I have heard the importance of strong determination. People in Jainsim practise hard fasts to build up their will power. They do not limit this to only hunger fasts, they pratcise this with so many other things such as giving up the use of a dear thing, habit ,etc. One should not confuse will power with ego. But yes there is a hair line difference between them. I do not know how much these fasts can help a person to lift his/ her will power in the right direction so as to give the desired spiritual uplift. But one thing that seems certain is strong will power does take you close to God. How ?One day a disciple asked a saint, "could you please tell the secret of finding peace and truth ?". "Dear disciple", saint said, "have you ever played veena ? You must have observed the artists trying hard to tune their veenas. The wire should be tightened to only that extent that generates the melodious sound - neither too harsh nor too mild. Same is the case with a human. You need to have balanced mind and heart to play the of tune of your veena - life".
Today, man's mind outweighs his heart, with man pushing more and more towards materialism. To play the music of life the balance between heart and mind needs to be established. Thus the concept of strong will power ( not ego which is a reflection of mind) comes into picture. Will power reflects the strength of your heart, Thus the more one nurtures his/ her will power, the more he/ she calms and thus comes closer to the truth and the God.
