When I visited Rome with my mother and a close friend of hers from India, Arvinder Singh, we, along with all the other tourists crowding the streets, were baffled when we came across this sight.
It looks as if the one man sitting on the grounds is holding up the other man who appears to be balancing, sitting cross legged on a pole. It seemed to me that according to Physics, this should not be possible, but my mother’s Indian friend mentioned that Sadhus can levitate. Sadhus are monks who are solely dedicating to achieving the “final” state of life through meditation and contemplation.
I wondered and questioned Arvinder about levitation. I wanted to know what enables a human being to counter the force of gravity. The photo defies Western logic. No pressure seems to be exerted on the pole that the man is sitting on. The man holding the pole doesn’t seem to be struggling to hold up so much weight. The whole scene looks like magic trickery, an illusion, or a hallucination, but I was there with my mother and friend and I couldn’t figure out what was up- except the man sitting on the pole.
Arvinder explained about levitation, a spiritual practice involving meditation that transcends many human limitations. Some Hindu gurus who have become siddhas (those who have achieved spiritual powers) have the ability to levitate. Levitation is said to be possible by mastering the Hindu philosophy of yoga. Buddhists also claim the power to levitate.
You will notice the men holding prayer beads which they spun between their fingers while looking at the ground. Buddhists and Hindus use prayer beads while meditating to help them stay focused. The beads are used to count the number of times a mantra or the names of a deity are recited, chanted or repeated in the mind. This practice is called japa. The beads are called mala and typically consist of 16, 27, 54 or 108 beads.
Although monks say a mantra when they levitate, the two men I watched (on two different occasions in two different locations on sidewalks sitting on their blanket) didn’t appear to make any noise or speak to each other. They were in the position I photographed when I arrived.
I’m sure others there watching that day had similar questions as I did and I wonder if they found answers. It pays to travel and explore with friends from other cultures - one learns so much more. Arvinder and I both questioned whether real Sadhus would “levitate” for tourists and money. As we continued to discuss an explanation for the image, I found the following article and video which shows an interesting explanation - a metal rod that is hidden in the clothes of the “monk” which is in the ground and is part of the wooden looking beam that holds a stool on which the upper monk is perched. This stool is also hidden by the draping clothes. I wish I was there in person to examine the scene closer. I’ll have to wait until my next trip to India, I guess.
Sydney Kahl is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program
Photo courtesy and copyright Sydney Kahl