A person who has dedicated his life to spiritual perfection is called an ascetic. The word "ascetic" in translation from the Greek language means "practicing in something." Initially, it meant preparing athletes for competitions, then they considered that asceticism was the pursuit of a virtuous life, the fight against bad habits and vices.
The essence of asceticism
An ascetic differs from a person who lives a spiritual life, but is married and does not seek to get away from worldly goods, in that he renounces any property and does not enter into marriage. In a word, a hermit. Asceticism is an extremely strict, restrained way of life, in which a person engages exclusively in spiritual exercises, inaccessible to the understanding of worldly people.
The main purpose of the ascetic is to achieve his own moral perfection or the good of other people. The ascetic is ready for this to endure spiritual trials, experience physical suffering and endure material hardships.
Asceticism in Philosophy
Asceticism is inherent in the philosophy of the Stoics. It was preached by the apostle Paul. Asceticism is a moral principle that affirms the superiority of the spirit over the flesh and requires the limitation of sensual pleasures. This direction of philosophy was characteristic of several schools, which proclaimed freedom of spirit from desires. Asceticism was widely spread in various religious movements. Christian asceticism had as its goal the pacification and mortification of man's sensual desires. This meant not only sexual abstinence, but also the renunciation of pleasures delivered by auditory and taste sensations, contemplation, and so on.
Categories of people who need asceticism
Asceticism is a special state of mind in which a person seeks to know God. It is difficult for such people to live in the ordinary world; from birth they are intended for the life of an ascetic. Asceticism is also necessary for the category of people who seek to know the truth, but the predominance of sensual desires and the lack of faith prevents them from achieving what they want. For such people, asceticism is an opportunity to know the truth.
They cannot be happy in the world, in ordinary life conditions, their restless and restless spirit requires asceticism. For example, if they are married, then they themselves suffer in family life, and make their wives unhappy.
The philosophy of asceticism is a protest of the higher self of a person against the predominance of sensual desires over him. To subordinate your body (mental and physical) to the will, you need a number of special exercises that contradict the desires of the flesh.
This means that asceticism is a means to subordinate one's flesh to the higher self of a person in the interests of spiritual development. And if a person was able to achieve such a state and gained power over his passions, then he can live in ordinary life conditions, without fear that desires will triumph over his spirit. Many holy ascetics did just that - they lived among people as preachers of truth.
The path of asceticism is the path of reasoning about one’s exploits. And this path is necessary in order for a person to realize and measure his abilities, so that these exploits are feasible and do not lead to the opposite results.
