Eva Mehta- Devoted and Disciplined

Eva and her Mom

Condekedar alerted us to an interesting story in the Chicago Tribune, via our NewsTab. Eva Mehta, a 17-year old from Evanston, set a local record by fasting for over a month:

At times, the 17-year-old was so weak and nauseated that her parents had to use a wheelchair to bring her from their van to their Jain temple in Bartlett. When the hunger pangs hit hard, she would pinch her ears. But she kept up her fast, even when she went to bed hungry and dreamed of food.
“I would just say in my mind, ‘No, it’s not real. I just won’t eat it. I’m not going to eat this until I’m done fasting,’ ” she said.

That’s trippy– so she was fasting, even in her dreams. Homegirl is hard-core!

How did she do it?

“I always tried to keep my mind, just pray to my god every day,” Mehta said recently, appearing happy and relaxed. “I would pray, just help me get rid of this feeling. I always pinch my ear and pray whenever I’m hungry.”

I’m going to have to remember that ear-pinching thing, for later. In other news, I always thought there were more Jains in India. Well, I learned something new for today:

Her fast ended Sept. 3 after 34 days. By then the 5-foot-4 Evanston teen had lost 33 pounds, her weight dropping to 119.
Chicago-area Jains rejoiced at her feat. Members of the ancient Indian religion fast every year in honor of the festival of Paryushan Parva. They regard fasting as a spiritual discipline, a way to remove bad karma and bring blessings to a person strong enough to survive for days or weeks on nothing but water.
Dating to as early as the 7th Century B.C., Jainism teaches a path to enlightenment through a life founded on nonviolence to all creatures. Jains represent less than 1 percent of the Indian population.
Many faiths have ascetic traditions that embrace fasting, but few carry it to such lengths as the Jains. In some cases, Jains practice santhara, or fasting until death, in order to free the soul from its sins.

Fasts are often held during the festival of Paryushan Parva, which is celebrated by the two major sects of Jains: the Swetambaras and Digambaras, members of whom fasted through Sunday…When the fast ends, Jains ask for forgiveness for any violence or wrong they may have done in the past year.

Eva has been preparing herself for this feat, for years:

Mehta has been fasting for her faith from the time she was 13. She started with a three-day fast and increased the days of fasting each year, until this year when she insisted she would go a month.

When I was Eva’s age, I fought with my parents about fasting for seven weeks, for Lent. Jain, Christian, whatever…we all have desi parents in common. 😉

Her parents were of mixed minds. Her father, Subhash, had no doubt she could do it, but her mother, Smita, was hesitant.
“I worried about her health,” her mother said. “I finally said, ‘If you’re going to be sick, we don’t want [you to fast] anymore. Next day, you can use the food. Don’t do the fasting.’ Well, she was OK.”

This bit has riled some of the commenters under the news article, who think it is proof that Eva’s fasting was tantamount to neglect or abuse:

She skipped the first week of school at Evanston Township High School.

I know my parents wouldn’t have allowed me to miss any school or work. They’re just not that holy. 😉 Speaking of, here comes the brownest part of the story:

Although he is proud of his daughter, her dad said she will not attempt such a feat next year.
“One-day, two-day, three-day fast—that’s all,” he said. “I don’t want her to miss school.”

Some of our readers are still fasting, for Ramadan; they have two weeks to go. While Ramadan requires fasting during the day, eating is allowed at night. In contrast, Eva was only allowed water, but only before sundown.

85 thoughts on “Eva Mehta- Devoted and Disciplined

  1. 46 · Bobby said

    RahulD:Don’t be rude.

    The title of that article you linked is in direct contradiction with what he said…if you don’t want to be subject to stereotyping, don’t do it to others.

    Besides, declaring that anorexics find fasting appealing is so much of stating the obvious that I can’t find an appropriate metaphor.

  2. If she didn’t take multivitamins, she probably also developed a bit of scurvy. Not getting any Vitamin C for 1 month is dangerous. Not to mention all the other vitamin deficiencies. I really feel sorry for this girl. Someone who knew something about nutrition should have talked to her beforehand. She is going to be dealing with negative consequences from this for a long time, possibly forever. Also, she must have gone through a lot of muscle wasting since she didn’t get any protein for a month. When she gets older and learns more (assuming she hasn’t also suffered brain damage as a result of this) she’ll probably look back on this as the stupidest thing she ever did.

  3. As a Jain and a physician, I understand the perceived contradiction here. But the intent is to attain mastery over the senses. That intent is the whole basis of the religion: non-violence and reverence for those who have conquered their inner enemies. There are documented feats well beyond 34 days of fasting – no one pressured her into this (actually quite the contrary we encouraged her to break her fast) and were she to not physically have been able to tolerate her fast, she would have opted out – hence we honor her spirit.

