Asceticism

What is Asceticism?

Asceticism, a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for spiritual goals, has been practiced across various religious and philosophical traditions. It’s like choosing to live in a cave of simplicity rather than the bustling city of desires.

The Essence of Asceticism

Ascetics may withdraw from the world or continue to be part of society, adopting a frugal lifestyle and spending time fasting and practicing religion, prayer, and meditation. The practice has been observed in various religious and philosophical traditions, including Ancient Greek schools, Indian religions, Abrahamic religions, and contemporary practices.

Renouncing Sensual Pleasures

Asceticism involves renouncing sensual pleasures and leading an abstinent lifestyle to pursue redemption, salvation, and spirituality. Many believe that purifying the body helps to purify the soul, leading to a greater connection with the Divine or inner peace.

The Freedom of Asceticism

However, ascetics argue that self-imposed constraints bring greater freedom in various areas of their lives, such as increased clarity of thought and resistance to temptations. Asceticism is seen in some traditions as a journey towards spiritual transformation, where simplicity is sufficient, bliss is within, and frugality is plenty.

The Term ‘Ascetic’

The term ‘ascetic’ derives from the ancient Greek term áskēsis, meaning ‘training’ or ‘exercise.’ Asceticism can be classified into natural and unnatural forms. Natural asceticism involves reducing material aspects of life to simplicity, while unnatural asceticism involves practices such as body mortification and self-infliction.

Religious Groups Practicing Asceticism

Ascetic lifestyle is associated with various religious groups, including monks, nuns, and fakirs in Abrahamic religions, and bhikkhus, munis, sannyasis, vairagis, goswamis, and yogis in Indian religions. In Christianity, notable figures such as Origen, St Jerome, John Chrysostom, and Augustine of Hippo interpreted biblical texts within an asceticized religious environment. The deserts of the Middle East were once inhabited by thousands of Christian ascetics, hermits, and anchorites.

The Desert Fathers and Mothers

The Desert Fathers and Mothers, including St. Anthony the Great, St. Mary of Egypt, and St. Simeon Stylites, practiced various forms of asceticism such as simple living, begging, fasting, and prayer. Evagrius Ponticus, a highly educated monastic teacher, produced a large theological body of work on asceticism, including the Gnostic texts. His teachings were influenced by pre-Christian Greek philosophical traditions, particularly Plato and Aristotle.

Asceticism in Islam

In Islam, asceticism is known as zuhd, and was practiced by the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers. However, contemporary mainstream Islam has not had a tradition of asceticism, but Sufi groups have cherished their own ascetic tradition for centuries.

The Waldensian Sect

The Proto-Protestant Waldensian sect originated as an ascetic group within medieval Western Christianity, persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. The ascetic Sufis were hunted and persecuted by Sunni and Shia rulers, but they played a significant role in spreading Islam between the 10th and 19th centuries. Sufi practices included celibacy, fasting, and self-mortification, and some scholars argue that they influenced the conversion of Turkic peoples to Islam.

Asceticism in Judaism

In Judaism, asceticism has been a minor to significant theme, with examples such as the Nazirite tradition in the first millennium BCE era. The Essene tradition was an important movement within Jewish asceticism between the second century BCE and first century CE. Medieval Jewish ascetic groups included Havoth ha-Levavot and Hasidei Ashkenaz, which practiced self-deprivation and mysticism.

Asceticism in Indian Religions

In Indian religions, asceticism is found in both non-theistic and theistic traditions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. The practice includes a spectrum of diverse practices, ranging from mild self-discipline to severe austerities and self-mortification. Examples of Indian ascetics include Sadhus, Pravrajitas, Bhikshus, Yatis, and monks in Jainist monasteries.

Ascetic Jewish Sects

Ascetic Jewish sects existed in ancient and medieval eras, including the Essenes and Havoth ha-Levavot. The Ashkenazi Hasidim practiced self-torture, starvation, and other forms of physical suffering to purify their souls. Another school of Jewish asceticism emerged in the 16th century led from Safed, which emphasized radical material abstentions and self-mortification.

Radical Forms of Indian Asceticism

Radical forms of Indian asceticism included the Ajivikas, who practiced severe austerities in pursuit of salvation. Some ascetics live like priests and preachers, while others are armed and militant to resist persecution. Self-torture is relatively uncommon but attracts public attention.

