The Desert Fathers

The Desert Fathers

One of the finest expressions of Christian monasticism was in the deserts of Egypt in the 4th
Century AD. Actually it encompassed the deserts of Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Arabia. Here, every form
of monasticism, every kind of experiment, every kind of extreme asceticism was tried and documented.
This document called Apothegmata Patrum or The Sayings of the Desert Fathers is a valuable handbook
for spiritual life, not just for Christian monks, but for all genuine seekers of spirituality. Some of the lives
of the Desert Fathers too were recorded as the Vitae Patrum or Lives of the Desert Fathers, important of
them being the Life of Father Anthony.

By 400 AD, Egypt was a land of hermits & monks. There were three main types of monastic
experiments there, corresponding roughly to three geographical locations.

1. Lower Egypt – the Hermit Life: St. Anthony the Great is generally considered the founder of
this monastic lifestyle. He was a Coptic Christian1 and a layman. He was unlettered and the son
of a well-to-do peasant. One day in Church, he heard the saying of Jesus Christ, “Go, sell all you
have and give to the poor and come and follow me”, as a commandant addressed to himself. He
withdrew himself from society and went further & further into the deserts of Egypt seeking
solitude. It is said he lived up to a ripe age of 105 years. He started a tradition of eremitic monks
that created a rich repertoire of sayings of the Apothegmata Patrum.

2. Upper Egypt – Coenobitic monasticism: At Tabennisi in the Thebaid, Pachomius started an

organized monasticism. These were not hermits. They were communities of brothers united to
each other in work & prayer. Although Pachomius‟ experiment was vital for the development of
Christian monasticism, there are not many sayings available from this tradition.

3. Nitrea & Scetis – groups of ascetics: A third form of monastic life evolved at Nitria & Scetis.
Several monks lived together in a „Lavra‟ or „Skete‟, often as disciples of an Abba. This is
something similar to the Akhada form of monastic life of the Hindu monks. Nitria was on the
western side of the Nile delta, nearer to Alexandria and therefore formed a natural gateway to
Scetis. It was place of confluence between the world and the desert, where visitors could meet the
Fathers and benefit from their interactions. John Cassian, the most important historian whose
work actually brought the marvelous lives of these wonderful monks to the light of the world, too
met with the Desert Tradition here at Nitria. Since Nitria was nearer to Alexandria, there was
perceptible Greek influence on the monks of this tradition, which resulted in these monks
developing the culture of knowledge along with their regular monastic practices of work &
prayer. A large number of the entries of the Apothegmata Patrum come from this tradition.

Apart from these three broad classifications, there was a fourth kind too. It comprised of a most
extreme form of ascetic life, led by monks who were assiduously reclusive, not meeting with anyone at
all. The monks maintained relentless prayer and hard labor, apart from some forbidding forms of physical

1 Coptic Christianity is the oldest Christian community in the Middle East. They are even today a distinct ethno-
religious community. They pride themselves on the apostolicity of the Egyptian Church whose founder was the first
in an unbroken chain of Patriarchs. The main body of the Coptic Church [or the Egyptian Christianity] has been out
of communion with both the Roman Catholic Church in Rome and the various Eastern Orthodox Church.
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austerities such as the famous Simeon Stylites. Father Simeon lived on top of a 50 foot pillar for forty
years, outside Antioch! These monks lived naked and went about in chains; they lived unsettled lives,
eating whatever they found in the woods.

Yet another important figure of this period was St. Basil of Cappadocia, Asia Minor. He and his
followers were theologians and writers, who followed a more learned and liturgical monasticism
compared to the simple ascetic life of the other Egyptian Desert Fathers.

The Sayings:

The essence of the spirituality of the desert is that it was not taught, but caught. It was a whole
way of life. It was not a doctrine or a pre-determined plan of ascetic practice that could be learned and
applied. The Father or „Abba‟ was not the equivalent of the Diksha Guru of the Hindus. This distinction
becomes important because, we have to realize that there was no systematic way in the teachings of these
desert fathers. They worked hard and lived an entire life striving to re-direct every aspect of their body,
mind and consciousness to God, and that is what they talked about.

