The Path of the Ascetic: What It Means to Be a Modern Renunciate

Not all spiritual paths lead to organized religions, strict doctrines, or spiritual practices like prayer, yoga, or meditation. If you’ve spent some time traveling, you’ve probably come across some interesting characters who don’t just live off the map, but renounce the map completely.

Having spent the past few months in India, I’ve dug into various philosophies and seen a large number of people who take a different, yet arguably more practical approach to spirituality. Instead of following the rules, these people go to extremes to pursue spirituality in its rawest, unadulterated way. Yes, I’m talking about the ascetics, the infamous Sadhus (South Asian renunciates), Avadhootas (Hindu mystics), and Fakirs (Sufi mystics)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an ascetic. I quite like having stuff and value a healthy balance with the material world. With that said, my time in India has inspired me to write an article about the ascetic path because it’s something that has really captured my curiosity over the last few months.

Here we’re going to look at the ascetic path, especially as you might see in places like India or Pakistan. This isn’t to copy the wandering ascetics, but to understand this unique spiritual pathway a little more, and incorporate some of the key lessons into our lives.

What Is an Ascetic?

An ascetic is someone who chooses a life of simplicity, which often leads to physical deprivation or renunciation of materialism in pursuit of spiritual attainment. People who are considered ascetics usually give up creature comforts, pleasures, and attachments in order to step deeper into spirit.

By reducing the noise of the senses, the drama of the ego, and the pull of desire, ascetics aim to:

• Realize their true, divine nature beyond the physical body
• Commune directly with the spirit
• Transcend suffering
• Walk a path of integrity and humility
• Discover truth beyond illusion

But… walking the path of an ascetic is no easy chore. It’s a lifelong commitment where you need to give up almost everything to pursue spiritual truth. In this sense, it’s a huge sacrifice and an investment of your life. For those who are extremely committed to spiritual growth, it may be the best investment anyone could make because the potential payoff is well beyond anything that materialism can provide.

Throughout history, certain people have gone so deep into the search for truth that they’ve left behind everything. Possessions, a home, society, their identity, religion, and even reason. These are the wild mystics: the Avadhootas, Fakirs, Sadhus, and others like them who renounce not just the world, but even the self.

To most of us growing up in Western society, this path can even be a little difficult to wrap our heads around. Most of us can’t give up social media for a day. Imagine giving up literally every construct that is tied to the self… and spending the rest of your life like that.

An ascetic is an umbrella term for anyone who renounces materialism in the pursuit of spiritual growth. Every culture has its ascetics. Some people, such as true minimalists, medicine people, and hermits are somewhat ascetic because they reject social norms to pursue a raw connection with truth. But there are varying extremes.

People who are considered true ascetics, regardless of culture, cut out the following from their lives:

• Material possessions and often live poor or very modestly.
• Sexual desire and activity – committing to celibacy.
• Overeating. They tend to eat simple food and eat infrequently. Food becomes a means to survive rather than something to enjoy.
• Simple pleasures like coffee, chocolate.
• Stimulation by regularly fasting, valuing silence, and living mostly in isolation.
• Fashion and clothing, sticking to simple, comfortable clothes.
• Social status, labels, and constructs of self.

As you see, ascetics live very simple lives and spend most of their time in Devotional or contemplative practice, such as prayer, meditation, and self-inquiry.

There are many different forms of ascetics. On the one hand, you have the ordinary spiritual seeker who may live off-grid, generally stay away from technology, grow their own food, and live a modest life. They’re not concerned about social status, appearance, or trying to be someone. These are the modern ascetics who have a relative balance between the material and spiritual.

As we lean further along the renunciation spectrum, we have people like monks, nuns, and sadhus who pledge to live their lives in simplicity and surrender themselves to devotional practice. Then, if you continue moving along that spectrum, you have the extremists. These are people who have renounced everything, including:

• Intake: May not eat for weeks. May eat and drink the minimal amount to stay alive.
• Lodging: Homeless, and completely immersed in the elements with no sense of home or belonging. Often nomads or wanderers.
• Possessions: No possession, no money, sometimes no clothes. Often survive by donations or foraging. They live off the land and surrender to the divine.
• Image: Completely unkempt, frazzled, dirty. They have no attachment to their self-image, or constructs such as sense of self, status, recognition, desire, etc.
• Spiritual identity and religion: They renounce religious rules or doctrines and instead discover their truth through experience.

