Man is in an endless pursuit to achieve immortality.
For as far as mankind’s written history allows us to recall, humanity has always been
fascinated in finding ways to extend our lifespan in the hopes of slowing, if not putting a
permanent stop, to our body’s inevitable biological aging process.
For some, our attempts at prolonging life is limited to the more conventional method
of leading a healthy lifestyle by eating nourishing food, exercising and maintaining a positive
and tranquil state of mind.
However, at several points in our past, we find people who have pushed the boundaries
of human creativity and imagination in their attempt to gain eternal youth.
From a more scientific standpoint that we have today, some of the lengths these individuals
had taken during their lifetime to become immortal are not only deemed as completely
misguided but could also be regarded as bordering on insanity.
And so, for this video, let’s enumerate the insane things people have done throughout
history to achieve immortality or eternal youth.
Number 1 - Bathing in Sour Donkey Milk.
Cleopatra came to be known in history as the last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt and is arguably
the most famous member of the Ptolemaic dynasty’s royal line.
But other than her role in the Roman political conflicts that eventually led to the downfall
of the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, she also gained renown for her striking beauty
and irresistible allure.
As to how she managed to retain her youthful and brilliant glow, Cleopatra regularly bathed
in sour donkey milk.
In the ancient times, the donkey’s milk was used as some kind of chemical peel, as
the lactic acid it contains peels off the topmost layer of the human skin.
The queen was also believed to be fascinated with using other means to maintain and enhance
her physical appearance such as utilizing crocodile feces as a rudimentary form of makeup
foundation.
Number 2 – Drinking the Blood of Gladiators.
The Romans were very creative when it came to coming up with various and sometimes revolting
concoctions in an attempt to improve their health or extend their lifespan.
One example of an unpleasant habit that the Romans largely practiced for centuries is
drinking the blood of gladiators.
As people who fought to the death for a living, gladiators were highly-regarded for their
bravery, strength and vitality.
And it was believed that those who would want to inherit a gladiator’s power must drink
the warrior’s warm blood in order to consume his essence and soul.
In fact, some people who suffered from epilepsy at the time considered the blood of gladiators
as an effective cure for their affliction.
Their blood was such a hot commodity during this era that people would rush down into
the arena and sip a vanquished fighter’s blood straight from his arm or throat to absorb
his power.
There were also concession stands that made a lucrative living by selling the blood of
these gladiators while the blood servings were still warm.
Number 3 – Consumption of Immortality Pills & Elixirs of Life.
The Western world was not the only civilization interested in finding the answer to attaining
eternal youth.
Imperial China’s history is also filled with tales of men or groups of people who
have dedicated much of their life in concocting immortality pills and elixirs of life that
would grant ceaseless existence, be it physical or spiritual.
Many Chinese alchemists have dared to make their own formulas of pills and elixirs that
could supposedly cease and potentially even reverse the process of human aging.
These efforts were largely supported by several emperors as well as members of the noble bloodline
who hoped death would not be able to take away their power, influence and legacy.
The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, for example, was not just known
for being the first ruler to unify China; he was also known for his obsession in finding
the key to immortality.
He sent people away to look in different parts of his vast empire for a “real” Elixir
of Life that would grant him eternal life.
He even took immortality pills which were formulated by his alchemists.
In the end, the emperor died young at 39 years of age and the most likely cause of his demise
was mercury poisoning, perhaps from all the immortality pills he consumed during his brief
life.
Unfortunately, the dream of living forever was not exclusive to Qin Shi Huang.
Many other emperors of China that came after him also regularly consumed immortality pills
and drank elixirs which contained toxic substances, and instead of extending their lives, these
pills and elixirs only shortened the duration of their respective reigns.
Number 4 – Self-Mummification.
Mummification is the process which involves the intentional or incidental preservation
of a deceased’s skin, flesh and organs.
But not all mummified bodies were preserved after their death; some people in the past
deliberately commenced the preservation of their corporeal body while they were still
alive in order to achieve a superior and more enlightened state of being.
“Sokushinbutsu” is an ascetic practice of Buddhist monks largely performed in Japan
which is believed to have started sometime in the 11th century.
This extreme Buddhist practice of asceticism involved the shunning of all worldly pleasures
to the point that the monks would enter a process of self-mummification even while they
were still alive.
The Sokushinbutsu requires a period of around 3,000 days up to ten years before the entire
process is completed by devoted monks.
They would have to follow a very strict diet referred to as “mokujikigyo,” which literally
translates to “eating a tree.”
This means that the monk could not eat anything more than the seeds and resins that could
be gathered in the mountains, and must abstain from eating cereals.
Eventually, these monks would fast and meditate for longer periods of time until they completely
starve themselves, denying themselves even the consumption of liquids.
Even in this weakened condition, they would continue to be in a state of “jhana” or
meditation until they die.
Their dehydrated bodies would become naturally preserved mummies that are still revered and
venerated by many followers of Buddhism.
Some people today even still regard these mummified monks as very much alive although
their bodies are said to be in a deep meditative trance.
Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Japan attempted to achieve this extreme form of meditative
state, but only 24 monks so far were granted the status of being the “Living Buddha.”
Eventually, the practice of Sokushinbutsu was outlawed by the government of Japan in
the late 19th century although self-mummification in their culture still endured until the 20th
century.
At present, however, Sokushinbutsu is no longer an advocated Buddhist practice in the country.
(DRINKING GOLD CHLORIDE)
Number 5 – Drinking Gold Chloride.
Among the most notable cases of people who have pursued eternal youth is that of Diane
de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henry II of France.
The king’s official wife was Catherine de’ Medici but he found much comfort in having
the widow Diane de Poitiers as his companion even though she was 20 years older than him.
History books wrote of her youthful appearance and her porcelain-like skin that never seemed
to fade even as she grew older.
King Henry II’s mistress took great lengths to ensure that she maintained her physique.
She kept in shape by swimming daily, horseback riding and hunting.
However, her beauty secret that ensured permanence of her great white skin is her regular consumption
of an elixir which contained a mixture of gold chloride and diethyl ether.
This concoction was very popular at French court and was believed at the time to be an
effective anti-aging treatment for its ability to harness the power of the sun and transfer
it to its drinker.
However, Diane de Poitiers’s obsession with keeping her youthful beauty came at a great
cost, as her desire to look forever young and the remedy she resorted to in order to
preserve her appearance was the one that slowly and eventually killed her.
At age 66, her daily dose of gold chloride indeed made her look half her actual age,
but she is also thought to have succumbed to the secondary effect of the concoction
– that is, chronic gold poisoning.
(CONCLUSION)
Even in modern times, man remains engrossed in its quest for eternal youth and prolonging
human life.
Most people have chosen to stick with more conventional methods such as maintaining a
healthy and active lifestyle, while others have turned to the breakthroughs of medical
science for more radical options that would allow them to enhance their beauty and cling
onto their youth for as long as possible.
The priorities of modern science, of course, are beyond maintaining a person’s young
and beautiful aesthetics.
The field of medical science is also fixated with making the human body impervious to deterioration
by finding a way to permanently suppress cell death and consequently achieve actual physical
immortality.
There’s no certainty when humanity may successfully unlock the secret to eternal life and perpetual
youth, but should the time come that we do become immortals, what do you think would
life mean for us then if we consciously know that we can never die?
Perhaps that is the bigger mystery we should try and answer first.