-Removed-There are different types of fasting and not all fasting is good for everyone. Fasting is meant as a test to gain more control over the body and strenghen the will of the soul and spirit in order to honor God. The simplest fasting is to sacrifice some physical object that gives comfort to the body. This is usually food. It can be all food or one item of food that one really craves for a set period of time as short as a single day, but usually longer.
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Originally posted by Paul Dirac IIGandhi considered it a kind of spiritual cleansing.
One idea I have heard for fasting and ceaseless praying (to the point of sleep deprivation) as a religious tradition is that it leads to hallucinations, which can then be interpreted as supernatural "visions."
He also used it as a protest against the government.