Got the picture? An extreme ascetic might look like a crazy homeless person, however, it’s by design. But you don’t need to go that far to understand what this is all about.

Understanding the Path of the Ascetic

Think of it this way. Our attention is always so consumed by modern life that spirituality is often a supplement that sits in the background. We may focus 90% of our mental bandwidth on work, family, organizing ourselves, making money, building a nice home, having a social life, relaxing, and leisure.

When all of these things are satisfied, we may then occupy the rest of our bandwidth with spiritual practice. The ascetic path, on the other hand, is to free up that 90% bandwidth, to therefore devote 100% of life to spiritual practice.

But let’s be real.

Very few of us will ever commit to the path of extreme ascetism, because it involves renouncing all things, including your identity, personality, and sense of self. A concept that may be a little hard to grasp at first. Every culture has people who have completely renounced everything, including organized spirituality itself.

In a world obsessed with image, success, and ego, extreme ascetics such as Avadhootas and Fakirs remind us that true freedom doesn’t come from the outside. These people are like spiritual wildcards… living proof that there are infinite ways to connect with God.

The renunciant archetype shows up all over the world, across cultures, religions, and spiritual lineages. It’s not just an Indian thing. Rather, it’s a universal path that transcends dogma. Here, we’re going to look at some different examples of people who are not searching, but have found truth via the ascetic path.

Avadhootas

Avadhootas are realized beings associated with Hinduism. They have transcended worldly attachments and live in a state of spiritual liberation. The word Avadhoota means “one who has shaken off”, meaning someone who has shaken off all social conditioning, norms, and identity. Avadhootas embody a living wisdom that transcends logic and are characterized by:

• Often appear mad, eccentric, or unkempt, but that’s part of their renunciation of ego and identity.
• Live in total freedom beyond rituals, caste, religion, or even clothing sometimes.
• Deeply rooted in non-duality. To them, everything is God.
• Sometimes don’t speak at all, or speak in riddles, poems, or paradoxes.

Fakirs

Similar to Avadhootas, Fakirs are generally wandering Sufi (a branch of Islam) ascetics or mystics found in countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and West Asia. Fakirs emphasize the soul’s union with the Divine. They’re like bridges between heaven and earth, often helping the downtrodden. They are characterized by:

• Living in simplicity or poverty.
• Practice zikr (remembrance of God), music, poetry, and dance.
• Serve the people — healing, blessings, spiritual guidance.
• Seen around dargahs (Sufi shrines), especially during festivals and Urs (death anniversaries of saints).
• Sometimes possess miraculous powers (known as karamat, siddis, or spiritual gifts depending on the belief system), but stay humble and devoted to the Divine.

The Hermit Monks

Hermit monks are spiritual renunciants mostly associated with early Christianity, especially during the first few centuries AD. They withdrew from society to live alone in deserts, forests, or caves, dedicating themselves completely to God. Their whole life was about stripping away distractions to experience Divine truth firsthand. Hermit monks are characterized by:

• Living in solitude, fasting, prayer, and silence.
• Deeply mystical, often had visions and spiritual ecstasies.
• Devoting their lives to constant prayer, fasting, and silent contemplation.
• Embracing radical simplicity — owning almost nothing, eating just enough to survive.
• Having intense mystical experiences like visions, inner revelations, or even battles with demons (could be symbolic or literal depending on your interpretation).

Regardless of the culture of tradition that the ascetic is associated with, they’re all people who give up everything in pursuit of an extremely raw connection with god.

These beings exist at the edges of the world… but carry its deepest truths. They show us that awakening is not a polite, comfortable thing that you can do by sitting on the couch, surfing Netflix and eating Doritos. It’s intense and requires extreme dedication.

If you’re feeling called toward radical self-inquiry, extreme simplicity, or a deep departure from modern life… know that you’re not alone. You’re tapping into an ancient current that has always flowed through the world — wild, free, and deeply sacred.

Ascetics in the Real World

You might feel the draw to become like an Avadhoota, Fakir, or Hermit – stripping yourself of the material and getting deeply in touch with the rawness of nature, but how practical is it for someone, like me, who grew up in a middle-class, Western family?

Look, it’s possible, but not in the way you might think.