In this sense, the Apothegmata Patrum is very similar to the Upanishads of the Hindus. While the
Upanishads extant today note the important discoveries of the Hindu sages in the realm of consciousness,
the exact paths they followed to achieve those discoveries are no longer available in the texts. Some argue
that the Vidyas in the Upanishads are actually those paths, but the language is so archaic that the context
is now all but lost. The Apothegmata Patrum, on the other hand, does not speak in much detail about the
discoveries of the monks, as it does in great detail about the struggles and techniques to overcome those
struggles in the lives of those pioneer monks. Therein lies its importance to the spiritual aspirant of the
present day.

Yet another point of similarity between the Apothegmata & the Upanishad is that both are
basically journals of the spiritual endeavor of genuine seekers of Truth. Both have no author to whom the
extant works may be ascribed. While the Apothegmata consists solely of the sayings of monks & nuns,
the Upanishads contain references to many Kings & married persons too, apart from monastic recluses.

The tradition of early desert monasticism reached the West chiefly through the writings of John
2
Cassian . The writings of Jerome, Rufinus and Palladius too contributed in no small way. These men
knew the desert, and they knew, at first-hand, the oral tradition of the Apothegmata. They systematized it,
interpreted it, and presented it as they understood it. The Apothegmata however is invaluable because it is
the unabridged collection of the sayings, without any theological corrections or dialectical editing.

2
One of the chief exponents of the tradition of Desert Monasticism was John Cassian [c. 360 – 435]. He was a
native of Scythia. As a young man he joined a monastery in Bethlehem, but soon left it and went to study
monasticism in Egypt. Here he was greatly influenced by Evagrius Ponticus. Later on Cassian became Deacon of the
church in Constantinople. From there he was sent by St. John Chrysostom on a mission to Pope Innocent I at Rome.
He seems to have remained in the West thereafter and by 415 AD he had established two monasteries near
Marseilles. He authored two books, the Institutes and the Conferences, in which he presented what he learned from
the great old men of the desert in a series of sermons. Though they crystallised much that he heard in the desert, he
presents it in his own style, and with a consistency which is his rather than theirs. His writings are the work of a
sophisticated writer, reflecting on his experiences and interpreting them in the light of other influences. These two
books became classics in the West. Quotations from them abound in Rule of St. Benedict. Conferences was
compulsory reading before Compline each night in Benedictine monasteries. The Rule of St. Benedict recommends
his works as „tools of virtue for good-living and obedient monks‟, thus ensuring that the tradition passed on by
Cassian would become one of the most potent and formative influences in western monasticism.
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The Apothegmata Patrum comprises short sayings originally delivered to individuals on specific
occasions and written down later. Groups of monks would preserve the sayings of their founder or of
some monks especially remembered by them, and this nucleus would be enlarged and rearranged as time
passed. The original form of the sayings was presumably Coptic or Greek. The extant records are in
Coptic, Greek, Armenian, Latin and also the Slavonic languages.

These sayings preserve the unstructured wisdom of the desert in simple language. These are
records of practical advice given out of a long life of experience in monastic discipline. For this reason,
they are not always consistent with one another and they always need to be read within the context in
which they are given.

A note of warning is needed here. These are not abstract ideas to be applied indiscriminately, but
are instances of what was said in particular situations.

Before we begin a study of the Apothegmata, we must study some important terms that are
repeatedly used in the Sayings. These terms have specific meaning, without grasping which, we may not
understand the real import of the Sayings.

The Father:

Indians can truly appreciate the role of the Father as presented in the Apothegmata. The Father
was vital, in the literal sense, „the Giver of Life‟ to the young recluse novitiate-monks. However, there
was no known tradition of the Diksha in the Desert. The Father, thus, presents himself more as a
facilitator, a spiritual mentor, rather than as a Guru. The Father however was an acclaimed knower of
God, and not just a learned person, well versed in the scriptures.

The Father is generally called „Abba‟ in the Apothegmata. But there are many instances where he
is also called „The Old Man‟. There are even instances where he is referred to merely as „The Monk‟ or as
„Brother‟. But in any case, he had to be a man of genuine spiritual achievements, and not just a man old in
years. Moreover, the Father did not consider himself as someone hierarchically above the other monks in
the Desert. He considered himself at least par with everyone else, if not inferior to others.

