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Elixirs of immortality: from the past to the present day. Recipes for elixirs of immortality Regarding young people

Elixirs of immortality: from the past to the present day. Recipes for elixirs of immortality Regarding young people

29.06.2022

Since ancient times, people have dreamed of immortality. These dreams are reflected in numerous myths and legends of the peoples of the whole world.

The search for ways to achieve immortality is narrated in the oldest of

extant Sumero-Babylonian epic. Clay tablets with legends about

Gilgamesh are dated by scientists around the 3rd millennium BC, and on

They have notes that these are copies from an older original.

The Sumerian epic tells that in the domain of the god of wisdom Enki, the island of Dilmun rose from the waves of the Lower Sea, which was inhabited by a tribe of immortals. Outwardly, they resembled people, but they possessed eternal life. They did not know what sickness and old age were. There were no widows or widowers among them. They did not know what a headache and eye diseases were. The woman reached old age, but remained young and fresh. The man grew older and older, but did not feel like an old man.

But such a life was not enjoyed by people, but by the gods. Doomed to illness and deprivation, old age and death - this is what distinguished people from the gods, but it was difficult to come to terms with this. That is why the goal of the wanderings of the hero of the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh was the acquisition of immortality. Gilgamesh, ruler of the city of Uruk (XXVIII in. BC B.C.), was the son of the immortal goddess Ninsun and mortal husband Lugalbanda. He was two-thirds god and only one-third man, but even this third became fatal for him, and he had to leave the earth sooner or later. In search of immortality, Gilgamesh was inspired by the death of his beloved friend Enkidu.

And Gilgamesh went in search of his ancestor Utnapishtim, to whom, together with his wife, the only one among people, the gods granted eternal life. He hoped to learn from the immortal ancestor the secrets of gaining immortality. After long wanderings and adventures, Gilgamesh finally managed to find Utnapishtim.

“Oh, Utnapishtim!” he exclaimed. “If you have become immortal, then perhaps the gods will grant me eternal life? "Don't be deceived," replied Utnapishtim. "The gods will not gather for advice for you. Many people have pleased the gods, but apart from me and my wife, no one has been rewarded with eternal life."

Nevertheless, he gave Gilgamesh one chance to achieve immortality: "However, you can test your strength. If you manage to overcome sleep, perhaps you will succeed

conquer death. Try not to sleep for six days and seven nights!" But what does immortality mean without eternal youth! And then Utnapishtim advised Gilgamesh to sink to the bottom of the sea and pick the thorny thorn growing there, which is fraught with juice that refreshes strength and rejuvenates the body. Gilgamesh managed to get this talisman."Carefully he took care of the magic bush, which holds the secret of youth. He decided to bring it to Uruk and let the most decrepit old man taste its juice. If he becomes younger, then he himself will taste from the wonderful plant and regain his youthful strength.

Having crossed the great sea, and coming to the shore, Gilgamesh saw a pool, folded

of white stone and filled with fresh water. He wanted to plunge into the water and wash the sweat and dust off his tired body. But while he was plunging into the pool, a cunning snake crawled out of the hole and in an instant stole the magic bush, hiding with it in the bowels of the earth. Gilgamesh wept bitterly. He realized the futility of his efforts. Understood,

that not to avert his impending old age and not to postpone the hour of death, predetermined for him by the gods. With bitterness in his heart, he returned to his city of Uruk and humbly began to expect a terrible and inevitable end.

The serpent that stole the hard-won immortality from Gilgamesh appears more than once in the myths of different peoples. This is a prototype of that biblical serpent-tempter, which, having seduced Adam and Eve to taste the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, also deprived them of immortality.

It is interesting to note that already in the Sumerian era, the achievement of immortality was associated with the acquisition of eternal youth. They continued to dream about it in the era of antiquity. As proof of this, one can refer to the very characteristic myth of the goddess of the dawn, Eos, and her beloved Typhon.

Pink-fingered Eos, the goddess of dawn, fell in love with the beautiful son of the Trojan king Typhon. To never part with her beloved, she begged the Olympic gods to grant him immortality. The insidious gods gave Typhon immortality, but ... did not grant eternal youth. Typhon lived a long time. His head turned white, his body melted and shrank, his laughter sounded less and less. Youth has disappeared in the crowns of slender cypresses and the love of Eos has cooled. Once the ruddy Eos locked her bedroom with her pink fingers and Typhon in it. Found another bed. And Typhon, withered and wrinkled, turned into a cricket and chirps there and now. The wise myth of Typhon will in many ways become the leitmotif of our reflections on the search for immortality. “We talk all the time about prolonging life,” writes the famous Russian scientist L. N. Gumilyov, “but in essence, they are engaged in prolonging old age. And this is not such a great pleasure. life is renewed...

Therefore, in the myths of most peoples, immortality has always been associated with eternal youth.

According to the myths of ancient China, the tree of immortality grew on Mount Kunlun. The fruit ripened on it, and the one who ate it lived forever. It, like other trees that give longevity, blossomed and bore fruit only once in several thousand years. A potion of immortality was prepared from these fruits, which was kept by the goddess Sivanmu, the Lady of the West. The lucky one who swallowed it could live forever. But getting to the top of Mount Kunlun, where the goddess Xiwangmu lived, was not easy. The foot of the mountain was surrounded by the abyss of the Zhoshui-Weak water river. It was enough for a feather to fall on the water, and it immediately sank, and a boat with people even more so. Kunlun was surrounded by fire-breathing mountains. The fire in them burned without ceasing day and night, and everything that got there burned down. Not a single person achieved the cherished goal, and only the arrow Yi managed to overcome all obstacles and receive the potion of immortality from the goddess Si-vanmu. Stretching out an arrow And a gourd with a magic potion, Lady of the West

said: "This is enough for you and your wife to receive immortality. If one person accepts all the contents, then he can ascend to heaven and become a deity. If two people drink it, they will become immortal on earth."

Shooter Yi's wife, the beautiful and treacherous Wu Chang'e, decided to deceive her husband and, stealing a gourd from him, took all the magic potion alone to become a goddess.

Becoming a goddess, Wu Chang'e settled on the moon in a cold and deserted lunar

palace. There was only a white hare, who all year round grinds potion in a mortar

immortality. And the longer Wu Chang'e lived in the moon palace, the sadder her loneliness became. Her thoughts often returned to the world of people. Wu Chang'e repented, she really wanted to return home, admit her guilt, and ask her husband for forgiveness. But all was in vain, and she had no choice but to live forever in the lunar palace, never descending to earth.

Only many years later, another person appeared on the moon, just like Wu Chang'e, who once aspired to immortality. It was Wu Gang, who, for his misdeeds, was sent by the gods to the lunar palace to cut down the cinnamon tree: he cut down the tree, but it grew back together, and he could not cut it down for an eternity...

In ancient Chinese myths and legends, a lot of attention is paid to the search for various potions and elixirs of immortality. So, it was said that far in the West, near the sacred mountain Kunlun, on which the tree of immortality grows (the fruits of which only one shooter Yi could get), there lived six shamans who collected magical herbs near the tree and prepared the elixir of immortality from them.

It was also told about the magic mushroom jouzhi, which brought people a long life and put off old age. Wu Cheng'en, in Journey to the West, refers to these mushrooms as ginseng fruits and describes how the swine-like Zhu Bajie ate them.

In Ge Hong's book "Bao Pu-tzu" in the chapter "Drugs of Immortality" it is stated that the wonderful jouzhi mushrooms are none other than dwarfs seven to eight inches tall. The meeting with them is not to be missed. It is necessary, with the help of sorcery, to silently go around them from behind with a hobbled gait and grab them. Then it is necessary to tear off the whole skin from the dwarf and swallow it. Soon after that, one can hope to ascend to heaven in broad daylight.