    There is no concept of “becoming closer to Mahavir” in Jainism. It is, at the roots, a religion that believes in the liberation of the individual soul and not tied to any salvation by a deity.

    Any feat that tests the limits of human endurance – ironman triathletes, etc. have rhabdomyolysis as a consequence – but we are not quick to jump on these endeavors – rather, we derive inspiration from this human struggle…

    A lot of opinions posted here denigrate her search. You’re not obligated to consider her fast an “achievement” but her mastery over the senses is impressive (and an inspiration if that is a personal goal of yours).

  4. Hemant – Jainism is atheistic… so that’s an interesting conversion from Jainism to atheism. Sounds more like you quit the Jain society, which is understandable.

  5. Pman, If she had come to you in a professional setting , suffering from weakness and nausea, you would have recommended what? Your documented notes on extreme fasting and send her on her way? Or plain old commom sense? Isn’t weakness and nausea ” not physically have been able to tolerate her fast”?

  6. PMan, as a doctor (!) what are your thoughts on self-flogging (Shia Muslims and some Christian sects), walking on fire (Tamil Hindus), burying babies (Tamil Hindus), Alagu Kaavadi (Skewering) (Tamil Hindus), etc?

  7. said

    Have you considered the possibility that she has an eating disorder?
    3 · khoofia have you considered the possibility that you are a cynic. open your heart like a lotus and may knowledge grow into your hollow like a turgid courgette – thus spake le khoof.

    Yes, but seriously, have you considered the possibility that she has an eating disorder?

    Did you know? * 8,000,000 or more people in the United States have an eating disorder. * 90% are women. * Victims may be rich or poor. * Eating disorders usually start in the teens but may begin as early as age 8.

    Brought to you by the good people who like scientific rigour.

  8. A lot of opinions posted here denigrate her search. You’re not obligated to consider her fast an “achievement” but her mastery over the senses is impressive (and an inspiration if that is a personal goal of yours).

    As someone who has had body image issues from myriad sources, I can tell you that it’s not fun and shouldn’t be papered over in the name of community or ideology. I don’t know her and have never spoken to her, but there are other lenses to look at this in addition to “culture.” I would suggest as a basic standard that we consider all the factors relevant in this person’s life.

    But we can’t here and we’re driven to comment. So YES she has (apparently) framed her actions in terms of Jainism and YES she nonetheless remains a teenage girl in America. What is relevant at the end of the day is who this person was and what she was thinking and how she was going about thinking about it, not her identities, her “community” or anything else. As an ABD, without complete information, I would lean towards believing that her “search” is a) self-destructive and b) probably irresponsible to endorse though I’d have to look into it further.

    This situation is saddening to me and I think it denigrates faith, spirtuality, and even ascetism to believe that someone not thinking clearly who is starving themsleves to death is doing something “good.” There is a need to transcend the narrow argument about faith that uses a person’s body- and especially a woman’s body -as a place where men fight over their religious/spiritual/community worldviews. We shouldn’t reject her or be horrified by her actions because she is exotic as I’m sure many people will – but neither should we start ignoring that she remains first and foremost a biological and social and emotional and spiritual person before all else.

  9. A lot of opinions posted here denigrate her search. You’re not obligated to consider her fast an “achievement” but her mastery over the senses is impressive (and an inspiration if that is a personal goal of yours).

    Pman, my comments were not meant to denigrate her search, if you’re referring to what I said. Mastery over the senses or mastery over desires can occur with daily meditation – a practice that can extend beyond 34 days and without starvation. Try to separate your thoughts from your ego or come to an understanding that desire leads to suffering – that’s some difficult stuff. Not sure if my concern is the article’s focus on the 34 days or the practice of month-long starvation as a way to have mastery over the senses. Wouldn’t 3 – 4 days be a sufficient enough test?

    What would really be a tremendous feat would be going 34 days on a digital diet – no computer, mp3 player, radio, tv, etc. – digital asceticism could be the new religion. As Manju pointed out driving for days with no radio led him to new spiritual heights. (I only sound like I’m kidding.)

  10. I totally agree with pman. What do all the naysayers think of people who attempt the ironman? I suppose they must be ridiculed and condemned as well. No wait, they’re off the hook because they must take their vitamins. But I really don’t see why everyone must conform to some godawful standard of normality. Where lifestyle issues are concerned, it never ceases to amaze me how narrowminded americans tend to be. People pay lip service to diversity all the time, but when they have an example of diversity staring them in the face, all they can think of is how abnormal it is. Pitiful. This is not to say religions don’t have a myriad problems – dogmatism being one of the worst of them, but the comments here display a dogmatism and narrowmindedness worse than any that could be inflicted by religion.

