What is asceticism?
Q: What is asceticism?
A: Asceticism is a way of living in which a person gets rid of worldly pleasures for religion or spirituality. It often involves limiting speech, thoughts and activities with the body to reach spiritual and religious goals.
Q: What religions practice asceticism?
A: Asceticism is practiced by followers of Christianity and Indian religions, including yoga.
Q: How does one practice asceticism?
A: People who practice ascetic lifestyles typically abstain from indulging in sensual pleasures such as sex or drinking alcohol, and may also reject keeping money or spending time on luxury items. Instead, they focus their time on prayer or meditation to reach their spiritual goals.
Q: Is there any benefit to practicing asceticism?
A: Religions teach that purifying the soul also involves purification of the body which thereby enables connection with the Divine and the cultivation of inner peace. Practicing an ascetic lifestyle can bring about greater freedom in various areas of one's life, such as freedom from compulsions and temptations bringing about peacefulness of mind with a concomitant increase in clarity and power of thought.
Q: Are there any drawbacks to practicing an ascetic lifestyle?
A: Some people may neglect their maslowist needs when practicing an ascetic lifestyle due to focusing too much on reaching spiritual goals instead.
Q: Is it possible to enjoy life while still being an ascetecist?
A Yes, it is possible to enjoy life while still following an ascetecist lifestyle - although indulging in certain worldly pleasures may hinder spiritual and religious goals.
