The Gender, Sexuality, and Race Room
What is the cultural purpose of asceticism, or extreme forms of austere devotion (such as living as a hermit in meditative solitude, completely abstaining from human companionship, etc?)
Given that ascetic practices seem to exist in many forms across cultures, and that it seems at odds with our physical desires toward companionship, procreation, etc I suspect there may have been some deeper purpose for it.
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