In many extraordinary countries beyond the seas, according to Chinese myths, there lived people who possessed immortality or longevity. For example, in the east, in the country of Tszyu-nytszygo - the Land of Nobles, long-term people lived, who ate steamed mujin flowers - red, purple and white. In the southern wasteland lived the black people of the immortals - Busimin. This country had a mountain

Yuanqiu - Round hill. On the mountain grew the tree of immortality ganmu - "sweet tree". It was enough to eat its fruit to become immortal. Chiquan, the Red Spring, flowed under the mountain. A sip of water from this source gave longevity. Therefore, people lived there, not knowing death. In the Western Wasteland was the country of Sanmyanybi - the Country of three-faced and one-armed. According to legend, they were immortal. There was also the country of Huzhen, whose inhabitants were with human faces and fish bodies and could rise to heaven and descend to earth. They either lived indefinitely or were immortal.

The most curious country where the immortals lived can be considered the country of Wuqi - the Country of people without offspring in the Northwestern Desert. People in this country were not divided into men and women. After death, their bodies were buried in the ground, but their hearts continued to beat. After one hundred and twenty years, they came to life and went outside to enjoy the joys of life again. Their life was followed by death, death followed by life, and death itself was a long sleep, so they can be considered immortal. The country of Wuqi prospered, although its inhabitants had no offspring.

But the most famous land of the immortals were the five sacred mountains: Duyu, Yuanzeyao, Fanghu, Yingchzhou and, especially, Penglai.

These mountains floated in the East Sea and were supported by fifteen huge

black turtles - three for each floating mountain. On the tops of these sacred

floating mountains rose golden palaces with stairs of white jade. Immortals lived in these palaces. Everywhere there grew jade and pearl trees, from which fruits ripened that tasted good, and those who ate them became immortal. On one of these islands, according to legend, there is a source of jade-colored wine. The drinker of this wine gains immortality.

When people on earth learned that such beautiful and mysterious mountains rise not far from the sea, the inhabitants of which have a medicine that gives immortality, many wanted to go there. This legend eventually became known to the rulers and rulers, who began to equip large ships one after another, supplied them with

food and sent the Taoists to the sea to the sacred mountains, trying by any means to get the world's greatest treasure - the potion of immortality. This magical elixir was tried to be obtained during the Warring States period (IV-III centuries BC) by Wei-wang and Xuan-wang, the rulers of the Qi kingdom, Zhas-wang, the ruler of the Yan kingdom, Qin Shihuang-di - the First Qin emperor ( 259-210 BC), the Han emperor Wu-di (141-88 BC) and many, many others. But all to no avail. They all died, like ordinary people, without having obtained the potion of immortality and without even seeing the outlines of the sacred mountains.

The famous Chinese historian Sima Qian (135-86 BC) wrote in his Historical Notes:

"From the time of the sovereigns of Wei-wang, Xuan-wang and Yan Zhao-wang were sent

in the sea people to find the sacred mountains of Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. According to legend, they are in Bohai, and whoever gets there will find the saints and the medicine of immortality there. From a distance they are like clouds, but when you get close, the mountains go into the water; you want to swim, but the wind drives away; so no one got to the mountains. There was no one among the rulers who would not dream of them."

The most prepared expeditions in search of the islands of the immortals were equipped during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (259-210 BC). It was the emperor who united the country and began the construction of the Great Wall of China, which protected the Celestial Empire from nomads. A flotilla of twenty huge ships under the command of Su Shu, carrying three thousand young men and women, as well as a large number of various workers, servants and artisans, was sent by Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi to the East Sea to the islands of immortality.

Days, weeks, months passed. There was no news from Su She. The emperor spent many hours on the shore, peering at the obscure horizon. But the ships never returned. It was rumored that the expedition of Su She did find the islands of the immortals and, having drunk the magical elixir of immortality, all 3,000 of its participants remained forever on the wonderful islands, not wanting to return to the Celestial Empire. Chinese historians, on the other hand, took a slightly different view. In one of the old chronicles we read: "Su Shs set sail, but discovered lands remarkable for their peacefulness and fertility. There he settled down, became king and did not come back."

The most ancient legends of many nations mentioned the "elixir of immortality" that the gods ate. In different countries it was called differently. The gods of the ancient Greeks used ambrosia, which gives eternal life, the Indian gods - amrita, the gods of the Iranians - haoma, the gods of Ancient Egypt - the water of immortality.

Imitating the gods, people also tried to prepare the elixir of immortality. In many old books appeared recipes for this magical

elixir. So, in the book of Ge Hong "Bao Pu-tzu" in the chapter "Xian-yaonyan" - "Drugs

immortality" there are many recipes for making this elixir. It was recommended to take a toad that has lived for ten thousand years, and a bat that has lived for a thousand years, dry them in the shade, crush them into powder and take them inside - then you can live up to forty thousand years.

And here is the recipe from the ancient Persian text: “You need to take a red-haired and freckled person and feed him with fruits for up to 30 years, then lower him into a stone vessel with honey and other compounds, enclose this vessel in hoops and hermetically seal it. After 120 years, his body will turn into mummy." After that, the contents of the vessel, including what became the mummy, could be taken as a means of prolonging life.

The recipe for the elixir of immortality, compiled by the personal physician of Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303), has come down to us: "it is necessary to mix gold, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, rubies, topazes, white and red corals, ivory, sandalwood, deer heart , aloe root, musk and amber."

One French scientist of the 15th century, in search of a life elixir, boiled 200 eggs, separated the whites from the yolks and, mixing them with water, distilled them many times, hoping in this way to extract the desired substance of life.

Many Chinese emperors were fond of searching for the potion of immortality. Wudi, the emperor of the Han Dynasty (ruled from 141 to 88 BC), surrounded himself with magicians and sorcerers, who were supposed to make the slave compositions and secret drugs by him alone. Wudi dreamed of finding the miraculous dew that the immortals allegedly ate, or getting wonderful peaches, after tasting which one can join eternal life.

Another Chinese emperor, Xuanzong (713-756) went to his royal ancestors much ahead of schedule only because he had the imprudence to take the elixir of immortality made by his court physician.

It is said that during the Han Dynasty, Prince Liu An was in Huainan,

fascinated by the doctrine of the immortals. He understood the doctrine of Tao (the Way) to such an extent that

He made the pills of immortality himself, took one, and ascended to heaven in broad daylight. He left his pills at home in an earthen bowl, they were pecked by chickens and eaten by dogs and disappeared in an instant.

Only from the sky came the clucking and yelping of dogs in the clouds. This legend

curious, but that's all. After all, from the "Historical Notes" of Sima Qian it is known that

Huainan prince Liu An committed suicide because someone denounced him, accusing him of treason. He was afraid of punishment and cut his throat.

But did anyone really manage to discover the secrets of the elixir of immortality? In all likelihood, of course not. However, in history, from time to time, mysterious individuals appeared who allegedly managed to enter the doors of immortality.

One of these mysterious personalities was the philosopher of the Pythagorean school Apollonius of Tyana, the same age as Jesus Christ, who was born three years before the New Era. Apollonius of Tyana visited many countries of the ancient world, studied the secrets of the priests of India and Babylon, contemporaries attributed many miracles to him. After surviving ten emperors, at the age of 70, Apollonius of Tyana returned to Rome, where, by order of the emperor Domitian, he was put on trial on charges of black magic. But a miracle happened: in front of everyone, Apollonius disappeared from the crowded courtroom.

For a number of centuries it was believed that Apollonius, having managed to prepare the elixir of immortality, continues to hide among people. In the XII century, there lived a philosopher and alchemist who called himself Artephius, from whom two mysterious works, full of riddles and omissions, have come down to our time - a treatise on the philosopher's stone and an essay on ways to prolong life. Many contemporaries believed that under the name of Artephius

Apollonius of Tyana is in hiding and brought strong arguments in defense of their suspicions.

