Hi Surya Deva,
I only noticed your additional reply just now, but already spent an hour to create this post, so I’ll post it anyway. I guess, though, we agree. Very good.
I have this video myself and saw it a while ago already, and I've now made an effort.
See this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UGQv1dwKXI
1. at 0:53 his head comes in contact with flames, he instantly and quickly moves it up
2. he holds his head up in that position so the fire can't touch it (up to 0:25)
3. You see that there are flames beneath his head and and he then moves into a position with largely adjusting himself, so only his cloth will be in contact with the fire (1:53 ongoing). At the end of this process his head rests on the stones surrounding the fire place
[img]http://i37.tinypic.com/2cxaj2p.png[/img]
[img]http://i35.tinypic.com/29ap2mc.png[/img]
[img]http://i35.tinypic.com/21eqi3b.png[/img]
[img]http://i35.tinypic.com/ad23yp.png[/img]
4. then you see his clothes in the flames. The flames are in constant contact with the cloth since at least 1:40. At 1:14 you can see a large area of cloth that had been in direct contact with flames for about half a minute, and it only shows a tiny spot that has turned black. It does not burn.
5. at 2:34 he gets up quickly
6. at 2:37 you see a shot of the cloth. The outer layer is a little bit burned, you can see inner layer through the holes
The narrator notes just this: Only his clothes are in contact with the fire and could be soaked with some inflammable liquid. He suggests that it's still hot in there. Asking the guy, why his hair and cloth won't catch fire, he says, that he was in union with the fire and the fire did not harm him.
Well, the fire actually did harm "him", as it, after more than 2 minutes, destroyed the outer layer of his cloth to some degree. Which - as I assume - caused him to get up then. Also will his beard catch fire later, as quickly as any beard would catch fire.
In this sequence, he had been in the fire place for about 2:30 minutes, the fire just got started, no huge flames yet, no great heat. It will be the longest time he remains "in" the fire.
Next sequence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj9IAa0Rmxk
1. He lies down at 0:08.
2. he gets up at 0:34, with a lot of smoke rising from his cloth
Time "in" the fire: 26 seconds
Next sequence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8CjGLdCghA
1. He lies down at 0:09
2. at 0:30 we see his cloth considrably burning (and remember, that before he said, that his clothes would not burn because of his connection to the fire - why does it burn then here?)
3. at 0:33 he quickly gets up again and we can see how much smoke rises from him
Time "in" the fire: 24 seconds
Next:
1. he lies down at 0:11, now with half his body on the stones around the fireplace
2. he gets up at 0:33 seconds
Time "in" the fire: 22 seconds.
Next:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcd-6Bwj-Uk
1. he lies down at 0:05, now lying on the corner of the stone surrounding. In the corner, there is the least contact with the fire. His feet are on the ground, his head way out of the fireplace
[img]http://i36.tinypic.com/2ujm6o6.png[/img]
2. it seems that at 0:35 he gets up
Time "in" the fire: 30 seconds
And next:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SfcnmdbsUs
1. now he ads herbs to the fire. The herbs don't burn and there are no flames coming through them, however: at 0:05 he lies down, now more inside the fireplace again, but the flames are now only in a corner
2. there's a cut at 0:20 and he's outside again
3. lying down at 0:26 again, on the bed of herbs with no flames
4. gets up at 0:46
5. lying down at 0:58 again
6. at 1:20 we see him lying on the stone surrounding again, seems like a cut
7. getting up at 1:24
Time "in" the fire: 15 seconds, 20 seconds and 26 seconds
Next:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1135HnVrHU
1. lying down right at the beginning, the fire has become relatively small in a corner, as the rest of the fireplace is covered by herbs
2. at 1:00 his beard, which it should not, catches fire, and he puts it out quickly
[img]http://i35.tinypic.com/veb3p1.png[/img]
3. gets up at 1:21
Time "in" the fire: 1:21.
Next:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bdj-vZSjgE
1. he lies down, but only for a few seconds
2. his cloth burns now (the narrator says his "body burns, but he remains unaffected"), and he closely keeps an eye on the progress
[img]http://i36.tinypic.com/2yycob8.png[/img]
3. at 0:34 he gets up to put the fire out, he is agitated, moving relatively quickly
4. he gets hurt, the narrator say "the fire seems to have hurt him, we can see his painful reaction, but he quickly recovers"
[img]http://i35.tinypic.com/o69t6o.png[/img]
[img]http://i34.tinypic.com/kbzlvk.png[/img]
So what do we make out of this?
He is never actually in the fire, but only next to it. Yes, it's very hot there too. But he is never actually in the fire.
His skin is never in direct contact with the fire, and if that accidentially happens, he quickly moves out of the fire.
When the fire is at his cloth, it does not burn the cloth, like regular cloth is burnt. He explains that by a unity with both the fire and the cloth, claiming the fire won't burn the cloth due to this unity. Yet, the cloth gets affected after a while, which is usually the time when he gets up.
The longest period of time he is lying close to the fire is at the beginning, when the fire is only getting started. Even then, the time is only 2.5 minutes. Later, it will never be more than 30 seconds, and again: Not in the fire, but next to the fire, with his skin never in contact with the flames, but only his unburnable cloth.
My conclusion:
Yes, a normal person like you and I could not do that without intense training. It is definitely a skill you need to learn first. I also think that it might need a meditative state or a trance to bear the heat and the smoke. So yes, this is an advanced Yogi.
However: The claim that he cannot be burnt by the fire is not backed up by what we see, while we would see him sitting right in the fire naked if it was true.
On the experiment of the guy who does not eat:
I want to have it reproduced. By someone who is not deeply religious and therefore wanting to proove what his religions teaches is the truth. Just like I have little faith in the results of a scientific study about the health-risks from smoking, done by scientists working for the tobacco-industry.
Very logical, very reasonable. Unlike saying the background of a scientist is irrelevant.
