Johnny Lovewisdom
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Johnny Lovewisdom (born July 23, 1919, died October 12, 2000) was the author of The Buddhist Essene Gospel of Jesus. He promoted a raw food diet called Vitarianism, a diet that includes raw yogurt, vegetables, and a great deal of raw fruit. As a youth he promoted a strict fruit diet but later changed it to the "Vitarian" diet with vegetables, raw yogurt and avocado. In 1998, inspired by visiting young fruitarians, he returned to promoting a strict fruitarian diet, which he called the "Vitarian Fruit-Salad Diet". He tried to live solely on the papaya tree's fruit and leaves. Eventually, he started to bleed profusely as a result of developing a severe allergic reaction to papaya. He also promoted breatharianism (the idea that humans do not need food or water and can live on "spiritual energy" alone[1]), "Modern Live Juice Therapy," and a number of other unusual "lifestyle" diets. Likely as a result of various diets, he suffered from paralysis, poor eyesight and is thought to have had neurological problems associated with vitamin B12 deficiency.
He lived as a hermit in the mountain crater lake, Quilotoa, in Ecuador. Lovewisdom believed that the thin air at high altitudes would allow him to develop clairvoyance and "drink alcohol like water without getting drunk."[2] For a time, he ran a mail order diploma mill and signed his name followed by several degrees: N.H.D, M.D, Sc. D, Ps. D, Ph. D, D.D.
He believed himself to be the reincarnation of Milarepa and John the Baptist[3]. As the successor[citation needed] to Kuthumi Lal Singh, Tashi Lama and Maha Chohan, he founded the International University of Natural Living at Vilcabamba, Ecuador in 1962 with its credo "build paradise and eat the fruits thereof." He started the "Pristine Order of Paradisian Perfection", a religious order. He authored over 50 books including Spiritualizing Dietetics, Vitarianism, and The Buddhist Essene Gospel of Jesus.