Legends attribute the achievement of complete immortality to the Jerusalem Jew Ahasuerus - the famous Eternal Jew. According to religious legends, Christ, during his way of the cross to Golgotha, in extreme exhaustion leaned against

wall of the house belonging to Ahasuerus. But the cruel Jew did not give a second to rest to Christ, who was carrying a heavy wooden cross, and drove him away. Then Christ doomed Ahasuerus to eternal wanderings, with no hope of ever finding peace or death.

And now, here and there, from century to century, a man appears, whom many identify with the personality of the immortal Ahasuerus. The Italian astrologer Guido Bonatti met him at the Spanish court in 1223.

Five years later, he is mentioned in an entry in the chronicle of the abbey of St. Alban (England). According to the words of the Armenian archbishop who visited the abbey, it is told about the meetings with Ahasuerus, who was in Armenia at that time. Allegedly, the person who pretended to be Ahasuerus well remembers the events of more than a thousand years ago, remembers the appearance of the apostles and many details of the life of those years that no one living today knows about.

In 1242, this man appears in France, then the silence of historical chronicles reigns for two and a half centuries. In 1505, Ahasuerus appears in Bohemia, a few years later he is seen in the Arab East, and in 1547 he is again in Europe, in Hamburg.

Bishop of Schleswig Paul von Eitzen (1522-1598) tells about the meeting and conversation with him in his notes. According to his testimony, this man spoke all languages without the slightest accent. He led a secluded and ascetic life and had no possessions other than the dress he wore. In 1575, he was seen in Spain, here the papal legates at the Spanish court, Christopher Krause and Jacob Holstein, spoke with him. In 1599, he was seen in Vienna, from where he was heading to Poland, intending to get to Moscow. Soon he really appears in Moscow, where many allegedly also saw him and talked to him. In 1603 he

appears in Lübeck, which was witnessed by the burgomaster Kolerus, the historian and theologian Kmover and other officials. In 1604

The Eternal Jew appears in Paris, in 1633 - in Hamburg, in 1640 - in Brussels, in 1642 - in Leipzig, in 1658 - in Stamford (Great Britain).

When, at the end of the 17th century, the eternal wanderer reappeared in England,

skeptical British decided to give him an exam with

professors at Oxford and Cambridge. However, knowledge of it in ancient history, in

geography of the most remote corners of the Earth, which he visited or allegedly visited,

were amazing. When he was suddenly asked a question in Arabic, he

accent answered in that language. He spoke almost every language, both European,

as well as eastern ones.

Soon this man showed up in Denmark, and then in Sweden, where traces of him again

are lost. In 1818, 1824 and 1830, he, or someone impersonating him, appears in England, and since then again disappears from view for a long time.

In the second half of the 18th century, the attention of contemporaries was attracted by two mysterious figures who allegedly owned the elixir of immortality - Count Cagliostro (1743-1795) and Count Saint-Germain (1710 (?) -1784 (?)).

Regarding Count Cagliostro, at present, most researchers

there is no doubt. It is documented that this clever adventurer was a native of Palermo, Joseph Balsamo, who from an early age became famous for various cunning tricks and machinations. He owed his knowledge of magic and alchemy to the Armenian Altotas, with whom he visited various sanctuaries in Egypt, and then practiced alchemy at the court of Pinto, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, who had a great penchant for the mysterious sciences. Leaving Malta and parting

with Althotas, Count Cagliostro (as he began to call himself, arbitrarily assigning the title of count) began to demonstrate his magical knowledge at the royal courts of Europe and even in Russia. Probably, rumors about the miraculous elixir of immortality and eternal youth that he allegedly had at his disposal belong to this time. However, the remarkable adventurer never achieved immortality, and he died in 1795, chained to the wall of the gloomy cellar of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, where he was thrown by the Inquisition as a heretic, deceiving magician and freemason.

A much greater mystery surrounds the Count of Saint-Germain, a contemporary of Cagliostro. In the minutes of the court of the Inquisition, a story recorded from the words of Cagliostro about his visit to Saint-Germain, where he claimed to have seen a vessel in which the Count

kept the elixir of immortality. Comte Saint-Germain amazed his contemporaries with his extraordinary awareness of the past. His appearance led to amazement and confusion of elderly aristocrats, who suddenly recalled that they had already seen

this man was seen a long time ago, in childhood, in the salons of his grandmothers. And since then, they marveled, he had not changed at all in appearance.

Saint-Germain showed up suddenly, with no past. About him and about the origin of his fantastic wealth, we know as little as his contemporaries. Just as mysterious is his death, allegedly occurring in 1784 in a secluded castle in Holstein. One of his contemporaries, who knew the count, called it "an imaginary death", he wrote that none of the tombstones in the area bear the name of Saint-Germain.

Many years after this "death" acquaintances of Saint-Germain met

count in many European cities. So, Saint-Germain was present at a meeting of Freemasons in Paris a year after his "imaginary death". Three years later, in 1788, the French envoy to Venice, Count Chalon, meets Saint-Germain in St. Mark's Square and talks with him. During the years of the French Revolution, the count was allegedly identified in one of the prisons where aristocrats were kept. 30 years after the death of Saint-Germain, the elderly aristocrat Madame Genlis, who knew the count well in her youth, meets this man, who has not changed at all, on the sidelines of the Congress of Vienna. In the last years of the reign of Louis Philippe, when almost none of the people who knew Saint-Germain personally were left alive, a retired dignitary met the mysterious count, still not aged at all.

There are two more later reports associated with the name of Saint-Germain. He allegedly reappeared in Paris, already in 1934. And the last time - in December 1939. Since, however, by that time there were no people left who were personally acquainted with the count, these reports can hardly be considered reliable.

The strangest and most fantastic of modern reports of immortality is associated with the name of the Indian Tapasviji, who allegedly lived for 186 years (1770-1956). At the age of 50, he, being a Raja in Patiala, decided to retire to the Himalayas. After

years of exercises Tapasviji learned to immerse himself in the so-called

a state of "samadhi", when life seemed to completely leave his body, and could

do not take food or drink for a long time. One day, Tapasviji said, he met an old hermit near the foothills of the Himalayas. He ate only fruits and milk, and looked unusually energetic and cheerful. But, most surprisingly, the hermit did not speak any of the modern Indian languages, speaking only in Sanskrit - the language of Ancient India. It turned out that 5,000 years have passed since he came here! He managed to prolong his life to such limits allegedly thanks to a certain composition, the secret of which he owned.

But still, it is worth recognizing that all the cases described above of achieving immortality by someone are more likely to be legends. Let's stand on the firmer ground of the existing reality and analyze what means modern science has at the moment in the field of achieving practical immortality. Let's immediately put aside all methods of increasing life expectancy. Firstly, we already talked about them in the previous chapter, and secondly, they only deal with

increasing the life span of an organism, and not about the principled search for immortality.

Currently, the search for immortality is going on several diametrically

opposite directions. One of them is a brain transplant. At present, it is unconditionally proven that it is the brain that is the bearer of a person's individuality, his thinking, perception of the world, memory, awareness of himself as a person.

Already in 1963, physiologists demonstrated amazing experiments on transplanting the brain of a toad into the head of a frog. It turned out a very strange and amazing frog with the habits of a toad. Instead of jumping into the water, like other representatives of its kind, it, like a real toad, began to look for a hole in the ground in order to burrow into it.

Almost 30 years have passed since these experiments. Over the years, dozens of heart, liver and kidney transplants have been successfully carried out in humans, and the problems of tissue incompatibility of transplanted organs are beginning to be resolved. Thus, science came close to brain transplantation. Although work in this direction is being carried out quite intensively, it is difficult to say when exactly it will be possible to translate scientific experiments into practice. In any case, this time is not far off and it is quite possible that our generation will already witness a successful human brain transplant.

