Living in a cave/ isolated

[Philipp]

I have recently heard of a woman who lived 12 years in a cave. Hermits have done this centuries apparently. 

What do you guys think of living disconnected from society. No family. No job/purpose.  Meditating 12 hours a day.

 

 

Edited May 1 by Philipp

[CoolDreamThanks]

No need to go to a cave to disconnect. You can disconnect in the middle of a city. It will be more comfortable and easier to meditate. Tried living in a forest, it's romanticized, not the best option for enlightenment. Best option is disconnecting, but with a lot of money to spare, which helps you to disconnect with comfort. 

[An young being]

Not a bad idea at all. As long as you are contended with that life.

[An young being]

Also you have to make sure you don't have any carnivores animals sharing your house.

[Philipp]

Dont you think it is part of your purpose to create a family? Feels like going against human nature and against gods creation

[An young being]

17 minutes ago, Philipp said:

Dont you think it is part of your purpose to create a family? Feels like going against human nature and against gods creation

Human's nature is boundless love, and why should we restrict it to a small group called family?

Personally, I wouldn't advice anyone not to have a family or isolate themselves if they aren't spiritually matured or don't have a level of curiosity which is above survival. Humans are social animals by nature, and it's difficult to be alone for us for long durations, especially if our mind is not strong enough or our ego is limited in development.

[Philipp]

You are not serving humanity if your are living isolated right? Or do you think one should return after a time?

 

[Ishanga]

I think it is good to do generally for a couple of weeks a year for the majority of People, some may need more and can handle it easier, some can't do even a few days and it doesn't work for them, but some isolation away from the rat race we call society is good for ppl, while doing some quality Sadhana as well!

Only those that are meant for it can completely stay away from society and not go nuts, You really have to want it and feel that need inside Yourself to make it happen..

[Philipp]

I mean especially those who want to stay completly away from society.  -> buddhist ideal, basicly. 

I find it bizarre. You are not becoming a leader. You are not creating a family. It this really the end goal of spirituality? 

[Ishanga]

34 minutes ago, Philipp said:

I mean especially those who want to stay completly away from society.  -> buddhist ideal, basicly. 

I find it bizarre. You are not becoming a leader. You are not creating a family. It this really the end goal of spirituality? 

I would say those things are of social concern and creating a "family" is a biological concern, its in our dna to procreate but that is on the bodily level of life, Spirituality is about realizing the non physical aspect of who you are, so it has nothing to do with either of those things, but one has to individually make a choice, if one has a family and worldly responsibilities then of course it would not be so good to just go off and live in a cave somewhere unannounced, but if single with less responsibilities its a more available choice...

There are Ascetics sort of practices and way of doing things, and then there are householders ways of doing things where one continues to have family life while pursuing spirituality, in India they have a whole system set up for this, or at least they did back in the old days, where ppl made distinct choices at certain times in their life and didn't just drift thru it like ppl do today...

[tuku747]

7 hours ago, Philipp said:

You are not serving humanity if your are living isolated right? Or do you think one should return after a time?

Not necessarily; You can serve humanity so long as this is your desire, and you are willing to see that the radiation/broadcast of your well-being as Light/Love is a service-to-all.

You have to come to understand your very existence/vibration as service.
The radiation of the Self to Self is the greatest gift you could give, for the Self is Love.

As within, so without. Even in a cave, you can find connection, for it is Absolute.

Edited May 2 by tuku747

[An young being]

8 hours ago, Philipp said:

You are not serving humanity if your are living isolated right? Or do you think one should return after a time?

 

If you serve humanity with a selfless intention, you will definitely reap its benefits, since your ego gets expanded. But at the same time, if you give up the pleasures of the world such as sex,money, easy food(especially non vegetarian), a big house, family etc., you will reap those benefits as well, since you do a lot of hard work for surviving while denying yourself the pleasures and hence expand your ego. There are many paths in spirituality and you can follow one or multiples of them at the same time. For example, even if you live in a forest, you can serve nature by feeding or providing water to animals or birds. Humanity is not the only group which requires compassion.

What is more important is whether you have the ability and motivation to live such life. As told earlier, it's not easy to deny yourself the pleasures of daily life unless you are disciplined and spiritually matured.

 

[Princess Arabia]

16 hours ago, CoolDreamThanks said:

No need to go to a cave to disconnect. You can disconnect in the middle of a city. It will be more comfortable and easier to meditate. Tried living in a forest, it's romanticized, not the best option for enlightenment. Best option is disconnecting, but with a lot of money to spare, which helps you to disconnect with comfort. 

