Asceticism as a mode of life moderate and devoid of all kinds of excesses totals more than one thousand years. Ascetics have always existed, at all times, since ancient times. Ascetic is a hermit who voluntarily chose a solitary and rather harsh way of life. In order to achieve certain spiritual goals, he spends his life in severity and abstinence, observing the vows given to him.
By their example, ascetics showed all people how to improve the body and mind, controlling passions and controlling their unbridled desires. The very word "ascetic" is a derivative of the Greek "asceticism", which means a certain preparation, exercise. Asceticism in the most general sense is a certain system of spiritual and psychophysical exercises that reflect the essence of the religion on the basis of which it is formed. This practice is very common in many types of cultures.
Hinduism
The inhabitants of ancient India with the help of austerities hoped to gain supernatural powers and achieve equal power to the gods. The forms of self-torture, which the Indian ascetics resorted to, were amazing, they could hold their arms over their heads for months or stand on one leg.
Buddhism
According to the Buddhist doctrine, asceticism is one way to achieve enlightenment. But one should not refuse immediately and everything. First you need to drink the whole cup of life to the bottom and only then, having recognized it, become disillusioned with it. By and large, the ascetic was not an ideal in Buddhism, for he indulged in austerity for the sake of the personal good, in contrast to a bodhisattva who cares for the common good.
Islam
The meaning of Islamic asceticism, referred to as "zuhd", is that one should not grieve for the mundane, which is lost, but also not to enjoy all that mundane that is acquired. Zuhd, who follows the Islamic ascetic, is first of all a rejection of everything that distracts from Allah.
Christianity
The fundamental principle of Christian asceticism is the harmonization of the will of the divine and the will of man. To save the soul, the combination of grace and free will of a person is necessary, and it can be released only through ascetic exploits. Among Christians (if this is not an ascetic stranger), the concept was usually associated with a hermit monk living a strict moral life. Asceticism meant special exercises involving the killing of the flesh. The Orthodox hermit has exercised his will and thoughts through prayer, vigil, fasting and solitude.
The essence of asceticism
The ascetic vow for the sake of spiritual enlightenment sometimes included true self-torture, accompanied by fear and pain. Some philosophers saw a clear excess here and believed that all sorts of pleasures can teach us much more than hardships. It is also important to understand that an ascetic is a person who definitely has the opportunity to live in absolute abundance and at the same time deliberately limits himself in all material goods, comfort and pleasures for a specific purpose. That is, asceticism caused by temporary material difficulties, in fact, is false.