the body and the organs through the lessening of impurities" and a foundation for a yogi's pursuit of perfection. Yama, niyama, asana and pranayama from Ashtanga yoga comes under tapas. Tapas in the Hindu traditions is part of a stage of life, called brahmacharya. The Vedic literature suggests diksa (incubation of a student in a field of knowledge) requires tapas, and tapas is enabled by the state of brahmacharya. This state sometimes includes tapas such as vrata (fasting, sacrifice of food), sram (philanthropic social work, sacrifice of income), silence (sacrifice of speech), and asceticism (bare minimum living, sacrifice of comfort). Oldenberg notes that Brahmana scripture suggests that the Brahmachari should carry tapas to the very tip of his existence, which includes not cutting his hair, nail and beard. Thus, during this process of spiritual rebirth and diksa, the tapas observed by a Brahmachari may include silence, fasting, seclusion, chastity, as well other activities. The goal of tapas is to help focus the Brahmachari on meditation, observation of reality, reflection and spiritual rebirth. Brahmacharya and tapasya are interrelated, with the student life expected to simple and austere, dedicated to the learning. Jainism Tapas is a central concept in Jainism. It refers to the spiritual practice of body mortification, penance, and austerities, in order to burn away past karma and stop producing new karma, thereby reaching siddha (liberating oneself). Ascetic Tapas among Jaina monks, both internal and external, is believed to be essential for spiritual growth and kevalya (moksha, liberation). The details of the Tapas practices vary between the different traditions within Jainism. The Jain text Sarvarthasiddhi, a commentary by Pujyapada, claims that the Hindu Samkhya school emphasizes "knowledge only, no practices", while the Vaisheshikas emphasize "practices only, no knowledge" as part of Tapas and the means of reaching moksha. Another Jain text Tattvartha Sutra, by Umaswati, in chapter 9, asserts that Tapas includes several kinds of meditation. The Tapas in Jainism include internal practices and external austerities. External Tapas include fasting, tolerating hardships inflicted by other people or animals, tolerating all discomfort from weather by nakedness or near nakedness and the lack of any possessions, lack of shelter, walking and wandering alone without fearing anything and without hurting anyone. The internal Tapas include words and inner thoughts (intent) that resonate with the external Tapas (action). The list of internal and external austerities in Jainism vary with the text and tradition, with