Therefore, theoretically, it is already possible to imagine people whose brain, and hence their personality, will pass from one body to another many times. Throwing away one after another unnecessary, aged bodies, a person will be carried away from century to century, from millennium to millennium. The life of one person, her memory will contain whole epochs of human history. However, a natural question arises - whose bodies are going to be discarded as unnecessary and exhausted, this "personality"? And who will determine the right to immortality of one person at the expense of the organisms of other people? To a lesser extent, these questions have already arisen before doctors and scientists during transplantation of donor kidneys and hearts. They will become much more acute when trying to find "donor" bodies for a brain transplant. It must be firmly grasped that despite the fact that the appearance of a person, the features of his face, the structure of the body will fully correspond to the body

"donor", his personality and self-consciousness will be determined exclusively by the transplanted brain.

This problem was anticipated by the genius of M. A. Bulgakov in the story "Dog

heart". Good dog Sharik under the influence of a transplanted pineal gland

the brain of a dead bandit and an alcoholic turns into an exact likeness

the last one. Now this question is being developed by American cinema.

Woman whose brain was irreversibly damaged in the crash gets a brain transplant

another woman whose body perished. Who is the new creature, with the appearance of the first woman and the brain of the second? How should she treat her loved ones, husband, children? This is inexhaustible material for dramatic collisions.

Perhaps in the future, scientists will be able to construct an artificial body for the brain, the guardian of personality. It will be a cyborg robot with a human brain. Thus, it is possible to achieve immortality by losing one's body. Is humanity psychologically ready for such experiments? Are you personally ready? This philosophical problem has been raised more than once in numerous science fiction novels, starting with the famous "Head of Professor Dowell" (1925) by the Soviet science fiction writer A. R. Belyaev (1894-1941).

The second way to achieve practical immortality is genetic engineering. Each cell of a living being stores in its nucleus all the genetic information necessary for the formation of a new organism. A few years ago, scientists at Oxford University in the UK conducted an interesting experiment - a new frog, an exact copy of the first, was grown from a frog epithelium cell. That's why

theoretically, in the near future, mass reproduction of absolutely identical twins, including human h, will become possible. This means that when a person is 80 or 90 years old, it will be possible to take from him the nuclei of cells from any organ and, having grown them in cells devoid of a nucleus, get an exact biological copy of this person. That is, it will be possible to completely repeat oneself, but appearing as a newborn and in a certain sense ensure one's immortality, since this operation could be repeated an unlimited number of times.

Moreover, in the future it would be theoretically possible to use not only the "living" genetic material of cells, but also "preserved", say, in the tissues of a mummy. And it will be possible to reproduce a complete biological copy of this mummy from the moment of birth. But since mummifications were mostly awarded to tyrants, the question arises - is it necessary to reproduce them again?

It is worth clarifying that all these biological copies, repeating the appearance of specific people in the smallest detail, will nevertheless be endowed with their own consciousness. It will be psychologically a completely different individual, and his memory, his joys and sorrows, love and hate, will be far from the prototype. His intellectual image will take shape under the influence of a different upbringing, education, and, finally, simply the human environment of a new generation of people. And even if we manage to recreate the new Tutankhamun, in terms of its psychological makeup it will not be an ancient

Egyptian, but our contemporary. Therefore, even here we do not achieve complete immortality. If during a brain transplant we retain a personality, but lose the body and appearance, then with genetic engineering we retain the exact likeness of a given person, but lose his personality, memory, experience, and perhaps talent.

True, the well-known Soviet scientist P. K. Anokhin put forward a hypothesis according to which the hereditary transmission of information received by a person during his life is fundamentally possible. In this case, the "copy person" will carry the memory of everything that happened to the "original", will keep it in himself as memories

his own life. Thus, it will be possible to achieve complete

individual identities. The chain of individual consciousness, passing from the body to

body, will not be interrupted. The memory of the life of the past, already grown old and not

existing bodily shells will be as uninterrupted as our memories of a day lived yesterday, a month ago or last year.

The next, and moreover, a very, very promising direction in the search for immortality is the science of cryobiology, which studies the vital activity of an organism at very low temperatures.

The theorist and founder of cryogenesis (i.e. freezing) is considered to be the American professor of physics and mathematics Robert Ettinger, who published the book "The Discovery of Immortality" in the 60s, which immediately became a bestseller and won hundreds of fans of the cryogenesis method. "When someone is declared doomed,

for modern medicine is not able to help - a person is still alive by 99 percent, - writes R. Ettinger. - It is a fact that many diseases that were once considered fatal are cured today. Keeping the body cold, you just have to wait until new knowledge and technology will help you return ... "

To date, there are convincing experimental

confirmation of cryogenization. Yugoslav scientists managed to revive rats,

chilled to 6 degrees. Surgeons at Harvard University (USA) revived

hamsters after being frozen for more than five hours. Experimenters have repeatedly revived monkeys in a supercooled

a state when the animals were no longer breathing, and the heart was not beating.

A lot of amazing facts about the return to life of frozen people have been accumulated by modern medicine. One of these cases is associated with the Japanese driver Masaru Site, who worked on a refrigerator - a car transporting chilled

products. That day, he came to Tokyo from Suzuoka to receive a shipment of ice cream. The hard trip and the heat tired the driver, and he decided to take cover from the heat and rest until he received the cargo in the back of his refrigerating machine. Time has passed. Someone noticed a car standing without a driver. When they opened it, they found the driver in it, but already "frozen". The thermometer inside showed 10 degrees below zero.

The driver's body was rushed to the nearest hospital. Doctors worked on the frozen man for several hours and revived erol According to the doctors, Saito was first poisoned by the gas that was released during the melting of dry ice, and then "froze". The life of the driver was saved by the fact that in the atmosphere of a closed van there was an increased content of carbon dioxide released during the evaporation of dry ice and a reduced oxygen content (its reserves were consumed all the time while the driver was breathing).

Experiments in the field of cryobiology finally made it possible to decide on freezing a person. In 1973, a sensational message went around the world press: Professor D. Bedford from Los Angeles, knowing that he was dying of lung cancer, agreed to be frozen in liquid nitrogen at a temperature close to 200 degrees below zero, and returned to life, when medicine finds an effective means of combating his illness.

A few years later, a purely commercial enterprise appeared in the USA, the owners of which offered everyone the same procedure: to freeze and store

a person at his will for tens or hundreds of years. Many, many Americans wished to undergo a freezing procedure and thus go to

journey to the future.

However, at the end of the 70s, a major scandal erupted: the police found the bodies of a dozen and a half people in the stage of deep decomposition in one of the freezing centers, which, presumably, was not agreed upon when they concluded contracts for immortality. Naturally, the credibility of the idea itself was greatly undermined. It took years for everything to return to normal.

There are currently four cryogenesis centers in the United States (two in California, one each in Michigan and Florida) that store a total of 26 "frozen" Americans. There are similar centers also in France and Japan.

It should be noted that cryogenesis is a very expensive business, therefore the first 40 Frenchmen who decided to acquire a chance for immortality are millionaires. In the US, applicants must pay $125,000 to freeze the body, or $50,000 to freeze only the head.

Some practical Americans prefer the second option - both cheaper and easier to transport in case of emergency. And if the descendants are able to "unfreeze" the head, then they will certainly be able to choose the appropriate body for the preserved brain (and hence the personality).

Practical Americans noticed another interesting fact. It turns out that in order to wake up a millionaire in 300 years, it is enough to put $1,000 in the bank today. Three percent per annum in a hundred years will turn

this amount of 19,000, in two hundred - 370,000, and by the time of the supposed awakening, each such inhabitant of the refrigerator, according to calculations, will already have 7,000,000 dollars.

