Can you guess the age of this old man? Maybe around 80 or 90 years?
If you guessed any of the two numbers, you'd be wrong. Because as Swami Sivananda claims, he is 120-years old and is the oldest Indian man alive.
But how did he manage this feat? Well, he claims that only two things have helped him be fit and still young at heart were yoga and a vow of celibacy.
Hindu monk Swami Sivananda was reportedly born on August 8, 1896, or so says his passport. If this is true, then he has been around for almost three centuries. But surprisingly for his age, he is strong enough to perform yoga for hours! And now this Varanasi-based monk wants to apply to Guinness World Records to verify his claim.
The story of his life
Sivananda hails from the holy city of Varanasi, and reportedly grew up in extreme poverty. He later chose to become a monk and says that he owes his long age to 'yoga, discipline, and celibacy.'
"I lead a simple and disciplined life. I eat very simply -- only boiled food without oil or spices, rice and boiled daal (lentil stew) with a couple of green chillies," he told AFP after a two-hour yoga session in Kolkata.
All of 1.58 metres (five feet two inches), monk Sivananda sleeps on a floor mat and uses a wooden slab as his pillow. "I avoid taking milk or fruits because I think these are fancy foods. In my childhood I slept many days on an empty stomach," he says.
He also mentioned that he was persuaded by his followers to claim the record and had never applied for it before. Narrating his life story, he revealed that he had been orphaned at the age of six and was given away to a spiritual guru by his relatives. He then travelled with his guru around India before settling in Varanasi.
What about his health?
Curiously, he lives independently and is absolutely fit, without any medical complications. He often travels alone in trains and does not need anybody's help. That's how he likes his life- simple and easy, he says.
For a simple man who was born in the colonial era, he is still not accustomed to new technology and prefers to be without it anyway.
"Earlier people were happy with fewer things. Nowadays people are unhappy, unhealthy and have become dishonest, which pains me a lot," he says. "I just want people to be happy, healthy and peaceful."
Read: Here’s why this 77-year-old single Indian lady doesn’t regret getting married!
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(Image courtesy: AFP)
