Chilla-nashini

Chilla-nashini () is a spiritual practice of penance and solitude, known mostly in Indian and Persian folklore. In this ritual a mendicant or ascetic attempts to remain seated in a circle without food, water, or sleep for forty days and nights. The word 'chilla' is adopted from the Persian word 'chihli', meaning 'forty'.The Path of Khalwati and Shabani The nashini is the person who does the forty-day fast and remains seated in the circle of seclusion. It is believed that those who try it but do not succeed usually die or suffer madness.Meher Prabhu, Bhau Kalchuri, Manifestation Inc. 1986, VOL I, p.129
Chilla-nashini is a severe penance. A circle is drawn on the ground by the penitent's own hand; for forty days and nights he must not step out of the circle, he must forgo food, water and sleep. He must face whatever comes. Chilla-nashini is known to both Sufi and Vedantic ascetics.The Nothing and the Everything, Bhau Kalchuri, p.78
The chilla is performed for worldly attainments, psychic abilities (siddhis), or complete enlightenment depending on the desire of the pilgrim who performs it.Infinite Intelligence, Meher Baba, Sheriar Press, 2007
== People who have performed partial or complete chillas ==
The most famous case of a chilla-nashini is found in the biographies of the 14th century Sufi poet Hafez of Shiraz.Teachings of Hafiz: Translated by Gertrude Lowthian BellHafiz حافظ BiographyIran Chamber Society
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad performed a chilla of solitude for forty days in 1886.Al Islam: The Official Website of the Ahmadiyya Mustlim Community
Sheriar Mundegar Irani, father of Meher Baba, performed thirty days of a chilla in 1884, but could not complete the required forty days.Bhau Kalchuri, Meher Prabhu: Lord Meher, The Biography of the Avatar of the Age, Meher Baba, Manifestation, Inc., 1986, p. 129.
== Similar accounts in other cultures ==
Jesus fasted in the desert for forty days and forty nights.New Testament Bible, Matthew 4:2
Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai.Deuteronomy 9:9
Elijah fasted for forty days and forty nights during his journey to the mountain of God."The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.' So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God." 1 Kings 19:7
Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment after fasting and meditating under the Bodhi Tree for forty nine days.Sacred Destinations
Saint Patrick fasted for forty days on mount Croagh Patrick before expelling all the snakes from Ireland."In imitation of the great Jewish legislator on Sinai, he spent forty days on its summit in fasting and prayer, and other penitential exercises." Catholic Encyclopedia
== See also ==
* Khalwa
== References ==
Category:Religious behaviour and experience
Category:Ritual purification
Category:Asceticism
Category:Sufism