These paths aren’t about becoming something in the conventional sense. You don’t apply to be an Avadhoota or earn a degree in being a Fakir. These people don’t choose the path, it consumes them. It’s not a lifestyle. It’s a surrender so absolute that it burns away identity, ego, and every safety net you’ve ever known.

Perhaps if you grew up in Poverty in India, you have an advantage here. You don’t have a lot to hang onto, and the culture is generally quite accepting of these spiritual paths. People would recognize that you’re deeply devoted to spiritual truth instead of thinking you’re crazy.

In Western society, this is tricky.

If you play the part, most people will certainly think you’re mad and mentally unstable. Police may give you a hard time. People will keep you at an arm’s distance. Our society is not geared towards these sorts of practices – socially, spiritually, or legally.

So without a doubt, you’re going to face some challenges.

What if You’re Feeling the Call to Be an Ascetic?

If you truly feel called to the ascetic path, then it’s important not to cosplay someone else’s. You don’t need to play the part of an Indian Avadhoot or Sufi Fakir to walk a path of spiritual rawness. Especially if you’re living in a Western culture and wish to maintain social ties, such as to family, you can’t.

But you can find a balance that works for you. You can live like a Fakir without wearing a robe. You can burn like an Avadhoota while working a day job. The form is less important than the sincerity. This is a nuance of the ascetic path that is so often missed. The core of it is to renounce identity and label.

You can absolutely minimize the distraction, fluff, and stuff in your life and prioritize spiritual practice over all else, without renouncing the material world completely. This may involve living a modest life, making more space for connection with self and nature. If you set your priorities straight, you can go very deep into spirit.

This is the path of the modern ascetic. It’s not necessarily about renouncing everything in your life, but finding a healthy balance with the material world and the ego. After all, this is the true essence of being an ascetic – practicing non-attachment to things and being integral to the practice.

Start with total honesty.

Why are you drawn to renunciation? Is it a romantic fantasy of freedom? An escape from pain? A true call to awakening? Keep in mind that you don’t need to throw away your possessions tomorrow. That’s external. True renunciation means dropping attachment, storylines, and identity.

This can be done right now, wherever you are.

It all begins with radical self-enquiry. Constantly question the nature of self, and develop non-attachment to things like praise, blame, money, and status. If you worry about what other people think of you, or are concerned about your position in society, you’re doing the whole renunciate thing wrong because, first and foremost, you must renounce the mental constructs.

Should You Become an Ascetic?

In my opinion, it’s not something that you should jump into. Remember, there are varying degrees of ascetics too, and the more extreme examples require the largest sacrifice that most of us won’t, and can’t necessarily make.

What I suggest is, while you’re young, make the most of your life. Chase glory, build something, live your best life, and burn yourself out. Maybe this whole ascetic thing will become a distant memory. But as you become older, if you still don’t have much and still don’t feel fulfilled, perhaps it’s time to take the ascetic path a little more seriously.

After all, what do you have to lose?

You won’t regret not trying to live a full life because you did. You will have fond memories of making life count and therefore won’t feel like you’re missing out. With the normal life out of your system, you may be ripe to try something different, and I believe that this may be the best position to do it right and fully appreciate it.

Likewise, I’m sure each one of us can live a little more simply. We can become less concerned about becoming rich, or having a nice house, or building social status. We can learn to step back a little and appreciate life for what it is. We can learn to find a healthy balance with the ego. We can spend more time in devotional practice, discipline ourselves a little more, seek a little less pleasure, and find a reasonable balance with the material world.

This is the path of the modern ascetic. You don’t need to renounce everything to show your devotion to god. My main takeaway – the most important lesson I’ve learned from all this is to let go of my self-image.

I have always been trying to hold together an image of someone who is cool, successful, happy… Sometimes I just want to be stupid, odd, and nerdy. The ascetic path has taught me that if I want to find true liberation, I need to be my unapologetic self and not care about the opinions of others.

Being drawn to this path often means you’ll feel like an outsider… Spiritually homeless, existentially raw. That’s okay. That is the path. Read the mystics. Meditate deeply. Walk in nature. Let your mind unravel.
You don’t have to understand where you’re going. You only have to keep surrendering to this marvel we call existence, and not find yourself, but lose yourself.

Becoming an ascetic isn’t about getting spiritual clout. Rather, it’s about dissolving illusion and standing naked before the Infinite – as a humble servant to god.