAT and journalists. There is a sealed chamber from which oxygen will be removed by filling the nitrogen gas. Then I will wear a pulse oxymeter on my finger and spend 30 minutes in oxygen free chamber doing Yog. You will see that oxygen saturation level and pulse rate remain within the normal range without getting external oxygen. [The pulse oxymeter was connected with mobile using blue-tooth and mobile shows the reading of oxymeter. This experiment confirms that oxygen is generated in my body during Yog].
In ancient times, Rishis used to practice Yog in an underground closed pit for many days. This inspired me to perform this experiment. The nitrogen chamber is a scientific version of underground closed pit. Ancient Yog became extinct thousands of years back, but I could revive it by studying Vedant and the commentary on PYS by Swami Vivekanand. Now PYS is not only decoded but it has been transformed into a science. I have developed sensors and instruments by which it is possible to know empirically if the mind is wandering or it is focused and also to assess the progress in the practice by recording the data. This is why I have called this scientifically performed Yog as the e-Yog (Empirical Yog) and the ancient Yog as p-Yog or the Patanjali Yog which is a subjective Yog.
There are two major differences between e-Yog and p-Yog. In ancient time, people used to abandon worldly life and renunciate to practice Yog in the caves and Himalayas. By doing so, the responsibilities of family and problems of life could be evaded, and the distractions of mind were minimized. This made easier to concentrate the mind and attain Samadhi. In modern era it is not practical to renunciate. According to e-Yog it is not necessary to abandon the worldly life as it redefines the non-Attachment and thus Samadhi can be attained while struggling in life as I have achieved.
The Yog was taught in ancient times, following the Guru-Shishya (Teacher-disciple) system, where Guru and disciples lived together like a family and one to one interaction was possible. In this era, it is not possible to follow such a system. The e-Yog is a science with a theory and the data on state of mind can be recorded by pocket size gadgets and therefore the progress in the practice of Yog can be assessed empirically. This eliminates the need for Guru-Disciple system. The Yog Science can be included in education system globally like any other sciences. When e-Yog will be introduced at primary school level, stress, anxiety and depression can be eradicated. The control over mind is developed basically by instilling positive thoughts, thus good habits can be developed during the primary school education and the students will grow into good and responsible citizens.
Text of Q&A Session
Ancient Yog was completely new to every one present at International Yog Day event and there were many queries from the scientists and journalists. On the basis of feedback, I have recorded following video to answer these queries.
Q. How were you feeling in nitrogen chamber without oxygen?
A. I was feeling perfectly normal. You must have seen that I was waving hands to people. I was doing light exercise by raising my leg and I was showing the reading of pulse oxymeter to a journalist. [who wanted to compare the reading the pulse oxymeter with the reading in mobile, that was connected with pulse oxymeter by blue-tooth.
Q. Normally it is impossible to survive without oxygen for than 2-3 minutes, how could you survive for 30 minutes?
A. This became possible because of Yog. When thoughts stop coming in the mind by practice of Yog and mind becomes fully focused, then oxygen is generated in my brain and because of this I survive without environmental oxygen and I do not feel suffocated.
Q. What happens to breathing in this situation?
A. The breathing is a process of inhalation-exhalation-inhalation-exhalation, that goes on during the normal breathing. When oxygen is generated in the brain, then there is no need for inhalation and therefore inhalation stops.
Q. What happens to exhalation then?
A. The oxygen, that is generated in brain, circulates throughout the body and converts into carbon dioxide which keeps on accumulating in the lungs. When a critical pressure is reached that lungs cannot support, it is exhaled out. Now the breathing process reduces to pause-exhale-pause-exhale. In Yog science this breathing is called the Yogic breathing.
Q. What is this Yog science?
A. Yog is a practice to concentrate the mind which stops the thought process. Swami Vivekanand has written a book on the commentary on Patanjali Yog Sutra (PYS). I understood Yog from this book and practiced Yog accordingly. Then I studied Yog from the perspectives of science and transformed the Yog (a subjective practice) into a science. I have also written a book on Yog Science with a title ‘Yog Science, Theory of Mind and Atman”. I have explained the theory and practice of Yog in the language of Physics. I have also explained the mechanism which is responsible for generation of oxygen in the brain. Yog science is a multidisciplinary subject, encompassing Physics, Electronics, Neuroscience, Neurophilosophy, Physiology, Psychology and spirituality. Since the spirituality is a part of Yog science, it can be perceived as a fusion of science and spirituality.
Q. Can oxygen be generated in the brain by the practice of Yoga, that is, by practicing Pranayam and Yogaasans?
A. Not at all, performing the Yoga postures and practicing the Pranayam is known as Yoga in English and it is a physical exercise, derived from Hatha Yog. The mind can never become so much focused by these exercises that it begins to generate oxygen.
Q. How can you say this so confidently?
A. I read a lot of literature on Yog. Once Gautam Buddha and later Swami Yoganand had attempted to suspend the breathing by concentrating the mind by practicing Pranayam. But they did not succeed because their mind began to swoon, implying that the oxygen didn’t generate in their brain.
Q. What inspired you to perform this experiment?
A. When I began the practice of Yog according to Patanjali Yog Sutra, I found that my breathing is slowing down, indicating that the oxygen consumption of my body is reducing. I began study of Neuroscience to understand this phenomenon. After a practice of Yog for 20 years, the inhalation part of breathing disappeared completely, implying that the oxygen consumption of my body became zero. I knew that in ancient time, yogis and Rishi used to practice Yog in underground closed pit for many days. This inspired me to perform this experiment. This experiment also establishes the fact that I do not need environmental oxygen for survival during Samadhi.