The journey to immortality always begins, at least officially, with clinical death. A team from the company "Trans Time" immediately takes on the client. First of all, it is necessary to provide artificial blood circulation: the oxidation process should not be interrupted. For this, special pharmacological solutions are introduced. After the body is covered with ice. Then the blood is replaced with a saline solution, to which a liquid is added with a substance that prevents the crystallization process in the body. The cooled body is then wrapped in a special cloth and lowered into ice, where its temperature drops to minus 43 degrees. It is at this point that you can begin to separate the head, if that was the will of the client. Usually, the whole body is placed in a bag like a sleeping bag and lowered head down into a container filled with liquid nitrogen.

However, it should be noted that the American Cryonics Society (low

temperatures) guarantees the road only "there", but "back" - no

certain guarantees. When defrosting, such serious

problems that modern medicine is not yet able to solve. All

hope - for the achievements of medicine of the future.

When 73-year-old James Bedford, a psychology professor from Los Angeles, was frozen for the first time in history, some journalists joked: "Well, Bedford will be surprised when he remains dead!"

"The hope that someone can be brought back to life after freezing,

is tantamount to striving to get a cow out of a hamburger, ironically on this

about Arthur Rowe from New York University and adds: - When freezing

irreparable damage is done to the cells."

A different opinion is shared by Dr. Avi ben Abraham, President

American Society of Cryonics, engaged in scientific research in the field of

use of low temperatures in medicine. Death, he believes, is coming

gradually. Although the heart stops, cells, tissues and internal organs

continue to live. Another scientist, cryobiologist P. Segal, has already managed to

resuscitate hamsters after a two-hour freeze. He also got

experiment with a raccoon dog. She returned to normal temperature after the procedures that are subjected to during the cryogenization of the body of people. By the way, both scientists, and

also their family members are candidates for freezing for the sake of immortality.

The English anatomist Hunter wrote in the 18th century:

“If a person wants to give the last ten years of his life to the alternation of sleep and activity, then his life could be extended to 1000 years; by defrosting every 100 years for one year, he could always find out what happened during the time he was in anabiosis".

So, it may well be that several dozens of our contemporaries, enclosed in transparent capsules, which flow around liquid nitrogen cooled to -200 ° C, float along the waves of time into the future, towards immortality.

There are some other directions in the search for immortality. In 1976, a professor from the GDR E. Liebbert described an experiment with Mexican agave, in which he managed to increase the species limit of duration life ten times. For gerontologists dealing with the problem of aging, this experience has gone unnoticed. In 1983

An article by the Moscow scientist V. I. Gudoshnikov appeared in the collection of works of the Moscow Society of Nature Testers about experiments on rats that managed to stop development in dynamics between stages I and II of the menopause and keep the body between them for 40 days.

As a result of the analysis of these two experiments and his own experiments, Nikolai Isaev, a corresponding member of the Moscow Society of Naturalists, managed to create his own theory of increasing the species life expectancy.

The essence of the theory is as follows: in order to extend the life of any organism ten times

and more, it is enough to create and maintain "stuttering" in any place of the ontogenesis program (ie, a genetically determined scheme of development of a given organism) in the process of its implementation. We age because the body maintains

a certain level of key metabolites (waste products

organism) with activity that does not allow "stuttering" in the process of implementation

ontogeny programs. As soon as the level of key metabolites decreases (for example, in the experiment with agave, the products produced by the genetic system were removed), the body moves without slowing down to the previous, younger, stage of its life. From this previous stage, the construction of products and structures of the generative stage of life begins again. Removing products again... and so on for 90 years. As a result, the agave has increased the species life expectancy from 10 to 100 years, that is, ten times. This experience could be continued indefinitely, since there is no aging as such, because the body is in conditions where there is no material basis for aging - the key metabolites are not maintained here at the level set by nature.

To date, N. N. Isaev has practically developed and put into practice various options for the "cycling" of some plants - potatoes, maple, which make it possible to achieve species "immortality". In the future, work on

achievement of human species immortality. Its essence is to stop aging in a person at any age: for example, between 40 and 41 years. From this moment on, this organism will pass an arbitrarily long segment of its life within the specified interval.

Thus, the theoretical prerequisites for achieving species immortality of a person have been created. Another thing is that the path from successful experiments on plants to the practical implementation of this theory in humans can be very, very long.

The problem of human immortality has two main aspects: scientific and

biological and philosophical and moral. In a biological sense, as we only

what we saw, it is quite possible sooner or later with the progress of science to achieve any practical results in achieving personal immortality. Another thing is, do we need to spend energy and scientific potential to solve these problems?

At first glance, this question may seem paradoxical, although nothing

there is nothing paradoxical about it. Let's think, is humanity ready to achieve immortality?

Let's try to consider this issue from various angles, first of all - from the demographic one. According to the calculations of French demographers, in 1987 the 80 billionth human inhabitant of our planet was born since the beginning of the human race (of course, this figure is very arbitrary). Will there be a limit to the growth of mankind and at what level will its bar be set in the coming decades and centuries?

The first people, who probably numbered only a few tens of thousands,

wandered the earth in search of food, being dependent on the change of seasons, on

climate change. The first technical victories, the development of fire led to

represents an increase in the population, which 200,000 years ago approached a figure of 500,000

By 40,000 B.C. e. all continents, including America and Australia, were inhabited, and the number of people on the globe reached five million people.

By the beginning of the IV millennium BC. e. the entire population of the earth was estimated at about 50 million people. During the "age of Pericles" (5th century BC), humanity stepped over a hundred million. By the era of Charlemagne, the world's population had grown to 200 million, and by the Renaissance, to 500 million.

In the 18th century, the world's population reached one billion. In 1900 it

was 1.5 billion, in 1950 - 2.5 billion people. Early 1976

the world's population reached 4 billion, and in 1987 humanity stepped over the fifth billion. What will be the fate of humanity in the near future?

Demographers are trying to make predictions. The official forecast was adopted by a special UN Population Division. This is the most optimistic hypothesis, since

it assumes that all countries will soon reach a level of fertility that ensures only the renewal of generations without increasing the number - 2.1 children per woman. If it can be assumed that developing countries, where fertility is gradually declining, will indeed reach this level in the next century, then in industrialized countries the situation is different. Their birth rate has already fallen.

below this threshold and tends to fall further. It is to be hoped that population decline will not really be felt in these countries until after the year 2000, and UN experts believe that then, for civic reasons, many couples will decide to have more children, or concerned governments will adopt

appropriate measures to stimulate the birth rate. If things go that way, the world population will stabilize by 2100 at about 11 billion people.

The massive increase in life expectancy that we discussed in the previous chapter could greatly change this UN scenario. As a result, the population of industrialized countries would begin to decline only by 2050, and the reaction of married couples to falling birth rates would appear later. The European population under these conditions will stabilize by 3125 at the level of 1939, and in the world there will be a significant disproportion between the population of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.

If the birth rate in developed countries continues to decline, reaching everywhere the modern level of Germany, if it is in developing countries, in which the population explosion will stop, and if life expectancy is limited to 75 years, humanity will disappear by the year 2400. Investigating this variant of development

of mankind, the French demographer Bourgeois-Pito believes that the world population will peak at 9.4 billion people in 2070, and then gradually disappear.

However, another course of events is also possible: a decrease in the population

developed countries will cause an influx of population from the countries of the big population explosion.

Underprivileged peoples, but on the rise of population growth,

can appropriate for themselves, by good or by force, the lands and resources of the wealthy nations, but

in decline. These latter will gradually mix with the aliens,

until they lose their individuality. They will disappear, as many have already disappeared.

nations in a similar situation.

What impact can the achievement of immortality by science have on changing the demographic picture? The most unpredictable. Considering that the issue of the impact of immortality on the population has never been seriously put on the agenda, no scientific calculations and forecasts could be found.

