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A hermit, also known as an anchorite or anchoress, is a person living in voluntary seclusion, usually for religious motives. The practice of hermitism appears among early Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.
Hermits often lived in caves, forests, or deserts, but some of them preferred an isolated cell in a monastery. Male hermits predominate, though perhaps the most famous English hermit was the anchoress Julian of Norwich.
Hermitage "Our Lady the Garden Enclosed" in Warfhuizen, the Netherlands. From a religious point of view, hermits choose that form of life in order to come closer to their deity or deities and/or to spend most of their time in meditation, contemplationTo contemplate means that you think about stuff, isn't it? or something like that., and/or prayerPrayer is an effort to communicate with a God, or to some deity or deities, either to offer praise to the deity, to make a request of the deity, or simply to express one's thoughts and emotions to the deity. There are a variety approaches to understanding (sometimes also preaching, as with John the BaptistJohn the Baptist (also called John the Baptizer or John the Dipper is regarded as a prophet by at least three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Mandaeanism. According to the Gospel of Luke, he was a relative of Jesus. That he was a prophet is asserted b).
Hermits renounce all the pleasures of life, beginning with sex, following with luxury and cleanlinessCleanliness is the absence of dirt including dust, stains and a bad smell. In more recent times, since the germ theory of disease, it has also come to mean an absence of germs and other hazardous materials. It can apply to humans, animals, clothing, eatin, a normal dietIn nutrition, the diet is the sum of the food consumed by a body. Proper nutrition for a human requires vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fuel in the form of carbohydrates and fats. Imbalances between the consumed fuels and expended energy results in eith, etc., and ending in most cases with the contact between them and other people. They try to reach sanctity by means of this way of life, and CatholicismThis article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. See Catholicism (disambiguation) for alternative meanings Catholicism has two main ecclesiastical meanings, described in Webster's Dictionary as: a) "the whole orthodox Christian chu has canonised many of them. (The term saint also occurs in Hinduism and Buddhism.)
Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing, a 19th century psychiatrist, referred to the desire of reaching sanctity as an hysteric manifestation. John Chrysostom exemplifies the hermit's unusual disconnection from sexuality; he said that it was preferable to remain single than to have to bear the burden of a woman. Anthony the Great exemplifies the hermit's unusual involvement with the spiritual world: he was allegedly harassed by demons tempting him to commit sexual sins with beautiful women. Gautama Buddha could also exemplify the hermitic way of life, having abandoned his family for a solitary quest for spiritual enlightenment. Compare Simeon Stylites.