  11. Lot of the people are referring to fasting as eating disorder. Just because she is able to fast for 34 days does not mean she has eating disorder. Also just because she needs a wheelchair etc, does not mean she is sick. It just probably means that she is physically weak.

    If she regularly skips food, then we should call it a eating disorder.

    I am surprised how people call her sick, with eating disorder and donot understand the intent of the fasting.

    Lot of religion have fasting as a way to cleanse your body, get more control on your 5 senses and many other reasons.

  12. Fasting in any form is a great feat of will-power. But given her hefty size before the fast, one does wonder if the motivation behind the fast was purely spiritual. I think that’s where this eating disorder idea is coming from.

  13. 37 · RahulD said

    34 · Pravin said I wonder if some of her female white classmates who are prone to anorexia figured that it is better to convert to Jainism so they can fast for a ridiculous amount of time without guilt. The bulimics won’t buy it though as they need to eat. What a wonderfully educated and erudite statement. Did we just finish our first week of PSYC 101 or did that statment not even involve such basic cognitions and knowledge?

    Psych101 was the easiest “A” I ever got in college. in the wake of the newsweek article, I shall remove the “white” description and stand by the rest .

  14. 17 is not 18[!!ya, I figured it out all by myself 🙂 ]…. is there a possibility her parents get into trruble for child neglect?

  15. In view of Dr. A’s em-PHA-sis on scientific rigor, and side-stepping the interpretative findings of a mainstream media source that requires its articles to be dumbed down for a wider audience…I would like to point out that a lot of Psychological Disorders are over-diagnosed; Eating Disorders, ADHD, Bi-Polar, Depression…a lot of these are overdiagnosed. The criteria (DSM) cannot always be translated across cultures. Now since a lot of this over-diagnosis is by Doctors, even their “opinions” on her disorder are incomplete and probably misdiagnoses, without taking into account the relevant socio-cultural factors. Just coz a bunch of Indians (whom we cannot relate to for whatever reason) do it, does not make it a disorder…

  16. 2 · she is crazy said

    in all due respect for fasting and 2-3 day fasts and ramadan.. that is fine… but fasting for a month, and losing 33 lbs, not healthy for the body, and honestly very harmful… my argument for all fasts, does god really care that you are hungry? honestly does hunger make you think of god more? i beg to differ and never understood it. period. peace.

    guatam buddha did it. but in hermits case, they eat enough to live another day,, well i don’t understand it well. but religious people from many religions do it.

  17. I do not know about the rest of you people here. But I got a good laugh out of the “pinching her ears” part of the story. It just seemed like a funny visual.

  18. But Mehta’s fast stands as a temple record,… say Jain leaders, who plan to hold a celebration Saturday at the Bartlett temple for Mehta and others who fasted.

    Whoa, dude! Awesome spirituality there! Joey Chestnut ain’t got nothin’ on her.

    She should market her Jainy Craig diet on Oprah.

  19. we know that all the pleasure is in the foreplay
    unless you are a guy!

    Someone’s not doing their job…

    But all the pleasure isn’t in the foreplay either. You have to make all of it fun. 🙂

  20. my argument for all fasts, does god really care that you are hungry? honestly does hunger make you think of god more? i beg to differ and never understood it. period.

    Actually, it would be more fruitful to question the concept of god than to question the practice of fasting. i’m not the fasting type either and i agree there’s a whiff of celebrity-seeking about this whole thing. But in general i’m a believer in feats of endurance. I think they help get rid of fear, build courage, endurance, etc. anything’s better than a craven, vitamin-popping existence.

  21. In our wholesome hamlet, we grow good ‘mericans who would abhor the idea of “fast” and “women” being mentioned in the same sentence.

  22. 70 · RahulD said

    In view of Dr. A’s em-PHA-sis on scientific rigor, and side-stepping the interpretative findings of a mainstream media source that requires its articles to be dumbed down for a wider audience…I would like to point out that a lot of Psychological Disorders are over-diagnosed; Eating Disorders, ADHD, Bi-Polar, Depression…a lot of these are overdiagnosed. The criteria (DSM) cannot always be translated across cultures. Now since a lot of this over-diagnosis is by Doctors, even their “opinions” on her disorder are incomplete and probably misdiagnoses, without taking into account the relevant socio-cultural factors. Just coz a bunch of Indians (whom we cannot relate to for whatever reason) do it, does not make it a disorder…

    I agree with you that American psychiatric describing and prescribing is often full o’ it, especially when the market gets involved. But at the same time I can recognize that South Asian American culture(s) frequently have an aversion to dealing with mental health issues, sexual abuse, lgbt issues, patriarchy, overfocus on status, and a lot of other things. There are ways of not being a race traitor without ignoring what seem to be obvious problems from other ways of looking at the world (like believing that people should not fast to the point of having to be carried from a vehicle to a building at the age of 17, all else equal ;)). in fact, one might argue that not doing so would be pretty Orientalist.