The key phrase in the Apothegmata is „Speak a word, Abba.‟ This recurs again and again, and the
„word‟ that was sought was not a theological explanation, nor was it „counseling‟, nor a mantra, nor even
any kind of dialogue in which one argued the point. It was a statement from the Abba that was
representative of a relationship, something that would give life to the disciple if it were received. The
relationship between the Abba and his novice was that of a real father and his begotten son. Only, in the
Desert, this Father would beget his son in spirit. A monk had only one Abba. And again, with his Abba,
he would not go on discussing his spiritual state with him. There is a great economy of words about the
Desert.

There was also visible a great discernment on the part of the Fathers. Many came to them for
hearing the „word‟. But they were very selective in speaking to those who approached them. The Fathers
were shrewd enough to know that some of those who came to them were moved by curiosity rather than
devotion, and they discerned the genuine „hearers‟ of the word, whom they called „visitors from
Jerusalem‟, from the superficial and curious, whom they called „visitors from Babylon‟. The latter were
given a bowl of soup and sent away. The former were welcome to stay all night in conversation.

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This record in the Apothegmata will clarify the extremely high level of integrity of the Father-
monk relationship. A monk once came to Basil of Caesarea and said, „Speak a word, Father‟. Basil
replied, „Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.‟ The monk went away at once. Twenty years
later he came back and said, „Father, I have struggled to keep your word; now speak another word to me.‟
Now the Father said, „Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.‟ Again the monk returned in obedience to
his cell to keep that also.

The Cell:

The cell was of central importance in their asceticism. They said, „Sit in your cell and it will teach
you everything.‟ The point was that unless a man could find God here, in this one place, his cell, he would
not find him by going somewhere else. But they had no illusions about what it meant to stay in the cell. It
meant to stay there in mind as well as in body. To stay there in body, but to think about the outside world,
was already to have left it! The cell was therefore the pivot around which the monk would come to terms
with reality.

A cell was a hut or a cave. Generally a single monk occupied a cell, but there are instances when
a cell was shared by two brothers too. These buildings were scattered about the desert out of ear-shot of
each other. A group of such cells constituted a „Lavra‟. Even in a monastery [or a coenobium, as it was
then called], it was the cell that was the dwelling place of the monks and nuns.

Ascesis:

This is a technical term we often find in the Apothegmata. It means „the hard work of being a
monk‟. The Fathers had a deep understanding of the connection between man‟s spiritual and natural life.
This gave them a concern for the body which was part of their life of prayer. Much of their advice was
concerned with what to eat, where to sleep, where to live, what to do with gifts, and what to do about the
passions. The passions were personalized as the handiwork of demons, in their simplistic terms. This
aspect of warfare with the passions was the major concern in the Desert. The desert itself was the place of
final warfare with the passions. The monks were considered as „sentries who keep watch on the walls of
the city‟. The entries in the Apothegmata show that the monks were always meeting the demons face to
face.

Once Abba Macarius asked the Devil as to why he looked so depressed. The Devil replied, „You
have defeated me because of your humility.‟ Macarius put his hands over his ears and fled.

But, most of the advice given was not about objective, personalized demons, nor was it about
holy thoughts, or the patterns of the spiritual life, or the dark night of the soul. While the major portion of
the sayings in the Apothegmata concern the ordinary Christian Charity [which is again a technical term,
which will be explained below], an equally good amount of the sayings deal with the vices. The
knowledge of how to deal with the passions was learnt slowly, by long, hard living, but it was the
invaluable treasure for which men came to the Fathers in the Desert. This aspect of warfare with the
demons was called „Ascesis‟.

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Work:

In the Apothegmata, it is used in two senses. It refers to the manual labor that all monks were
engaged in. it more importantly also meant the spiritual exertion of the monks. The desert fathers saw
both these aspects as one. There was actually no distinction between these two aspects in their mind.
However, for a monk, the idea of „interior‟ work predominates.

