Is he a reincarnation of Buddha? In Nepal's terai jungles, close to the Indian border, lives a 21-year-old believed by many to be the Buddha himself, reborn in this age. In this young man, devotees see the arrival of the Maitreya Buddha, a figure foretold in Buddhist scriptures as a successor to the legendary Buddha.

Ram Bahadur Bomzan, alternatively known as Palden Dorjee Tamang, counts among his devotees prominent Lamas, according to whom Tamang has given all indications of being a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened being, according to Buddhist traditions.

To his devotees – who hail from Nepal, Bhutan, the Darjeeling Hills, Sikkim and even from Japan, Malaysia, USA and Canada – Tamang is now known as Dharma Sangha, the Living Buddha. "The Dharma Sangha has taken birth to preach the pure dharma," says Neema Theeng, advisor to the State Trading Corporation of Sikkim (STCS) and senior committee member of the Indian chapter of the Bodhi Shravan Dharma Sangha, a body of Tamang's devotees.

Palden Tamang was born the third son of Maya Devi and Bir Bahadur Tamang on 9 April 1990, at Ratanpuri village of the Bara district of Nepal. Since childhood, he showed signs of being different from other children of his age, according to observers. He read scriptures, was happiest in the company of religious men, and never engaged in violent behaviour. He studied Lamaism, and was initiated into the Panchasheel, the creed that governs ideal human behaviour according to Buddhism. After the initiation, he travelled, seeking knowledge.

On 16 May, 2005, all of 15 years of age, Tamang left home at midnight to meditate. He meditated in an underground cave, near a lake and in thick jungles, for six years, during which time he came to be known as the Tapasvi. He ate little during those days and often went hungry, a practice that he follows even now.

How can a human being possibly survive without food and water for more than 72 hours, as the Dharma Sangha is said to be doing? Theeng says that in the initial years, there were suspicions that Tamang was a fraud. However, since the Discovery Channel and CNN telecast their hidden camera footage of the Dharma Sangha meditating at a stretch for 72 hours, Theeng says, the international media too acknowledges that he has miraculous or yogic powers.

Not everyone is convinced. T.Kumar, a medical practitioner in Darjeeling, maintains that the human body cannot survive beyond 72 hours without food and water. Manifestations like dehydration, changes in the pulse, blood pressure, kidney function, level of blood glucose, etc., drastically change during rigorous fasting, and can prove fatal beyond 72 hours if not attended to. However, several attempts by medical practitioners and research scientists to take samples of Tamang’s blood to study his physiology and to assess his medical condition have been thwarted by his devotees, who claim this would disturb his meditation.

Skeptics allege that Tamang is just a yoga practitioner; that his followers have deified him and made it into a business. There was once a police case against the young man, they point out. As the Tamang community is the majority community in Nepal, Buddhists of other sects refrain from speaking out openly against him, fearing communal clashes. From a theological point of view, once Bodhi, or enlightenment is attained, a Buddha cannot be reborn, some Buddhists point out, questioning the belief that Tamang is the Maitreya Buddha.

In response, Tamang’s devotees point to the miracles attributed to him.

Once, villagers are said to have implored him to do something about the terrible drought that faced the community. He suggested they pray to the Naga devta. The legend goes that it rained after five days.

Villagers living in the area around Tamang’s meditation site also believe that on 6 November, 2005, he was bitten by a poisonous snake while sitting in meditation. Instead of getting up, he continued meditating, and sweated out the poison. On 11 November, the villagers say, they saw a bright light appear on his forehead.

Mani Lama, a former minister of Nepal, believes that he and his wife were blessed with three children only because his wife sought Tamang’s blessings.

Devotees’ belief that Tamang is the Maitreya Buddha has been slowly but steadily gaining steam. Tamang, for the first time, addressed a huge crowd in the Halkhoriya jungles in Nepal in August 2007. In 2010, he referred to himself as the Dharma Sangha, or the living Buddha, andcalled a ‘Maitrayee Mahapranidhan’ assembly. In an indication of critical mass, the association of devotees, the Bodhi Shravan Dharma Sangha, was formed just last year.

Will Tamang one day be widely acknowledged as the Maitraya Buddha, the way the Buddha of history, the Sakhyamuni Buddha, is today? Only time can tell.