Q. Does everyone have to practice Yog for 20 years to attain this state of mind?
A. Not at all, I began practicing Yog in worst conditions. I was suffering from depression and was taking treatment from a psychiartrist. I did not know the right way of practicing Yog. I was expelled from RRCAT, and it was a trauma for my family. I also needed funds for the research for which, I set up a fast- food business and therefore I could not get sufficient time for the practice of Yog. I did not have any Guru to guide me, and I spent lot of time for studying books on various subjects. A lot of time wasted in a process of hit and trial.
Q. There is a word Samadhi in the banner, what does it mean?
A. According to Patanjali Yog Sutra, when mind begins to concentrate by the practice of Yog, this state of mind is called Samadhi. As the concentration of mind increases, the level of Samadhi also increases. [Different names are given to different levels of Samadhi]. When mind is fully focused, this is called a state of complete Samadhi and it is known as Nirbeej Asampragyat Samadhi. During this state of mind so much oxygen is generated in the brain that I don’t need oxygen from the environment for survival. I have attained a state of mind beyond this Samadhi, in which mind focuses of its own, without any effort. In this state of mind so much oxygen is generated in the mind that I can do light exercise also. You must have seen that I was raising legs and waving to people around me.
Q. The phenomenon of concentration of mind is merely an experience or a feeling, how can a feeling generate oxygen?
A. I got a clue to this question from the study of Vedant, which is an ancient science of India. (It provides theoretical basis for Yog.) According to Vedant, there is always a cause behind any change. This is called the law of Cause and Effect. There is also a cause behind our experience and according to Vedant and other Hindu scriptures, the cause is Atman, the Soul [or the spirit]. Atman is responsible for every activity of mind and body. I applied my knowledge of Physics to Neuroscience and found that when Atman interacts with neurons, the oxygen is generated in the blood.
Q. Can modern science explain how oxygen is generated in brain? [by Yog]
A. No, because Physics is not a complete science yet. [It cannot explain many phenomena of Nature]. It cannot explain the phenomenon of generation of oxygen in the brain and the human consciousness too. I had a firm belief that the explanation of all Natural phenomena must be in the realm of Physics. This belief inspired me to discover new laws of Physics that could explain the mechanism of generation of oxygen in brain and also fill the Explanatory Gap in Physics. The new laws of Physics also explain the nature of the substance of Atman, consciousness, qualia, Dark matter and the evolution of Dark matter during the Big Bang Event.
Q. But there is no place for Atman in science?
A. The scientific discovery of Atman is a great achievement of Yog Science, that proposes a complete theory of Atman and accordingly, sensors and instruments have been developed that record the physiological effect on body when the mind is focused. [The Mind is just a manifestation of Atman according to Yog science]. The theory of Mind and Atman is explained in my book on Yog Science. Thus, Yog Science establishes the existence of Atman, theoretically and experimentally both. The nitrogen chamber experiment is also the evidence for the existence of Atman. According to Yog Science, Atman is a very subtle substance whose atoms may be million times lighter than electrons and therefore no equipment of science can detect Atman in near future.
Q. According to Hinduism, Atman and Paramatma (Universal Consciousness) have similar Nature. Does Yog Science also explain God scientifically?
A. Yes, Yog Science explains the fundamental nature of God scientifically. The Universal Consciousness or Paramatma are different names for Nature God. As Yog Science will advance further, we will know further about the scientific aspects of God. In fact, the objective of Yog was to understand God and to become one with Him, in ancient India. (One of the definitions of Yog is union of Atman with Paramatma.) As a Scientist, I have employed the practice of Yog to understand God from the perspectives of science. Now the age-old argument that God exists or not will come to an end.
Q. Have you carried out this enormous research alone or there is someone to assist you?
A. I have a friend Hari Bhai Vora. He also retired from RRCAT. He helps me on technical matters. He has developed softwares required in the research. He has also contributed to the development of nitrogen chamber experiment.
Q. Tell me about your education.
A. I got my schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Meerut. I received degree in B.Sc. (Hons.) Physics from reputed Hindu College of Delhi University. I was pursuing M.Sc. in Particle Physics and Quantum Electrodynamics from Physics Department of Delhi University, then I got appointment in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai.
Q. What means you have got for the research?
A. I have a small Electronics Lab equipped with oscilloscope and other basic instruments. I have a small library that contains books on Physics, Electronics, Neuroscience, Molecular Cell Biology Psychology. I have books on spirituality like Bhagvad-Gita, books on Yog by Swami Vivekanand and a book on Vedant, “Brahma Sutra Bhasya by Adi Shankaracharya. I have book on various religions and a dictionary of Sanskrit.
Q. What are your plans for future?
A. It is only a beginning of Yog science and it has to go a long way like other Sciences. Now I need equipments like PET’s Scan, functional MRI for further research. I need a big Electronics lab for further development of equipments and pocket size gadget that will be required for practice of Yog. The prototype of these gadget is ready, but lot of work is required to be done for commercialization. I cannot afford so much investment and I need support of a big research organization.
Q. What will be the application of Yog Science?
A. Yog science will connect with every person in the world directly. It will be far ahead of all sciences in improving the quality of life by eradicating stress, anxiety, depression and all stress related diseases. The practice of Yog instills positive thoughts by eliminating the negative thoughts. When Yog Science will be introduced at the primary education, it will guide students to walk on the right path of life and will help in character-building. When mind is fully focused, the work will be done with perfection and without mental fatigue because in this state brain generates oxygen continuously. In a nutshell, Yog is a solution to every problem of life. (A mind has infinite potential to solve any problem, Yog makes use of this potential of mind by concentrating it.)