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Dead Russian Buddhist Monk Itigilov Lama Lives 75 Years in Deep Meditation

Dead Russian Buddhist monk, Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov Lama is believed to be alive in deep meditation 75 years after his death

75 years after the death of Itigilov Lama, the Russian monk who passed away while in deep meditation, his body shows no signs of decay.

The mysterious body of Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov Lama lies in one of the biggest Buddhist temples in Russia, the Ivolginsky Datsan in Eastern Siberia. Although he officially died 75 years ago, his body shows no signs of decay and it’s driving scientists crazy.

In fact, many believe that Itigelov Lama is still alive and meditating in a deep state of nirvana. Whether he has defied death or not, his remains prove the presence of some mystical aura.

Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov Lama, Russian Buddhist monk, alive (left), and his remains in 2002 (right)

Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov Lama, Russian Buddhist monk, alive (left), and his remains in 2002 (right).

Before his death in 1927, Itigilov left a testament asking his fellow monks to bury him in the state he died in. He His final request was to buried in the lotus position, in which he had died.

Aged seventy-five years, he asked of his peers to begin performing funeral rites and to join him in meditation one last time. Since he was still alive, the other Lamas refused his request. Insisting to start the rituals, Itigelov Lama began meditating alone, and soon after other Lamas joined him he ceased to breathe.

A second clause in his testament asked of other monks to exhume his body every several years, and so they did. In 1955 and in 1973, Buddhist monks secretly unearthed his body, which was still in lotus position inside a pine box at a bumkhan (Lama burial site).

Fearing a reaction from the Soviet government the monks did not go public with their findings, which were the same that were found in 2002.

Ivolginsky datsan in Siberia

Ivolginsky datsan in Siberia, Russia.

On September 11, 2002, the body of Itigelov Lama was exhumed and relocated to the Ivolginsky datsan in Siberia, where it currently resides.

After being examined by monks and pathologists, the body still showed no signs of decay, at least not 75 years of decomposition. The official reports says that the body is “in the condition of someone who had died 36 hours ago” and very “well preserved.”

Maintaining all of his muscles, inner tissue, joints and skin, Itigelov Lama has been seen moving, according to monks at the temple.

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