When food is readily available skipping food once in a while sounds attractive. It is not too difficult to give up food. The truth is, for those who have plenty to eat, it is easy to go without food for a day or two. That's why in an affluent society the cults of dieting and fasting become popular. For example, in America the idea of dieting has become very popular. To have an attractive figure becomes more important than food. An extreme form of this can become an illness. In extreme forms this can be pathological and lead to anorexia nervosa. When we talk of fasting as a spiritual practice, we are not talking about this kind of fasting. That is why we have called it upavaas, which literally means living close to oneself. Normally, one who goes on a fast keeps repeating twenty-four hours a day that he is hungry, that he has not eaten any food that day. His mind continues to fantasize about the food he will eat the next day and plans for it. Then it is merely abstaining from food.
Sounds Interesting...