Prove It
The sacred connection yogis have with life and death and how the West is testing their culture
Written by Maria Freese, Culture Staff Writer
Illustrated by Thalia Powell, Contributing Illustrator and Designer
When I was nine years old, I learned that people can survive for approximately two minutes after their heart stops beating. So began my obsession with checking my pulse, index and middle finger pressed to my jugular vein or a tight clasp around my wrist; I needed to know when my last 120 seconds would begin. This is when I realized I wasn’t in control of my own mortality. To soothe my fears, my mother, who has studied yoga for almost three decades, taught me about yogis who meditate for days on end and have the ability to stop their hearts on command. This idea comforted me. I liked to think there were some people who had authority over the most intangible thing: life.
My mother continued to share stories about Western doctors who tested yogis’ gifts. The medical field demanded a scientific explanation for this pulse-halting phenomenon. I was confused why we all couldn’t just accept that yogis had mastered parts of the body and mind most of us hadn’t. Most of all, I didn’t understand why the people testing their meditative abilities were the same people who believed, without a doubt, that Jesus rose from the dead.
There has always been a sense of superiority in the realm of Western thought, placing modern medicine over tried and true natural remedies, flaunting “economic” success on the global stage and trying to “civilize” indigenous communities. But the dominance doesn’t end there. This superiority has leached its way into just about every part of society, including faith and spirituality.
Throughout time, Hindu and Buddhist cultures have believed that their spiritual leaders are able to hang between life and death. This is a state of deep meditation––or trance––referred to as Samadhi. Entering Samadhi is only possible for those most dedicated to their faith, using it as a way of receiving messages that will benefit their community as a whole (Sansthan, 2014). The case of Samadhi that is probably most familiar to you would be that of Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha. He entered such a state under the infamous Bodhi tree, meditating there for seven weeks before leaving to spread teachings of “The Middle Way:” an idea of leading a balanced life (Brown, 2003).
While Samadhi has been practiced for far longer than the Western world has existed (in its modern iteration), European doctors decided it was their business to put yogic abilities and cultures to the test. In 1935, Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, a renowned yogic leader, was hooked up to an ECG. A French doctor, Therese Brosse, wanted to see if Krishnamacharya really had the ability to stop his own heart. The results of this scan reported a pulse that's magnitude fell to “approximately zero” (Hamblin, 2014). His pulse stayed at a stop for a handful of seconds before returning entirely to normal.
One might think that the Western world would be satiated by these findings and leave the yogis alone, but this is far from the truth. Following Brosse’s finding, tests and labs were conducted on yogis across America. These studies turned up a variety of findings, ranging from an absence of a pulse in the wrists to normal, unchanged heart sounds. While the results varied, one thing did not—the yogi's reactions.
Almost every person who underwent these tests “refused to cooperate” when the tests showed results that didn’t corroborate heart stopping abilities (Meditation, 2015). Many doctors interpreted this reaction as the yogis admitting they couldn’t actually halt their heartbeat. But imagine if you had a deeply rooted belief, one that was part of your life and ancestry, and doctors, who didn’t try to understand it or appreciate it, wanted to prove you wrong.
Christians, and members of any other religion, would defend themselves similarly if their faith was attacked. Shutting down and closing people out isn’t an admission of “guilt.” It’s just a way of protecting yourself. Yogis, Hindus and Buddhists are only protecting a belief system that has guided their people through the hellscape life can be.
Making other cultures prove themselves stems from Western superiority. Christianity is the most widespread spiritual practice in Western society, placing importance on the resurrection of Jesus, who rose from the dead after three days in a tomb (Good, 2013). There is nothing that makes that miracle more grounded in science than Samadhi—except the latter being founded in a culture that isn’t valued in the West.
Slowing the heart isn’t something that’s unheard of in the West, either. Athletes, especially swimmers, use breathing techniques similar to those used by yogis to lower their pulse before a competition. Freedivers have been documented to slow their hearts to a mere 11 beats per minute (Saplakoglu, 2021). It’s clear the skepticism on yogis’ abilities isn’t founded in disbelief of lowering one’s heart, but rather the canyon of differences between belief systems. People are afraid of what they do not understand.
I’m afraid of dying, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I look to yogis who have mastered Samadhi in awe, because what would it be like to have a grasp on the one thing that will conquer us all? While the West has committed atrocities against many cultures, in this case, I think questioning Samadhi is rooted in a sort of jealousy. Religion was created to explain all that cannot be explained elsewhere. It gives people a way to live their lives and, in many cases, a glimpse into what happens after that. Seeing a group of people that can bridge the gap between the living and the dead sparks uncertainty. Do we have more of a connection between death and mortality than we know?
While there is no science to the art of dying, stories tell us we have some control over our last few hours. Think of the tales of parents who wait for all of their children to arrive at the hospital before passing on (Glicksman, 2022). Yogis in a transcendent meditative state may experience this same connection to our life force. Maybe we all have more connection to death than we realize or are willing to accept.
Since I learned about the way yogis balance life and death, I have stopped checking my pulse so often. My pointer and middle fingers find themselves tapping rhythms on my desk, and I tightly clasp my friend’s hand rather than my wrist.
Your beliefs and faith aren’t worth more just because they make sense to you. Tearing down other cultures doesn’t make yours stronger. It’s okay to know that you will never know everything. Find comfort in it. Bask in the stories of those who have found a balance between realms. Realize that you may have more than 120 seconds.
Sources:
Adavi, P. (2015, May 12). Krishnamacharya: The Man behind Modern Yoga. India.com
Brown, K. S. (2003, October). Life of the Buddha. The MET.
Glicksman, E. (2022, September 30). Can We Choose the Moment We Die? The Washington Post.
Good, N. (2013, March 12). The Chronology of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. United Church of God.
Hamblin, J. (2014, May 30). Dead or Meditating? The Atlantic.
Meditation, S. (2015, May 7). Can Yogis Stop Their Heart? Skeptic Meditations.
Sansthan, D. J. J. (2014, June 16). Samadhi of Yogi Satyamurti: A Medically Proven Miracle.
Saplakoglu, Y. (2021, July 1). Free Divers’ Heart Rates can Drop as Low as 11 BPM. Live Science.