An elderly monk from India was heading from his hometown of Calcutta to London with a layover in Abu Dhabi and attracted the attention of the airport staff in the United Arab Emirates. He gained worldwide fame by simply showing his passport.
When the check-in officer saw the passenger’s date of birth, she was so surprised that she turned to security to investigate the situation. According to the ID the man provided, the Indian man, Swami Sivanata, was the oldest person on the planet.
The passport stated that the man was born in the previous century, specifically on August 8, 1896. If we were to believe this information, it would mean that the passenger celebrated his 123rd birthday in 2019, which in turn would make him seven years older than the Japanese woman Kane Tanaka, who was considered the oldest living person.
The Abu Dhabi airport employees were so alarmed by the fact that the elderly Indian man looked twice as young as his presumed age. He had a clear mind, easy speech, enviable agility, and the health that allowed him to endure long flights. However, a thorough check of the document’s authenticity revealed no forgery; the passport turned out to be genuine. The old man was allowed to board the plane to London, and the news of the extraordinary passenger spread worldwide.
Swami Sivanata was surprised by the attention he received because he didn’t see anything extraordinary in his longevity. According to the monk, he owed his long life to asceticism, yoga, and restraint. Even at such an honorable age, the man still sleeps on a hard floor and uses a piece of wood instead of a pillow.
He abstains from meat, dairy products, sweets, fruits, spices, and other indulgences. He has never engaged in intimate relationships, having lost his loved ones in early childhood. Swami became a disciple of an Indian guru at the age of five; he directed the boy towards the path of spiritual knowledge and the search for harmony with the world.
Over the long years of traveling around India in poverty, in constant deprivation, the venerable old man learned discipline, which he believes is the key to human health and longevity. Regular physical exercises, a life close to nature, the ability to control one’s desires, and the elimination of negative emotions through long meditation—those are the secrets of Swami Sivanata’s remarkably long life, which he willingly shares with everyone.
The old man only consumes boiled vegetables without oil or any spices, as he firmly believes that a simple reassessment of one’s diet and eating habits, physical activity, and the ability to abstract oneself from negativity could add years to one’s life and significantly improve its quality.
While the monk generously gives advice and shared wisdom, representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records started showing interest in him.
If the information about his birth date is confirmed, the man will be recognized not only as the oldest living person but also as the oldest person in the world overall. After all, he could break the record of Jeanne Calment from France, who died in 1997 at the age of 122.”
