The average mortality in our country, as of the year 2020, is 69.7 years. While the on-going pandemic has wreaked havoc across the country, claiming more than 50,000 lives, the airport security at the Abu Dhabi airport recently came across a man who happened to amuse them by his age.
Who Is Swami Sivananda?
Remember how they said don’t judge a book by its cover? Well, we say don’t judge a man by his looks – they sure can be deceptive at times. Swami Sivananda is an Indian monk whose passport, when checked at the Abu Dhabi airport, revealed him to be 124 years old.
Sivananda was born on August 8th in the year 1896, as recorded in his passport. This man here has been among the very few centenarians who have lived through the last three centuries.
He had lost both his parents quite early in life and had been given away to a spiritual guru by his relatives. Sivananda accompanied his guru for a tour of India which concluded with them settling down in the holy city of Varanasi. There he grew up amidst extreme poverty and eventually adopted the life of a disciplined celibate.
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Is He Registered In The Guinness Book of World Records?
The oldest man according to the last update of the Guinness Book is a Japanese man named Jiroemon Kimura, who passed away in June 2013 at the age of 116 years. Currently, Melbourne’s Nessie Kluckhenn, who turned 110 on April 1, is known to be the oldest living man in the world.
Sivananda, who was initially reluctant of all the publicity, did apply to the Guinness Book of World Records after being persuaded by his followers. However, the only record of his birth seems to be an extremely obsolete temple registry from back in the nineteenth century.
An Inspirational Lifestyle
Swami has always believed in leading a healthy lifestyle – one devoid of any fancy food (which includes spices, milk, and even fruits) and sex and abundant exercise. His simple lifestyle coupled with a routinized regime of yoga has helped him remain fit all these years.
To date, the man sleeps on a mattress laid on the floor with a wooden slab as a headrest. The man has nothing to complain about except for the amount that people have changed over the centuries.
“Earlier people were happy with fewer things. Nowadays people are unhappy, unhealthy and have become dishonest, which pains me a lot,” said the 124-year-old man.
Having been born in an era where people had minimal knowledge of technology, he isn’t a big fan of it either. He loves traveling alone in trains even today.
At such distressing times of chaos around us, amusing facts of this sort indeed boost our spirits. Having witnessed three generations now passing by, all that this man craves for at the end of the day is happiness and peace.
Back to the basics, as they say!
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Hindustan Times, News18
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This post is tagged under: oldest man alive, oldest indian, oldest man on the planet, old age, fit indians, mortality rate, average age of indians, Guinness Book of world records, swami sivananda, varanasi, benares
AN INSPIRATION FOR LIVING A HEALTHY LIFE