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Hinduism - What Is Tapas?

 

 (“heat”) Term for any kind of physical asceticism, or what was formerly known as "mortification of the flesh." 

Fasting (upavasa) and celibacy, as well as rituals of enduring physical agony, such as the "five flames" (panchagni) rite, are all included in the word tapas.

During this ceremony, a person sits in the hot season, surrounded by four flames, with the sun above representing the fifth fire.

Other ceremonies include suffering cold through bathing (snana) in snow-fed rivers, as well as enduring any kind of bodily hardship.

Tapas may also refer to strange and even masochistic habits such as standing for years on end; holding an arm lifted until the muscles atrophy and it can no longer be lowered; resting on thorn and nail beds, and so forth.

All of these activities are based on the notion that they produce spiritual strength (which is referred to as "heat"), and that a person who develops and accumulates enough of this force would attain supernormal abilities or the capacity to demand boons from the gods themselves.

Even while many modern Hindus are wary of and condemn extreme practices, there is still a huge cultural regard for ascetic self-control, and when paired with the appropriate personality, such activities may give significant religious power.

In Hindu mythology, Indra, the god-king, keeps a watchful eye on individuals who accumulate such abilities in order to safeguard himself from being supplanted by someone more powerful.

Because of the "heat" created by the tapas, Indra's celestial throne gets heated when an ascetic begins to collect enough strength to unseat him.

Indra must locate the aspirant and defuse the force in one of two ways: by bestowing a blessing on the aspirant, which is often the motivation for doing the tapas in the first place, or by sending a heavenly nymph (apsara) to seduce the ascetic, whose power will be released along with his semen.

This legend represents the core Hindu notion that celibacy, which conserves a man's vital energy by conserving his sperm, is the beginning point for ascetic strength.

~Kiran Atma


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