Why do you want to disconnect from life. It's impossible to. It's only dead thoughts that make it appears that you are disconnected. The body doesn't care about disconnecting. Thoughts do though - from other thoughts.

[Ajay0]

 There was an Indian enlightened sage in the late nineteenth century named Sreenarayan Guru, who during an intense period of austerity and meditation, lived in cave for an year or two in an isolated region. His expert knowledge of Ayurveda and herbal medicine, enabled him to create a nutritious concoction of easily available herbs which he used to eat along with nearby tubers and roots. 

This period of austerity and meditation resulted in his enlightenment later on, after which he returned back to society and performed a role as a spiritual master, healer and social reformer. 

Dada Gavand lived similarly in a small hut on top of a hill for silence and solitude with his books and stove, and a villager used to provide him with rice and vegetables at regular intervals of time. His austerity and meditation for a period of six months or so, resulted in his enlightenment.

The positives of such dwellings are silence, solitude, beautiful and unpolluted natural surroundings which are rich in prana or chi, and facilitates faster spiritual growth. However it is important to do one's due diligence and research before going for such options.

Edited May 2 by Ajay0

[CoolDreamThanks]

1 hour ago, Princess Arabia said:

Why do you want to disconnect from life. It's impossible to. It's only dead thoughts that make it appears that you are disconnected. The body doesn't care about disconnecting. Thoughts do though - from other thoughts.

Thoughts are not what makes it appear that you disconnected. You disconnect by rising above your thoughts into being. And you can’t rise if you are chasing hedonistic desires. I put strict restrictions on my life - no romantic relationships, no sexual thoughts, diet only for health, no entertainment, just meditating, working, time in nature, sleeping, repeat.  
 

feeling amazing. So freeee. Daily life is very meditative now. 
 

 Desires imprison the soul. 

Edited May 2 by CoolDreamThanks

[enchanted]

20 hours ago, Philipp said:

I have recently heard of a woman who lived 12 years in a cave. Hermits have done this centuries apparently. 

What do you guys think of living disconnected from society. No family. No job/purpose.  Meditating 12 hours a day.

 

 

You can always try it for a week to see if it's right for you. My guess is that it's a romanticized idea. You would have to consider food and weather. If you are close to civilization then there is the risk of other people. If you are far from civilization there the problem of getting food. Also it's harder to do it on a cold climate. 

Apparently this woman didn't want to leave her cave after 500 days.....

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/14/spanish-woman-emerges-after-spending-500-days-living-alone-in-cave

 

Edited May 2 by enchanted

[Davino]

20 hours ago, Philipp said:

I have recently heard of a woman who lived 12 years in a cave. Hermits have done this centuries apparently. 

You have NO clue how hard it is to survive as full time hermit

20 hours ago, Philipp said:

No family. No job/purpose.  Meditating 12 hours a day.

A joke, you will spend 12h surviving in the woods and the rest meditating; in case you are not sick, or injured or find no food. You haven't studied seriously how these people lived, you have a fantasy. Living fully on your own is very damn hard.

[ChrisZoZo]

I remember with myself, I was struggling to meditate at home and I went for a walk.  there was a river and and trees about. Sounds of Nature remind me of peace and I felt the need to then go into the forest and meditate and then I found it effective.

So I would say if you wanna go meditate for a long time in a cave go meditate in a cave first for a little bit and see how it goes. 

[ChrisZoZo]

If you’re doing genuinely good meditation for 12 hours a day doesn’t matter where you are. 
 

And if you don’t know if you’re doing good meditation is.  Do concentration practices as described in this video and then you learn how good your meditation really is. 
 

 

[Ishanga]

Today we talk about meditation. Some people need a community. Some people can do it on their own. There are many types of meditations, pick the one that fits you.

Being in Hermit mode is what the top Daoist used to do millennia ago, before the name Daoism was formed, they lived in Mountains in China, samething happened in India too, then things spread out, tribes became communities, methods become systems became religions, sangas or communities form around methods and ways of supporting one another, one way is good for a certain type of personality, other ways for different personalities that is more common today, those that need others to support them, until they become completely independent which in Reality is what we are, in certain ways we are already independent, but we are inclusive and connected to everything, trees, soil, earth, space, and others...