The Historical Siddhartha Gautama

Historical Siddhartha Gautama adopted an extreme ascetic life seeking enlightenment, but later rejected it for a more moderated version, the ‘Middle Way.’ Early Buddhist texts suggest asceticism was part of its practice. In Theravada tradition, ascetic monks wander and dwell in forests or crematories alone, doing austere practices like Thudong.

Asceticism in Mahayana Tradition

In Mahayana tradition, asceticism became accepted with esoteric and mystical meanings, such as penance, austerities, ablutions under waterfalls, and rituals to purify oneself. Indian mythologies describe numerous ascetic gods or demons who pursued harsh austerities for decades or centuries, gaining special powers.

Ascetic Practices in China

Buddhist ascetic practices in China were not an adaptation of Indian practices but an invention based on unique interpretations of Buddhist scriptures. Renunciation from worldly life is a historic tradition in Hinduism since ancient times, with various terms like Sannyasa, Tapas, and Pravrajita/Pravrajitā describing different aspects of ascetic practices.

Ascetic Practices in Hinduism

Hindu traditions describe both men and women participating in diverse ascetic practices throughout history. Asceticism-like practices are mentioned in the Vedas, but their interpretation varies. In the Rigveda’s Kesin hymn, Keśins (‘long-haired’ ascetics) and Munis (‘silent ones’) are described as sages who follow a path of absorption and meditation. The Vedic and Upanishadic texts discuss self-restraint and self-control, not self-inflicted pain.

The Advaita Vedanta Tradition

In the Advaita Vedanta tradition, ascetic practices emphasize yoga and nondualism. Sannyasi vows include abstention from harming living beings, truthfulness, and liberality. These vows are meant to promote compassion, kindness, and detachment. The Nirvana Upanishad asserts that the Hindu ascetic should hold knowledge of the absolute and union with Brahman.

The Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita criticizes a form of asceticism driven by pride or ego, rather than genuine spiritual growth. Jainism, on the other hand, practices intense asceticism to burn away karma and achieve liberation from rebirths. Ascetics in Jainism include nakedness, fasting, body mortification, penance, and other austerities.

Ascetic Vows in Jainism

Jain monks and nuns take ascetic vows, including nonviolence, complete celibacy, and a strict vegetarian diet without root vegetables. They follow a rigid routine of fasting periods, soliciting alms from householders, and wearing simple white robes. Male Digambara sect monks do not wear clothes, carry a soft broom made of peacock feathers, eat with their hands, sleep on the floor without blankets, and sit on wooden platforms. They practice meditation in various locations, including riverbanks and hills, according to their physical and mental limits.

Santhara or Sallekhana

Jain ascetics take a final vow of Santhara or Sallekhana, a fast to peaceful death, by reducing intake and ultimately abandoning all medicines, food, and water before death. Scholars state this is not suicide but a form of natural death without passion or turmoil.

Sikhism and Asceticism

Sikhism emphasizes being God-centered and living a householder’s life as morally responsible. Asceticism is about remaining pure amidst impurities, treating everyone alike, and staying away from mere words and external symbols.

Ascetic Practices in Inca Religion and Taoism

Inca religion practiced asceticism through fasting, chastity, simple food, and seclusion. Taoist monastic tradition included fasting, complete sexual abstinence, self-imposed poverty, sleep deprivation, and secluding oneself in the wilderness.

Academic Views on Asceticism

Academic views distinguish between inner- and other-worldly asceticism. Inner- or Other-worldly asceticism involves withdrawing from the world, while worldly asceticism involves living an ascetic life without withdrawal. Weber distinguished between ‘inner-worldly’ (or ‘otherworldly’) and ‘worldly’ asceticism, with the former being about inner exploration and the latter being about living a disciplined life.

David McClelland’s Perspective

The 20th-century American psychologist David McClelland suggested worldly asceticism targets distracting pleasures, while wealthy Quakers made luxurious clothing from inexpensive materials. Amish groups make technology decisions based on similar criteria.

Nietzsche and the ‘Ascetic Ideal’

Nietzsche discussed the ‘ascetic ideal’ in his book On the Genealogy of Morals (1887). He described how asceticism can serve life by overcoming pain and despair, expressing ressentiment and will to power. Ascetic practices have been life-denying or pleasure-denying but also carried out as disciplines of pleasure. Epicurus taught a philosophy of pleasure while engaging in ascetic practices like fasting to test his limits.

Further Reading

For those interested in delving deeper into the topic, Richard Valantasis’s book ‘The Making of the Self: Ancient and Modern Asceticism’ is highly recommended. It provides a comprehensive exploration of the subject across different cultures and time periods.