Asceticism

Man is in a very precarious position; not fully intellectual, not completely instinctual.
The choice arises in every thinking mans life as to what path he will choose: will
he give in to his instincts and live entirely within the dictations of his nature as an
animal, where the mind is simply the facilitator of instinctual desire or will he
deny both pain and pleasure and become pure intellect devoid of all need and in
complete control of his being?
OR
will we embrace both pain
and pleasure as parts of our total being and focus our efforts in enjoying life’s
pleasures and experiencing the rapture of consciousness and yet will we not
forget that it is suffering that elevates and strengthens us and it is this payment,
which we pay willingly, that makes us more than just animals and ennobles us
before a universe wanting to degrade, embarrass and destroy us?

 The controlled exposure to suffering and pain through asceticism creates a strong and durable mind that will be easily adaptable to a variation of environments and challenges and come out of every confrontation the dominator.