Long life also means a vast storehouse of experiences. If a sage lives for one hundred and fifty years, he can give new heights to research, but is the human brain ready to bear the burden of memories of more than a century? Will we be able to enjoy this longevity without disorders like forgetfulness? Often the older generation opposes new ideas. In such a situation, the intellectual inertia of the society may increase. The dignity of family relationships will also not remain untouched by this.
The ambition to remain immortal is an old one. There are mentions of characters living for thousands of years in the Puranas. Vedic sages used to praise attaining immortality. ‘Asto ma sadgmay. from darkness, lead me to light. ‘Mrityorma Amritam Gamay.’ There is mention of thirst for immortality. In the modern world, scientists from all countries are working on plans to stop the aging of the human body. In old age, body cells degrade. To stop this, many research works are going on. Meanwhile, ambitious information is coming from Russia. Russia is doing research on preventing the degradation of human body cells. According to the information, Russia is working on research to prevent old age.
In September 2025, Putin and Chinese President Jinping had talked about research on a plan to increase the lifespan of the human body to 150 years. Putin had said that scientific research is possible by regularly preventing the degradation of cells and staying healthy. Russian scientists have claimed that they are working on the world’s first anti-aging vaccine. Aging is the result of degradation of cells. Denis, a Russian minister, said last month that the sponsored treatment would focus on the RAGE receptor. By controlling the natural process of aging, cells can be kept young for a long time. He says that his goal is to create the world’s first genetherapy drug. The project is being developed by the Institute of Aging Biology and Medicine.
The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia had said that Russia plans to start production of anti-aging medicine between 2028 and 2030. It has been told that the technology is currently going through the research process. Its budget is more than 26 billion dollars. He claims that currently research on this is going on. If this is successful, aging will no longer be an inevitable process in the future. This can become a situation to be controlled. This will be mankind’s first planned expedition towards an amazing research. This ambitious plan to increase human lifespan to 150 years is amazing.
Longevity is normal, but staying healthy throughout life would be a great achievement. There are prayers of ‘Jivet Sharadah Shatam’ in Rigveda. The desire to live a hundred years is not enough, so let us further say that we should remain healthy for 100 years. Do not remain humble. Many people live for 100 years or more, but remain in pain and sorrow due to deterioration of the body, so will this research become an ambitious campaign to keep all the human organs and thinking system healthy. There is no need to be very happy about this research. Elderly people of 80-90 years of age suffer from family neglect. Family members do not take care of the old people.
There can be many opinions on the success or failure of this research. This is a cultural problem. Culture is the basis of good human relations in all societies of the world. There are efforts to prolong life, but philosophy and science also explain longevity. The wheel of time is turning. We all are passengers sitting on the chariot of death. There is an important statement of sage Bhrigu in Atharvaveda – ‘Only the wise sit on Kalrath.’ I am looking at Kalrath. I also hear the roaring sound of that chariot. He passes in front of us every moment. I raise my hand. I request you to stop. He doesn’t stop. Doesn’t care about me. I know only the wise sit in Kalrath. There cannot be room for us in that chariot. Is there any solution to the problem of time in science? Interpretation of time is a difficult task.
In our texts, the age of the sages is stated to be 100 years, but their path was not of ‘external chemicals’ but of ‘inner transformation’. The methods of Pranayama were ancient techniques for controlling the body’s biological clock. Scientific research now believes that deep and long breaths protect our life sources. The sages had discovered that ‘Amrit Tatva’ without any huge financial support, just by being introverted. The process of ‘rejuvenation’ is described in ancient India, where the old body was rejuvenated with special herbs. While the Russian experiment worked on barriers, the Indian method emphasized on the balance of the five elements. If yoga is combined with modern biology, longevity can become the path to complete health.
Long life also means a vast storehouse of experiences. If a sage lives for one hundred and fifty years, he can give new heights to research, but is the human brain ready to bear the burden of memories of more than a century? Will we be able to enjoy this longevity without disorders like forgetfulness? Often the older generation opposes new ideas. In such a situation, the intellectual inertia of the society may increase.
The dignity of family relationships will also not remain untouched by this. New questions will arise on the stability of marital relationships. When there is a gap of a hundred years between parents and children, communication will almost end. We may enter an era of loneliness, where the body will be healthy, but the mind will be lonely. The freshness that exists in relationships today may not survive in this long life. Man’s existence is defined by his relationships. When relationships become a burden, longevity becomes a prison.
This experiment is the pinnacle of scientific curiosity, but it is necessary to test it on the basis of prudence. Mere increase in age is not enough, but its quality is important. As our philosophy believes, ‘Jivem Sharadah Shatam’ does not just mean living for a hundred years, but contributing by remaining conscious for a hundred years. If this Russian research makes man merely an immortal ‘consumer’, it would be a crime against nature, but if it frees the elderly from pain and makes them creative again, it would be a gift to science. The meaning of life lies not in its length, but in its depth and dignity. (These are the personal views of the author)
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