Fasting has grown in popularity due to its health benefits. But it’s the spiritual dimension that has always attracted my interest. Fasting has been an instinctual and necessary habit in every culture and religion throughout history.
When Prophet Moses was waiting for the revelation on the mountain of Sinai, he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Prophet Jesus fasted for 40 days, according to the gospels, before engaging in a fierce battle with Satan. And Prophet Muhammad said, “The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach.” His followers were instructed to fast during the sacred month of Ramadan.
Fasting is known as vrata in Hinduism, and it is done on specific days to honor the gods and goddesses. Buddhist monks consider fasting to be one of the dhutanga austerities, a set of thirteen ascetic practices to “shake up” or “invigorate” life. The stoics believed that overfeeding the body “strangles the soul and makes it less active.”
Fasting is countercultural in this era of extraordinary comforts. Brett McKay explains why it could be beneficial.
In fasting, we have to face down our appetite for food, but this hunger stands in for all our other gnawing appetites. In overcoming what seems like an insatiable desire to eat, we come to realize that other desires that seemingly demand to be answered now, can in fact be postponed. We come to realize we can do without. We can control the things that seek to control us. The self-restraint built by fasting becomes an aid in keeping all our priorities straight, helping us get a better grip on the constant battle between short-term pleasures and long-term goals. It’s a concrete practice that helps develop that nebulous thing called character.
As the stomach fills up and becomes comfortable, I’ve noticed that it has a negative impact on my spiritual wellbeing. My mind wanders, and I lose sight of God’s Presence. The lower self becomes more defiant.
“Bodily strength depends on food and drink, whereas spiritual strength depends on going hungry and thirsty,” said Shams, Rumi’s guide. “In God’s domain, hunger is a divine food.” The emptiness of a fast helps to focus the mind and suppress the ego.
This Ramadan, I’m going to fast from the first rays of dawn until sunset. But that’s only one aspect. I must also abstain from all vices that, like eating and drinking, break the fast. What good is it to be fasting if I give in to lying, anger, resentment, envy, or any other overpowering passion?
As a Sufi sheikh said, “When one of you fasts, let his ears, sight, hands, legs, limbs and senses, and heart all fast. Let all his outward and all his inward fast.”