The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2439 page)

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GYMNASTICS, TAOIST
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GACCHA
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(Skt., ‘heat’).
Asceticism
conceived as a force of creative heat in Indian religions. This force is instrumental in the acquisition of spiritual power (
siddhi
) and in gaining liberation (
mok
a
).
In the
Vedas
, tapas has both a cosmic and a human aspect.

1 As a cosmic force it is the power underlying manifestation. For example,
Praj
pati
creates the universe by heating himself (
atapatha Br
hma
a
7. 1. 2, 13).
2  At a human level, tapas could be created in the fire sacrifice (
agnihotra
) and in the sacrificial priest (
hot
) who manifested tapas by sweating.

With the
Upani
ads
and the development of
yoga
, tapas becomes not a preparation for ritual but a means of realizing the self (
tman
) and gaining release (mok
a). The practice of austerity produces inner heat; for example, in Buddhism the
Majjhima Nik
ya
(1. 244) speaks of the heat obtained by holding the breath; and in Hinduism, the rise of
Ku
alin
is associated with the arousal of heat.
Asceticism in some form is common to all yoga schools, though actual practices vary in intensity from mere celibacy to more extreme forms of asceticism such as never lying down, piercing the skin with a sharp instrument, bearing extremes of heat and cold, or, in Jainism, even slowly starving to death as a means of withdrawal from the world (