But, as we have seen, the achievement of personal immortality is quite possible already in the first centuries of the next millennium. And this, as yet unaccounted for, fact can make a significant correction in the demographers' forecasts we discussed. And first of all, it will have an impact not on the total population (although, over time, on it too), but on the ratio of the population of developed and developing countries. After all, it is no secret that the population of developed capitalist countries will primarily benefit from the achievements of science. It would be possible to speculate about possible ways of changing the demographic situation in the conditions of achieving species immortality of a person, but this would be redundant, since we have not yet decided the question - is personal immortality necessary and worth it to achieve.

Most likely, the immortality of people is incredibly painful and detrimental to the life of society. Progress consists in a change of generations, each generation brings something new to society. A similar idea is expressed in the following verse by Robert Rozhdestvensky:

If only people lived forever

It would be inhuman - How do you know what you're worth in life?

How to understand what risk is?

Jump into the sea?

So you won't drown.

Climb to the fire?

So you won't burn! Plow the field?

Then I can...

Gunpowder to invent?

And for what?

Would enjoy lazy arrogance

Prisoners of their immortality.

They wouldn't do anything.

Never come out of the darkness...

Perhaps the most important stimulus of life

In bitter truth

that we are mortal.

The experience of history shows that the progress of science has always overtaken the moral development of mankind. The issue of immortality is no exception. Quite

it is possible (and even very likely) that from a biological point of view, scientists will be able to solve the riddle of immortality in the coming centuries. But what will be the moral face of the generation that will have to be granted immortality? Will rapists, murderers, thieves really disappear? Most likely - no, to think otherwise would be a social utopia. So is he really worthy of immortality who took the life of his own kind? And isn't the very concept of "life imprisonment" sounding like a pun then? But the worst thing is to give someone the right to decide whether this person is worthy

live forever or not. This will inevitably lead to abuses, group, class, party, national, racial approaches, and from here it is only one step to one or another variety of fascism.

So, the question of immortality is a touchstone that may not be within the power of modern humanity.

But let's try to translate the question of immortality into a somewhat different plane. Let's assume that everyone is finally convinced that the personal immortality of all mankind is a brake on its progress, both scientific, social, and elementary biological. But there are individuals who certainly deserve immortality - outstanding scientists, artists, inventors, poets, thinkers, philosophers. And since science is already in a position to grant immortality, so let's

let's leave it only to individuals, a strictly limited number of outstanding people.

I don't want to impose my opinion on anyone. Let everyone try to determine for himself the most probable circle of these people, based on preferences, at least

the last five to seven decades. Thought? Would you like these personalities to be "more alive than all the living" not only in slogans, but also in life? Our opinions about the merits of this or that figure may vary depending on the political situation. But by granting him immortality, we can get not just a life

dictator, and (which is much more terrible and even difficult to imagine) - an immortal dictator.

Whatever philosophers say about the role of personality in history, but the era of Stalinism

ended with the death of Stalin. And God alone knows how much more "objective prerequisites" we would have to wait for to change the course of history under the ever-living comrade Stalin.

Therefore, it seems to me that one should not rush to solve the problem of personal immortality immediately. We, as we are, are not yet ready to live forever. We are for this

have not yet fully matured and, it seems, we will not yet be able to fully consciously dispose of eternity.

LITERATURE

A step towards immortality? "NTTM - Craftsman", 1990, No. 1. Yuan Ke. Myths of Ancient China. M., "Science", 1987. RederD. G. Myths and legends of ancient Mesopotamia. M., 1965.

Gumilyov L. N. No mysticism. "Youth", 1990, No. 2. There were 80 billion of us. BUT

how much will? "Science and Life", 1989, No. 4.

Gorbovsky A. A., Semenov Yu. S. Closed pages of history. M., Thought, 1988. Prokofiev V. 26 frozen Americans. "Labor", 1991, November 14. Mezentsev V. A. Miracles. Popular Encyclopedia. Alma-Ata, Ch. ed. Kaz.sov. encyclopedia, 1991, v. 2, book 3.

It was in the 18th century. Once a servant of the legendary Count of Saint-Germain was asked if his master had really met Julius Caesar in person and had the secret of immortality. To which the servant calmly replied that he did not know, but over the past 300 years of his service with Saint-Germain, the count had not changed in appearance at all ...

Nowadays, the issue of immortality has not lost its relevance, and active work to find a way to gain physical immortality is being carried out in all industrialized countries of the world.

If we omit the mythological history of the biblical Adam, who lived, according to legend, for 900 years, the Eternal Jew Ahasuerus and Koshchei the Immortal, then the first popularizer of the elixir of immortality will be the same Saint Germain, a person, I must say, very mysterious. In the 18th century, folk rumor seriously claimed that the count was 500 years old, and in his castle there was a unique mirror in which one could see the future.

It was rumored that the count personally showed the headless body of his grandson in the mirror to Louis XV. In turn, the famous adventurer Count Cagliostro, who considered himself a student of Saint Germain, mentioned a certain vessel during interrogation in the Inquisition. In it, Saint Germain, according to Cagliostro, kept the elixir of immortality, made according to the recipes of the ancient Egyptian priests.

The most interesting thing is that people who personally met Saint-Germain in various parts of Europe described him as a man about 45 years old with a swarthy face. At the same time, over the course of decades, the graph did not change at all in appearance. He was rich, well-bred, and had a truly aristocratic manner. The Count spoke French, English, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Turkish and Arabic equally well.

Often, in conversation with monarchs, Saint Germain referred to the rulers of bygone days, and in conversation he often claimed to have had personal conversations with many ancient rulers and philosophers, including Jesus Christ. Saint-Germain died either in 1784 in Holstein, or in 1795 in Kassel.

But his grave was never found. And many aristocrats who knew the count during his lifetime met him more than once after his official death! There is evidence of the appearance of Saint-Germain in Europe of the 20th century. Did the count really possess the elixir of eternal youth, is it possible?

YOUTH FOR THE TYRANT

As you know, the most notorious sinners and satraps cling to life more than others. Historical sources claim that the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, the legendary Shi Huangdi, who lived in the 3rd century BC. e., was literally obsessed with the idea of his own immortality. From morning to night, his associates studied ancient treatises in the hope of discovering a recipe for eternal youth.

But in vain. As a result, the frustrated emperor issued a decree in which he forbade himself to die. But still he died. Subsequently, many emperors of China tried to find the elixir of eternal life, but apart from unique rejuvenation techniques, nothing was invented.

Medieval rulers also became famous for their search for a recipe for immortality. All the ways they invented bordered on a rare inhuman sadism. They say that Marshal of France Count Gilles de Ré, the prototype of Bluebeard, became famous in this field more than others. After being arrested during interrogations by the Inquisition, he confessed that he had killed several hundred young people in order to make an elixir of immortality from their genitals.

In the second half of the 16th century, the Hungarian Countess Elisabeth Bathory took baths from the blood of virgins to gain eternal youth and beauty. In total, 650 girls found their end in the castle of the countess.

BLOOD FOR THE LEADER

Like medieval aristocrats, the first Soviet leaders also wanted to live forever. In the 1920s, the famous revolutionary Alexander Bogdanov headed the world's first Blood Institute, in which the elderly leaders of Soviet Russia were tried to transfuse the blood of the young.

However, the matter did not work out. Lenin, unlike his sister, who underwent a rejuvenating procedure, refused a blood transfusion, calling it scientific vampirism. Perhaps the research would have been successful, but Bogdanov died unexpectedly during one of the experiments on himself. After his death, a disappointed Stalin ordered the experiments to be interrupted.

Half a century later, the problem of gaining longevity through the transfusion of the blood of young compatriots was quite successfully practiced by the leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung. Having begun the procedures at the age of 65, the dictator lived to a very old age of 82, although he planned to stretch it to at least 120 years.