Charity:

This is a vital term in understanding the sayings of the Desert fathers. Charity is a term that
includes innumerable ideas and therefore has innumerable colors. The goal of all the practices that the
desert monks performed was realization of the spirit. The way to that realization was called „Charity‟. In
Hindu terms, this was something similar to „Sadhana‟, although the Hindu term would encompass the
concept of ascesis too. Charity implied wholeheartedness and personal integrity. Charity implied
complete absorption in the job at hand. Charity implied complete self-abnegation and total involvement in
the person before us at the moment. The present day equivalence between the word charity and helping a
person in need actually derives from this aspect of self-abnegation and total involvement in the other
person. We shall give four examples from the Apothegmata to elaborate this concept of Charity according
to the Desert fathers:

The old men received guests as Christ would receive them. They might live austerely themselves,
but when visitors came they hid their austerity and welcomed them. A brother said, „Forgive me, father,
for I have made you break your rule.‟ The old man said, „My rule is to receive you with hospitality and
send you on your way in peace.‟

One monk was moved to question the difference between the monk who received visitors and the
one who did not. He was actually vexed with the totally differing behaviors of two fathers Arsenius and
Moses. Arsenius had received him and sat down again to pray in silence, until the brother felt
uncomfortable and left. Moses came out to greet him with open arms, and they talked all day with joy.
That night the monk had a vision. He saw Arsenius in a boat with the Holy Spirit, sailing quietly along
the river of life. He saw Moses in a similar boat with an Angel, and they were eating honey-cakes. So he
knew that both ways were acceptable to God. [What we have to note here is that it was the inner sincerity
that counted and not the superficial behavior of the monks.]

The monks said that Macarius was like God, „who shields the world and bears the sin of all‟. So
he shielded the brethren. When someone sinned he would not hear or see it.

Moses, the black man who had been a robber in his pre-monastic life, heard one day that a brother
was to be brought before a council and judged. So he came also, carrying a basket full of sand. When his
turn came, he said, „How shall I judge my brother when my sins run out behind me like the sand in this
basket?‟

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Prayer:

When the term Prayer is used in the Apothegmata, we must not understand it to mean a particular
prayer. It refers to a life geared towards God-realization3. Again, there was no fixed method of prayer
either. Arsenius prayed on Saturday evening with his hands stretched out to the setting sun, and he stayed
there until the sun shone on his face on Sunday.

Prayer, with the Desert Fathers, was not an activity undertaken for a few hours each day. It was a
life continually turned towards God. Abba Agathon said, “Prayer is hard work and a great struggle to
one‟s last breath.” When he was dying, Abba Pambo said, “From the time that I came into this solitude
and built my cell and dwelt in it, I cannot remember eating any food that I had not earned with my own
hands, nor speaking any word that I have been sorry for until now. And so I go to the Lord, as one who
has not yet begun to serve God.” For Abba Arsenius, this was a rule for the whole of life, “Be solitary, be
silent, and be at peace.”

The usual pattern however was to say the Psalms, one after another, during the week, and to
intersperse this with weaving ropes, sometimes saying „Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me.‟ This
was aimed at establishing a true relationship with God. This was aimed at standing before God in every
situation. Such a state was considered „spiritual life‟ or „monastic life‟ by the Fathers. An entry in the
Apothegmata puts it very clearly: Unless a man can say, „I alone & God are here‟, he will not find the
prayer of quiet.‟ It is the other side of St. Anthony‟s word, „My life is with my brother.‟

Hesychia:

Hesychia literally means „Quiet‟. It is the calm in the entire person that is like a still pool of
water. It is the exact equivalent of the Sanskrit term „Shanti‟. It was because the ancient Hindus too
valued this quiet so greatly that the lake Mansarovar in Tibet came to be revered in its tradition as the
abode of Lord Shiva. This lake is situated at such a high altitude in the Himalayas that there is absolutely
no wind to disturb the waters and the surface of the lake is perfectly placid. Such a still, quiet body of
water is capable of reflecting the sun very clearly.

Hesychia was the aim of prayer according to the Desert Fathers. It was the central consideration
in the prayer of the desert monks. On the external level, it signifies an individual living as a solitary. On a
deeper level, it is not merely separation from noise and speaking with other people, but the possession of
interior peace and quiet. More specifically, it means guarding the mind, constant remembrance of God,
and the possession of inner prayer.

