Amar Bharati, a man who has raised his right arm for 50 years has revealed why he chose to do it.
Amar Bharati is an Indian Sadhu or ascetic, which means he practices self-denial or abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for spiritual reasons as per Merriam Webster.
The 74-year-old man claims he has not put his arm down for 50 years, but has revealed why he has stuck to suck a strict personal rule.
Bharati began this painful endeavor in 1973 and has kept the arm raised straight above his head for over five decades.
In the early 70s, he was not a spiritual man, leading an ordinary life working at a local bank, and married with three children.
For Bharati, he began to believe there was more to life and wanted to discover a deeper understanding.
That is what the Indian man set out to do, going to extreme lengths to change his way of life.
Bharati wanted to live the holiest existence, which meant he abandoned his wife and children to pave his new spiritual journey.
His life was now dedicated to Shiva, one of the three main Hindu gods.
Hindus believe Shiva’s powers of destruction and recreation are still in use today, to remove the world’s imperfections and illusions, as per BBC.
In Hinduism, the universe is thought to regenerate in cycles, every 2,160,000,000 years.
Shiva is believed to destroy the universe at the end of each cycle which allows for a new creation, as per World History Encyclopaedia.
After leaving his comfortable life behind he set on a journey walking the roads of India wearing his orange sadhu clothing and only carrying one possession, a trishula.
A trishula is a mental trident or spear with three metal points and is the favorite weapon of Shiva.
The three points represent the three aspects of god: creation, protection, and destruction as per the Province of Manitoba.
Bharati wanted to connect himself with Shiva even more so chose to raise his arm, to honor the god – but this would not be the only reason behind his 50-year-old decision.
The Indian man had become a well-respected Sadhu by the time he raised his arm, and this act only made him respected more in the Hindu community.
Bharati’s story has been shared across the world, and his dedication to his religion has been seen across social media.
For most people holding their arm in the air for more than a couple of minutes can cause rather uncomfortable pain but the 74-year-old had so much commitment to Shiva he braved the severe aches.
He decided he would keep his arm up in the air, never lowering it back down.
Reportedly it took around two years for the pain in his arm to subdue, but through his determination,
he was able to keep it up.
Due to his arm being up for so long, he has now lost all motion, sensation, and use of the limb, his muscles have withered away, and his arm is now half the size of his healthy left one.
Having his arm upright for so many years has meant he has no blood flow to it, meaning the damage to his arm is irreversible, and he would not be able to put his arm back down even if he wanted to.
The cartilage in his bones would be so fragile now, that if his arm was tried to be put back down it would likely snap off.
Bharati’s fingers and hands are also closed permanently shut curled up to his palm, his fingernails have grown so much that they now spiral down his wrist.
Not only did he take an oath to live this life dedicated to Shiva but he also decided to raise his limb as a ‘militate against wars and support world peace, according to the Greek Reporter.
In an interview with the History of Yesterday, the sadhu said: “I do not ask for much. Why are we fighting our sons among ourselves? Why is there so much hatred and enmity between us? I just want all Indians and the whole world to live in peace with each other.”
When a fellow sadhu was asked about Bharati’s arm he responded: “If you try to lower Bharati’s hand you will cause him real pain, not physical but spiritual, for he believes that his eternal salute does indeed promote world peace,” shared to The Jerusalem Post.