  23. It just seems kind of odd that the temple would mention that she holds the record for the longest fast. It makes it seem like she did it through the spirit of competition.

    And surely there are better ways of controlling your senses than doing dangerous things like that. At least, with sports, where athletes do push themselves beyond endurance, they still make sure that they get plenty of fuel and that everything is in working order. Religion shouldn’t be about trying to indulge in as self-destructive behavior as possible, and setting yourself up for vitamin deficiencies, muscle wasting, and other long-term problems. Sure, it’s about improving your life, but not at the cost of making your body break down.

  24. A large section of my social circle is Jain. Funny how ALL the people I know who’ve undertaken the fast are female. Funny how the ones who fasted until death (becoming “Saints”) were all Widows.

  25. Sorry Anna, I just got seriously wound up by the adoring tone of your article. Funny how you scratch the surface of a religion (any one – no particular hate for Jainism), and something dark and dirty oozes out.

  26. 80 · pj said

    Sorry Anna, I just got seriously wound up by the adoring tone of your article.

    Not at all…no need to apologize! I’m glad you commented, because I am surprised my tone was adoring– that’s not what I wanted to convey. Constructive feedback is always really helpful, so thank you. I was striving for something neutral, because I know people who take fasting really seriously…just like I know people who think indulging in it is sheer idiocy which no God would truly appreciate.

    Every year, before lent, I get a lecture from my Mom about how we’re already vegetarian and my going vegan for my fast is a terrible idea, since I’m addicted to milk and it’s how I get almost all my protein. So I could relate to the child-parent dynamic, but I am also a bit concerned about how weak they allowed her to become…I never needed a wheelchair, and the one time I grew even slightly “feeble”, my priest intervened and told me to cut that shit out. “God doesn’t want you to get sick. He wants you to grow. This is a time for reflection, not self-abuse” etc.

    I don’t adore Eva– but I can appreciate another person of faith, practicing hers. 🙂

  27. 78 · pj said

    A large section of my social circle is Jain. Funny how ALL the people I know who’ve undertaken the fast are female. Funny how the ones who fasted until death (becoming “Saints”) were all Widows.

    As a Jain male I have fasted numerous times, never more than a day. It is a humbling, educational and philosophically awakening experience. You feel a lot more generous towards poor people once you go through it. While there is no documented coorelation, Jains are very generous with donations in India. Santhara is a highly misunderstood practice, don’t repeat it without researching.

  28. 10 · Sage khoofia said

    a week. It was very hard.

    I don’t know whether you are joking or not, but I did that once as a kid. This was way back in India, my school had arranged a boy scout camp. The first time I went into the bathroom, lizards flew over me and jumped on the ground. They tried to jump back to where they were. It was horrifying. So, I was scared to go to the bathroom. Other boys would take a dump in the woods; something which I could never do. I would pee in the woods, but I couldn’t dump. So, all week, I was walking around trying to control my bowels. I wouldn;t eat much either because the camp food sucked

  29. the latest on the jains.. in mumbai they have now decided that as a community they will not eat past sundown.. so no parties/ receptions etc in the evenings now..

  30. I think a lot of this is being slightly misunderstood, as a Jain myself, I can understand where Eva is coming from, though I have never been able to fast more than a day. My brother on the other hand does the whole fast for the 8 days of paryushan while attending school. In my family we were allowed to do the fasting as long as it didn’t interfere with other responsibilities like school. I’m surprised that her mother didn’t make her eat when she was too weak to walk to the temple from the car. The fasting has a lot to do with inner reflection, though Eva stated she prayed to her God, I think she meant more as a meditation aspect since as a Jain we have no controller of the Universe, no creator or Destroyer Gods, just Teachers that show us the way to enlightenment. Human beings who had found the way. I just think that people need to look at two things, in the aspects of abuse and so forth – one her parents did not make her do it, though she won’t be allowed to do it again next year. and in the aspects of a psychological disorder, if you fast – and this has happened to a lot of my friends – when you go back to eating you actually gain more weight then you lost cause your body kind of hordes it in case it goes without again, fasting basically slows down your metabolism so in the end it’s not a good way to lose weight. Also she was doing it on a spiritual level is it not allowed in our society to do anything against the norm with out it meaning you have psychological disorder. She thinks a different way then you, she has different values does not mean she is suffering from anorexia!

  31. Hi this is Eva Mehta. The girl who did 34 day of fasting. if u have any question i will anwser.