How long can you hold out you hand? Five minutes? An hour maybe? Never in the history of mankind has a man perpetually held out his hand without needing a wedge.
Biblical figure, Moses, when his people, the Israelites, were confronted by the Amalekites in battle, held out his two hands raised while holding a staff on top a mountain. As long as his hands were held up, the Israelites triumphed over their enemies.
Exodus 17:8-13 NIV
The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. [9] Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” [10] So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. [11] As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. [12] When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. [13] So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
But did lifting Moses’ arms and staff actually affect the battle, or was it a symbolic act to inspire Israel?
Just as Moses’ staff was a symbol of God’s power during the plagues in Egypt and over the Red Sea, it here represented God’s power in this battle. By raising the staff on the top of the hill, Moses no doubt inspired the Israelites to fight courageously.
But just like Moses did it for religious reasons, a man in India, by the name Amar Bharati chose to abandon all and live the rest of his life with his hand raised for the Hindu god, Shiva.
In the 1970s, Mr. Amar Bharati used to work at a local bank in India, where he lived with his wife and 3 children. Despite his above average life, Bharati felt something was missing about his life. So he undertook a spiritual journey to find out what.
The journey led him to abandoning his job and family in order to live the rest of his life as a monk as sign of dedication to his god, Shiva.
Part of that dedication was to live the rest of his life with his hand raised. And from 1973 onwards, Bharati lived each day of his life with a raised hand.
When he was quizzed on why he chose to do so, Bharati said he was opposed to war, so raising his hand was a protest against war and a sign of worship to his god.
According to Amar, “I am not asking for much. I always wonder why we have to fight, to compete with each other, to have so much hatred. I want everyone in the world to live in peace.”
“I don’t ask for much. Why do we fight between us? Why is there so much hate and enmity between us? I want all Indians to live in peace. I want the whole world to live in peace,” said Amar Bharati in an interview with History of Yesterday.
So like Moses, Amar Bharati also did it for war. And his gesture has inspired many people in his culture to do same, even though no one has been able to trump
Amar’s decision to live with his hand raised was not easy. After some time, his hand and shoulder started to give him pain. Despite that pain, Amar Bharati did not relent. Instead, he kept his hand raised. Over the next two years, the pain began to ease. Amar lost feeling in his arm, and it began to atrophy.
His hand is now useless because it is stuck in a raised position. Amar admits that even if he wanted to lower his hand now, it might not be physically possible. Today, his arm is completely atrophied, stuck in a bizarre semi-vertical position.
Bharati and others acknowledge that even if he could physically bring his arm down from its raised position, his spiritual beliefs would be harmed if he did. The loss of circulation and nerve damage means his arm would require some physical therapy to bring it down to his waist. Amar Bharati believes that his eternal salute promotes world peace.
He doesn’t plan ever to lower his arm in this lifetime. Authorities acknowledge that his arm is still intact, so his arm is not likely to snap like a twig. But the cartilage had dried up and receded, which means his arm is likely to sunder at the joint if an attempt was made to lower it, which would break his arm.
