Hira Ratan Manek

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Hira Ratan Manek (born September 12, 1937) claims that since June 18th, 1995, he has lived exclusively on water, and occasional tea, coffee, and buttermilk. He says sunlight is the key to his health, citing the Jainist Tirthankara Mahavira, ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Native Americans as his inspiration.

According to his website, three extended periods of his fasting have been under observed control of scientific and medical teams. The first lasted 211 days in 1995-96 in Kolkata, India under the direction of Dr. C. K. Ramachandran. The second lasted 411 days in 2000-2001 in Ahmedabad, India under the direction of a 21 member team of medical doctors and scientists led by Dr. Sudhir Shah and Dr. K. K. Shah, the acting President of the Indian Medical Association. Dr. Sudhir Shah won an award for his synopsis. The third study lasted 130 days in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Thomas Jefferson University and University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Dr. Andrew Newberg and Dr. George Brenard.

However, contact with Dr. Andrew Newberg has revealed that Hira only stayed at University of Pennsylvania for brain scans on studies of meditation, not his ability to fast indefinitely. Dr. Andrew Newberg had denied ever undertaking the 130 day study. Dr. Andrew Newburg had explicitly forbidden his e-mail from being distributed. He is freely contactable by e-mail for those who wish to verify the above statements.^{[citation needed]}