Fasting
Fasting, primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time It is most often an abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day (24 hours), or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive, limiting particular foods or substance.
In the physiological context, fasting may refer to either the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, or to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal. Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting, and some diagnostic tests are used to determine a fasting state. For example, a person is assumed to be fasting after 8–12 hours.
Most religions advocate fasting in one form or other on several occassions. For example, Buddhist monks and nuns following the Vinaya rules commonly do not eat each day after the noon meal. This is not considered a fast but rather a disciplined regimen aiding in meditation and good health.
In Christanity, fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations or other churches. Some denominations do not practice it, considering it an external observance, but many individual believers choose to observe fasts at various times at their own behest. The Lenten fast observed in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church is a forty-day partial fast to commemorate the fast observed by Christ during his temptation in the desert. This is similar to the partial fasting within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (abstaining from meat and milk) which takes place during certain times of the year and lasts for weeks. The Bible sets aside one whole day a year for fasting,
Fasting is a very integral part of the Hindu religion. Individuals observe different kinds of fasts based on personal beliefs and local customs. For example, some Hindus fast on certain days of the month such as Ekadasi(eleventh daay of month), or Purnima (full moon). Similarly fasting on particular weekdays is a common religeous practice. Fasting during religious festivals is also very common. Common examples are Maha Shivaratri (Most people conduct a fast on Maha Shivratri which includes consuming fruit and milk), or the nine days of Navratri (which occurs twice a year in the months of April and October/November during Vijayadashami just before Diwali, as per the Hindu calendar). Karwa Chauth is a form of fasting practised in some parts of India where married women undertake a fast for the well-being, prosperity, and longevity of their husbands. The fast is broken after the wife views the moon through a sieve.
Fasting is the third of the Five Pillars of Islam and involves fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, which is probably the most notable time for fasting among Muslims. In Islam, fasting for a month is an obligatory practice during the holy month of Ramadan, from fajr (dawn), until the maghrib (dusk). Muslims are prohibited from eating, drinking (including water), and engaging in sexual activity. They are also encouraged to temper negative emotions such as anger and addiction.
Fasting is also often employed as a means of protest, whether plitical or otherwise. it is sometimes used as a tool to make a political statement, to protest, or to bring awareness to a cause. A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt, or to achieve a goal such as a policy change. A spiritual fast incorporates personal spiritual beliefs with the desire to express personal principles, commonly in the context of a social injustice.
Activists have used fasting to bring attention to a cause and to pressure authority or government to act. For example, Canadian medical doctor and politician David Swann launched a seven-day fast in December 2007 to bring attention to the world's inaction on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. On April 27, 2009, Mia Farrow began fasting for as long as possible to raise awareness about the crisis in Darfur; after 12 days she was advised to stop immediately by doctors. Richard Branson agreed to continue in her place, taking a 3 day fast. Congressman Donald M. Payne and recording artist and Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman took on the fast after Branson finished on May 11. Mahatma Gandhi employed fasting as a tool in "Satyagraha". In attempt to avoid elements of self and egoism Gandhi developed very clear rules of fasting. In essence, fasts were an expression of "suffering love".
In Northern Ireland in 1981, a prisoner, Bobby Sands, was part of the 1981 Irish hunger strike, protesting for better rights in prison. Sands had just been elected to the British Parliament and died after 66 days of not eating. His funeral was attended by 100,000 people and the strike ended only after 9 other men died. In all, ten men survived without food for 46 to 73 days, taking only water and salt. César Chávez undertook a number of spiritual fasts, including a 25 day fast in 1968 promoting the principle of nonviolence, and a fast of 'thanksgiving and hope' to prepare for pre-arranged civil disobedience by farm workers.Chávez regarded a spiritual fast as "a personal spiritual transformation".