The Hindu has been holding his hand up for 44 years now

Indian Sadhu (saint, ascetic) Amar Bharati has been holding his hand up for 44 years. Before he embarked on the spiritual path, his name was Mahant Amar Bharti Ji and he was a clerk in New Delhi. In 1973, he raised his hand above his head in honor of the god Shiva and never lowered it, despite the pain and deformity.

After so many years, his hand turned into useless bones, covered with skin, with thick and spiraled nails (because no one cut them). The arm completely atrophied and froze in an unnatural, almost vertical position.

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Before becoming a sadhu, Amar Bharati was an ordinary representative of the Indian middle class, he had a job and a family. But one morning he realized that it didn't matter, he gave up everything and devoted his life to serving the Hindu god Shiva.

Three years later, in 1973, he realized that he was still connected with worldly temptations, and decided to cut himself off from them by holding his hand up.

Some sources claim that Amar Bharati was in great pain because of wars and strife all over the world, and he decided to raise his hand up for peace. Despite his mundane past, Sadhu Amar Bharati is highly revered during the rituals of the Kumbha mela mass pilgrimage in Haridwar.

The Maha Kumbha Mela in Haridwar is one of the largest religious mass events in the world. Amar Bharati inspired other sadhus to raise their hands for peace and harmony. Some of them have been holding their hands up for 7, 13 and even 25 years.

In an interview, Sadhu Amar Bharati said that his spiritual discourse focuses on bitterness and strife in the modern world, on how people destroy their neighbors, and what is most important is to live in peace and harmony.

When asked if his raised arm hurts, Amar replies that it hurt, but he got used to it. Like most ascetics, he didn't want to talk about life before he made his vow.

Amar Bharati explains that he is doing the same thing that many saints have done before him, and that he is just continuing the tradition. In India, this is called "urdhaman tapasya" and denotes a type of service when an ascetic dedicates part of his body to God.

Although there is no documentary evidence that Amar Bharati held his hand up for 44 years, it is known that Indian sadhus perform unusual tasks in the name of faith, such as sleeping standing up or fasting for a long time. In India, there is a saint Prahlad Jani, who has not eaten or drunk anything for 70 years. His case has been verified and documented by doctors.