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SANNYASA DHARMA
companionship of matter is only possible when the body itself is got rid of. The saint knows this fully, and, therefore, does everything within his power to enervate and weaken this fleshly stronghold of the enemy, i.e., Death. It ought to be stated that fasting is the one weapon known to asceticism for crushing out the pleasure-seeking impulses of the senses. The rules regulating his conduct with reference to the acceptance of food are controlled by the third (namely, eṣana) samiti which points out various kinds of faults that render its acceptance impossible. There are besides these faults certain other restrictive conditions which will not admit of the saint's taking food on their occurrence. These will all be described in a later chapter when dealing with the subject of food generally.
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