Tapas (Indian religions)

Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्, romanized: tapas) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions. In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification);^[1]^[2] in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices including meditation and self-discipline;^[3] and in the different traditions within Hinduism it means a spectrum of practices ranging from asceticism, inner cleansing to self-discipline by meditation practices.^[4]^[5]^[6] The Tapas practice often involves solitude and is a part of monastic practices that are believed to be a means to moksha (liberation, salvation).^[2]

In the Vedas literature of Hinduism, fusion words based on tapas are widely used to expound several spiritual concepts that develop through heat or inner energy, such as meditation, any process to reach special observations and insights, the spiritual ecstasy of a yogin or Tāpasa (a vṛddhi derivative meaning "a practitioner of austerities, an ascetic"), even warmth of sexual intimacy.^[7] In certain contexts, the term means penance, pious activity, as well as severe meditation.^[8]

^ ^a ^b Cort, J. E. (2002). Singing the glory of asceticism: devotion of asceticism in Jainism. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 70(4), pages 719-742
^ ^a ^b Richard F. Gombrich (2006). Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge. pp. 44, 58. ISBN 978-1-134-21718-2.
^ Cite error: The named reference rg46 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Lowitz, L., & Datta, R. (2004). Sacred Sanskrit Words: For Yoga, Chant, and Meditation. Stone Bridge Press, Inc.; see Tapas or tapasya in Sanskrit means, the conditioning of the body through the proper kinds and amounts of diet, rest, bodily training, meditation, etc., to bring it to the greatest possible state of creative power. It involves practicing the art of controlling materialistic desires to attain moksha.Yoga, Meditation on Om, Tapas, and Turiya in the principal Upanishads Archived 2013-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, Chicago
^ Sanskrit-English phrases, France; tapas, tapa and tap on page 28
^ Cite error: The named reference brsmith144 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Kaelber, W. O. (1976). "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of Religions, 15(4), 343-386
^ Monier William's Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1899, Tapas

[cort2002p719-1] Cort, J. E. (2002). Singing the glory of asceticism: devotion of asceticism in Jainism. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 70(4), pages 719-742

[gombrich2006p44-2] Richard F. Gombrich (2006). Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge. pp. 44, 58. ISBN 978-1-134-21718-2.

[rg46-3] Cite error: The named reference rg46 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[4] Lowitz, L., & Datta, R. (2004). Sacred Sanskrit Words: For Yoga, Chant, and Meditation. Stone Bridge Press, Inc.; see Tapas or tapasya in Sanskrit means, the conditioning of the body through the proper kinds and amounts of diet, rest, bodily training, meditation, etc., to bring it to the greatest possible state of creative power. It involves practicing the art of controlling materialistic desires to attain moksha.Yoga, Meditation on Om, Tapas, and Turiya in the principal Upanishads Archived 2013-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, Chicago

[5] Sanskrit-English phrases, France; tapas, tapa and tap on page 28

[brsmith144-6] Cite error: The named reference brsmith144 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Kaelber-7] Kaelber, W. O. (1976). "Tapas", Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda, History of Religions, 15(4), 343-386

[8] Monier William's Sanskrit-English Dictionary, 2nd Ed. 1899, Tapas

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