THE GENERATOR OF YOUTH EXISTS

In the modern world, there are dozens of promising methods for extending human life. But humanity is not waiting for a unique diet, an expensive operation or cryofreezing of its own body, but the invention of a device that, in a few sessions, would help a person completely get rid of diseases and live an extra 40-50 years.

Oddly enough, but such an apparatus exists and operates on principles that are logically close to the cruel experiments of medieval rulers. However, now it is not about transfusing young blood to an old man, but about transplanting a young biofield.

One of the presentations of the technique took place in 1997 in St. Petersburg at the First International Congress "Weak and superweak fields and radiation in biology and medicine." A report on his unique technique was made by a scientist of Chinese origin from Khabarovsk, Yuri Vladimirovich Jiang Kanzhen. According to the scientist's theory, repeatedly confirmed by practical experiments, all living organisms exchange some genetic information invisible to the eye.

The process occurs with the help of electromagnetic waves of the microwave range. The device, invented by Dr. Jiang Kanzheng, can transfer the biofield of young organisms to old ones, rehabilitating their DNA and stimulating rejuvenation. Like a real scientist, Jiang Kanzheng experimented both on himself and on his father - the result was both the youthfulness of the scientist himself and the processes of regeneration of the body of his 80-year-old father.

It is interesting to note that, unlike many similar inventions, official science accepted and even issued patents for several inventions. So it is likely that in the foreseeable future every clinic will have a device capable of transferring the biofield of a young person to his elderly relatives, rejuvenating them. In this case, the duration of human life will almost double.

SCIENCE DOES NOT STAND

To comment on the possibility of creating a technique that significantly prolongs human life, we were agreed by the doctor of medical sciences, academician of the VAKB Dmitry Valerievich GLUKHOV:

The elixir of eternal youth really has a right to exist. But not in the medieval sense. All over the world, research is being actively conducted in the field of rejuvenation techniques, there are significant successes in this area. In Russia alone, more than 10 rejuvenation systems and more than 30 rejuvenation techniques have been commercialized, not counting a variety of dietary supplements and pharmacological preparations. Most of the work is carried out in the field of cosmetology and correction of the human immune system. Every year there are new methods based on advanced, promising technologies. So, nanotechnologies gave impetus to a new direction of rejuvenation - supramolecular chemistry. Development is proceeding rapidly, and, perhaps, in the near future, one of the researchers will show the coveted bottle with a cloudy liquid. Today, the technologies of electromagnetic transformation, or modification of the human genome, have advanced farthest in this direction. Again, many scientists are working in this direction in Russia. In my opinion, the work of Jiang Kanzheng looks quite promising. It is impossible not to mention Professor Zakharov with his cell therapy and revitalization, Goryaev, Komrakov and other researchers. In case of their success and the mass introduction of methods, the average life expectancy of a person can increase from the current 65-70 years to 140-160 years. True, in this case, a person will have, among other things, to lead a relatively healthy lifestyle.

In accordance with Chinese tradition. The elixir of life is easily prepared from the entrails of a turtle.

"Recipe for New Russians". In antiquity, the breath of virgins was considered a sure means of prolonging youth. Some kings, in order to envelop themselves in such a breath, surrounded themselves in bed with young concubines.

Hungarian Countess Elzhbet Bathory: in 1610 she took "rejuvenating" baths from the blood of murdered young girls. For which she was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Marshal of France Gilles de Rais performed bloody rituals in the vicinity of his castles: he hung dozens of young men on the gallows. It was believed that from the seed of a hanged man, a mandrake is born - a magical root that gives immortality.

Without making any special efforts to buy the “food” of the gods from any gypsy. Ancient Greek - ambrosia. Ancient Indian - amritu. Ancient Iranian - haoma. In the absence of such, you can get by with the water of immortality of the Ancient Egyptian gods. All of them guarantee immortality and eternal youth.

More complex recipes follow.
requiring some effort to prepare them

You can get a philosopher's stone that gives immortality, according to the recipe of the English alchemist George Ripley given by him in The Book of Twelve Gates: “To prepare the elixir of the sages, or the philosopher's stone, take, my son, philosophical mercury and glow until it turns into a green lion . After that, bake it harder, and it will turn into a red lion. Disperse this red lion in a sand bath with acidic grape spirit, evaporate the liquid, and the mercury will turn into a gum-like substance that can be cut with a knife. Put it in a retort smeared with clay and slowly distill. Collect separately liquids of various nature, which will appear at the same time. You will get tasteless phlegm, alcohol and red drops. The Cimmerian shadows will cover the retort with their dark veil, and you will find the true dragon within it, for it is devouring its own tail. Take this black dragon, rub it on a stone and touch it with a hot coal. It will light up and, soon taking on a magnificent lemon color, will again reproduce a green lion. Have him eat his tail and distill the product again. Finally, son, undress mine carefully, and you will see the appearance of combustible water and human blood. This is the philosopher's stone that bestows immortality.

Recipe for the elixir of immortality owned by Nicolas Flamel and his wife who lived in 14th century France. Stated in their book The Grand Grimoire, in the chapter Secrets of the Magical Art: “Take a pot of fresh earth, add a pound of red copper and half a glass of cold water, and boil it all for half an hour. Then add three ounces of copper oxide to the composition and boil for one hour; then add two and a half ounces of arsenic and boil for another hour. After this, add three ounces of well-ground oak bark and let it boil for half an hour; add an ounce of rose water to the pot, boil for twelve minutes. Then add three ounces of carbon black and boil until the mixture is ready. To find out if it is cooked to the end, you need to lower a nail into it: if the composition acts on the nail, remove it from the heat; if it does not work, this is a sign that the composition is not finished cooking. The liquid can be used four times. Unfortunately, the recipe does not say to take it hot or chilled.

Nowadays, the issue of immortality has not lost its relevance, and active work to find a way to gain physical immortality is being carried out in all industrialized countries of the world.

UNTIRETE COUNT

YOUTH FOR THE TYRANT

BLOOD FOR THE LEADER

THE GENERATOR OF YOUTH EXISTS

SCIENCE DOES NOT STAND

To comment on the possibility of creating a technique that significantly prolongs human life, he agreed to us Doctor of Medical Sciences, Academician of the VAKB Dmitry Valerievich GLUKHOV:

- The elixir of eternal youth really has a right to exist. But not in the medieval sense. All over the world, research is being actively conducted in the field of rejuvenation techniques, there are significant successes in this area. In Russia alone, more than 10 rejuvenation systems and more than 30 rejuvenation techniques have been commercialized, not counting a variety of dietary supplements and pharmacological preparations.

Most of the work is carried out in the field of cosmetology and correction of the human immune system. Every year there are new methods based on advanced, promising technologies. So, nanotechnology gave impetus to a new direction of rejuvenation - supramolecular chemistry. Development is proceeding rapidly, and, perhaps, in the near future, one of the researchers will show the coveted bottle with a cloudy liquid.

Today, the technologies of electromagnetic transformation, or modification of the human genome, have advanced farthest in this direction. Again, many scientists are working in this direction in Russia. In my opinion, the work of Jiang Kanzheng looks quite promising. It is impossible not to mention Professor Zakharov with his cell therapy and revitalization, Goryaev, Komrakov and other researchers.

In case of their success and the mass introduction of methods, the average life expectancy of a person can increase from the current 65-70 years to 140-160 years. True, in this case, a person will have, among other things, to lead a relatively healthy lifestyle.

Dmitry SIVITSKY

At all times, people dreamed of becoming immortal. How many hunters for life without death have been looking for the formula of the cherished elixir on the worn pages of ancient tomes. The endless race for eternal life became a curse and an obsession for many seekers, pushing them to monstrous crimes.

