Ascetism

A lot of times I feel that the inherent motivation in a person to do something stems from a desire for the privileges that attainment would bring. That privilege could be the love of someone, or societal status, or money, or importance, or the drug of victory, or any combination thereof. And I feel that it is the strong desire for those privileges that keeps people motivated to continue their struggles until they attain their end.

Some people labour on in extended hours, sacrifice many moments of pleasure and happiness and give up upon their social obligations in their will to attain that goal. That goal may a school rank or first place in a sports event or a college entrance exam or a position in an upward rank in a company or anything else.

A lot of people also do things just for the experience of doing it. It is applicable for exciting things like sky-diving or trekking, visiting a new city or watching a Govinda movie. But I seriously doubt that people may deliberately struggle on a difficult and boring path just for its experience.

There has to be a desire, and a strong one at that, for the result of those efforts. Only then can you burn either the midnight oil or the fat cells in your body for the attainment of that one goal. Or plot your next scheme.

Now imagine someone who is not attracted to the things success brings. Infact, he may not be attracted to anything so strongly that it would create a desire in him to obtain it. This guy would never slog it out at night except when it was the point of failing the exam, would never work out hard to make it to the football or athletic team except just to get a little exercise, would never stay late at the office in order to get a promotion but only to complete an imminent task.

This guy would be your average Joe, or Jai for that matter, who was never too good at anything. He would be the average student or the average athlete or the average businessman or the average Uncle.

And this guy, who by his deliberate inaction is unable to achieve the best that his world has to offer him because he is not attracted enough to work hard for it, this guy would be rightly an ascetic – one who gives up. One who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austerity. Not the material comforts that he has. But the material comforts he could have got had he made up his mind to work harder. Austerity not in terms of what he has, but how much he could have got.

To deliberately try for something and work hard at it is not renunciation.

And in that aspect, an ascetic who is in deliberate search of Nirvana might not really be an ascetic at all.