It is believed that the elixir of immortality is a fabulously magical substance that can rejuvenate the human body and make human life endless.

The elixir of immortality is often mentioned in myths, traditions and legends of many peoples as the "food" of the gods. For example, the gods of Ancient India ate amrita, Ancient Greece - ambrosia, Ancient Egypt - the water of immortality, Iranian deities - haoma.

The desire to acquire immortal life was the most desirable and seductive goal. But no one can say with certainty that someone managed to gain immortal life - this possibility still remains a mystery.

Each person is sure that the period of life allotted to him is very short. How many means to gain infinite life were! And each time they gave hope to prolong life! It is possible that some people still succeeded ....

The ancient Indian epic "Mahabharata" speaks of the juice of a certain plant, prolonging human life up to 10 thousand years. But where to find this wonderful plant is not said. But ancient Greek sources tell about the fruit of the “tree of life”, which can restore youth to a person. In Russian epics, one can often find a mention of "living water", the source of which is located on the island of Buyan.

At the time of the discoveries of Christopher Columbus, many believed that the lands were found, on which the sources of eternal life are located. Thus, an associate of Columbus wrote to Pope Leo X: “North of Hispaniola, among other islands, there is one island at a distance of three hundred and twenty miles from it, as those who found it say, an inexhaustible spring of running water beats on the island of such wonderful properties that an old man who drinks it, while observing a certain diet, after a while will turn into a young man. I beg Your Holiness, do not think that I say this out of frivolity or at random: this rumor has really established itself at court as an undoubted truth, and not only the common people, but many of those who stand above the crowd in their intelligence or wealth, too believe him."

Many seekers have spent the time of their lives looking for an island with a mysterious source. As a result, many unknown lands were discovered, but no one found the source of immortality.

But there are many recipes for the elixir of immortality. For example, a Tibetan recipe: put stones in a glass jar - rock crystal, smoky and rose quartz, amethyst, carnelian, cacholong and pour water, then put it in the sun for 10 hours. As a result of exposure to sunlight on this solution, a rejuvenating drink is obtained that significantly increases vitality. This drink is taken orally, washed with it, compresses are made for cuts, bruises and burns.

Or here is another fairly simple recipe for preparing a rejuvenating infusion - it is known to many as a remedy found by Tibetan monks. From the herbs of chamomile, immortelle and birch buds, an infusion is prepared in equal amounts and I take half a glass with honey. The course lasts 45 days, but it can be repeated only after five years.

The recipe for the elixir of youth, which is described in ancient Indian legends, is also quite simple. Crushed two heads of garlic should be boiled in 1 liter of milk, and then insisted for at least 1 hour. You need to drink this infusion 1 tablespoon three times a day. This life-giving liquid helps to cleanse blood vessels and improves immunity.

Many researchers claim that at one time Cleopatra allegedly drank a drink that gives immortality. However, since she committed suicide some time later, it is impossible to judge the success of the experiment.

Also interesting is the incident that happened to the Chinese emperor Xuanzong (VIII century). The court sorcerer-alchemist prepared a drink of immortality for his ruler. The preparation was prepared during the year. But a month later, after taking the "drink of immortality", the emperor died.

It is said that in the small provincial Japanese town of Fukuoka, there lived a 75-year-old woman named Sei Senagon. Perhaps her fate would have developed, like that of millions of women of her age, if not for the mistake of the medical staff. She received an overdose of a hormonal drug. The result stunned everyone - like a child, her teeth grew again, gray hair and wrinkles disappeared. The rejuvenated Japanese woman not only got married, but also gave birth to a child. After that, many older people rushed to take hormonal drugs, but none of them achieved the desired result.

To date, there are many theories that explain aging, but none of them is a universal remedy and the basis for combating this phenomenon.

According to the Bible, from the very beginning, human life was eternal. However, the fall of Eve and Adam led to the punishment, which consisted in depriving the gift of immortality. However, there are no rules without exception - it is known that the Lord gave one of Noah's ancestors Methuselah the opportunity to live up to 969 years. Since then, the expression "Methuselah's age" has become popular.

The legendary Hippocrates believed that a decrepit man could turn on the process of rejuvenation through sexual contact with young girls. It was this method that the famous King David used, thereby delaying the time of his decrepitude.

It should be noted that today the life and immortality of Count Cagliostro is discussed quite a lot - some consider him a charlatan and a rogue, others - a man who knew the secret of the philosopher's stone.

It should be noted that interest in the philosopher's stone arose in the middle of the 10th century and continues to this day. Philosopher's Stone - a mythical substance is considered the beginning of all beginnings. It can give its owner immortality, knowledge and eternal youth. But not only these properties attracted alchemists around the world. The main reason for the search for this mythical substance was that the philosopher's stone was able to turn any metal into gold.

Modern science does not deny the possibility of the transformation of one chemical element into another. In addition, it must be said that today there are many legends about the transformation of metals into gold. For example, they say that Raymond Lull, commissioned by the English King Edward II, smelted about 60 thousand pounds of gold from tin, mercury and lead. And this gold was of the highest standard. Coins minted from this gold are still kept in English museums.

Or, after the death of Emperor Rudolph II (1552-1612), a large amount of gold and silver in ingots remained in the treasury (about 8 and 6 tons, respectively). No one could understand where he could get such a quantity of precious metal from, and most importantly, it was of such a high standard that it did not contain impurities at all. And this fact most of all amazed the researchers, since at that time it was impossible to technically obtain a precious metal of this quality.

But let's get back to the legends of immortality. They say the legendary Genghis Khan, feeling that his strength was waning and old age was not far off, gathered from all his lands sorcerers, healers, sages and healers who claimed to know the secret of the elixir of youth and immortality. He ordered everyone to prepare an elixir. The test was simple - after the medicine man drank his potion, his head was cut off. If the severed head did not grow, attached to the body, the next healer passed the test. This “fun” of Genghis Khan would have continued long enough if one decrepit sage had not told him: “Great Khan, I have lived in this world for many years and have long lost count of my days. I have read many wise ancient books, and I know many hidden secrets. But there is no elixir of immortality, you are doing useless work and wasting your days in vain. The immortality of the mortal body does not exist. Only the deeds of a dead person and his spirit are immortal. Having released the wise old man, the great conqueror ordered to prepare for a new campaign in order to conquer the whole world. According to legend, death found Genghis Khan during a campaign against the Tangut state in 1227.

In India, you will be told about Raja Tapasviji, who lived for 186 years (1770-1956) and this is documented. At 50, he retired to the Himalayas and became a hermit. Being engaged in spiritual practices and yoga, he achieved perfection in controlling his body (the state of samadhi). Tapasviji recounted his meeting with an old hermit who spoke only the language of ancient India, Sanskrit, and claimed to have lived for about 5,000 years. This elder told Tapasviji about the elixir of immortality he had. The drink should be taken no more than once every 10 years. After the death of Tapasviji, his dwelling was carefully examined in order to search for the elixir of immortality, but the search was inconclusive.

Scientists believe that some multicellular organisms that exist on earth are potentially immortal or able to exist for a long time if this existence is not interrupted by some kind of accident. Such organisms include freshwater hydras, sea anemones, some species of fish and reptiles. It is possible that this quality is facilitated by the low energy level of the metabolism of these organisms, so the rate of aging in them is significantly slowed down.

At the same time, the opinion of modern scientists gives hope that science is able to solve the problem of increasing the lifespan of a person. In this regard, genetic engineering, stem cell technology, transplantology, hormone therapy and many other branches of medicine are actively developing. Developments in the field of cryonobiology and artificial intelligence are very promising.

The American physicist R. Feynman said: “If a person decided to build a perpetual motion machine, he would face a prohibition in the form of a physical law. In contrast to this situation, in biology there is no law that would affirm the obligatory finiteness of the life of each individual.