3
In Christian spiritual literature, this emphasis on actual realization of God can be seen mainly in the Orthodox
tradition. The mainstream traditions of Roman Catholicism & Protestantism do not emphasize this actual realization.
With these mainstream traditions, a spiritual life means arranging to live according to the advices mentioned in the
Bible, while the actual spiritual achievements were to be had post-mortem. The Orthodox Church claims its direct
descent from the traditions of the Desert Fathers.
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Apatheia:

It is the state of being unmoved by passion. Hindu spiritual aspirants will understand this as
similar to the state called „Shama-sukha‟. Apatheia is the immediate goal of the spiritual practices of the
Desert Fathers.

Apatheia involves control over the passions rather than their destruction. Thus, it is a state of
sublimation rather than emasculation. Complete annihilation of temptations occurs only when one has the
beatific vision of God. Until that blessed moment, the Sadhana of the monk is however capable of
attenuate the temptations to such an extent that for all practical purposes, they are absent. This state of
attenuation is what is meant by Apatheia.

The Desert way of Life:

Before we proceed with our study of the Apothegmata Patrum, we would do well to get briefly
acquainted with the way of life of the Desert Monks.

Seeking solitude in the desert, by completely cutting themselves off from society was the first
step in the monastic life of the Desert Monks. Then, they placed themselves under old, experienced
fathers. After that, the daily life was their prayer, and it was a radically simple life. A stone hut with a
roof of branches, a reed mat for a bed, a sheep-skin [it was the cloak of a desert monk; it also doubled up
as a blanket for sleeping & could be used to bundle up the belongings of the monk!], a lamp, a vessel for
oil, and some potable water. This was all.

Food was reduced to a minimum. So was sleep. They said, „One hour‟s night sleep is sufficient
for a monk if he is a fighter.‟ They had a horror of extra possessions. Look at this entry from the
Apothegmata: A disciple saw a few peas lying on the road and said to his Father, “Shall I pick them up?”
The old man said in amazement, “Why? Did you put them there?” He replied, “No.” “Then why would
you pick them up?”

They tried many experiments, especially with fasting. But their final conclusion was, „For a man
of prayer, one meal a day is sufficient.‟ When a young man boasted of fasting longer, they asked him
searching questions about the rest of his life.

The ideal was indeed very high, but it was interpreted in the most practical and common-sensical
way. There is the story of John the Dwarf who announced to his brother that he was going off into the
desert to live as an Angel would. After several days, he was tormented by acute hunger. So he returned
and knocked on his brother‟s door. His brother asked who was there. He replied, “It is me, John and I am
suffering from hunger.” The brother replied, “John is now an Angel and has no need for food and
shelter.” But at last he took in the humbled John and set him to work again.

It was a life of continual striving, but not of taut effort the whole time! It was said of Anthony
that one day he was relaxing with the brothers outside his cell when a hunter came by and rebuked him.
Anthony said, “Bend your bow and shoot an arrow.” He did. Anthony asked him to do so again, and
again, and yet again. The hunter said, “Father, if I keep my bow always stretched, it will break.” “So it is
with the monk”, replied Anthony, “if we push ourselves beyond measure, we will break; it is right for us
from time to time to relax our efforts.”

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We will now begin a study of the sayings of the Desert Fathers. This study will be useful to all
genuine spiritual aspirants, more so for those who follow the monastic path to spiritual unfoldment.

How can the monastic life be made vibrant? This was the one thought that dominated the minds
of the Desert Fathers. The sincerity with which they lived their monastic vocation is astounding. Most of
their sayings pertain to the subtle nuances of monastic life. They conceived of a life rooted in prayer and
humility. “A monk ought not to trust in his own righteousness, nor worry about the past, but should
control his tongue and his stomach” says Abba Pambo. Abba Anthony said to Abba Poemen, “This is the
great work of a monk – always to take blame for his own sins before God, and to expect temptations to his
last breath.” It was said of Abba Theodore of Pherme that the three things he held to be fundamental
were: Poverty, asceticism, flight from men.

 The scheme of monastic life:

They dealt with spiritual life in a very systematic way. Just as a blacksmith decides clearly what
shape he wants to hammer out of a lump of iron before it is heated, even so a monk should decide what
virtue he wants to forge before he embarks on his spiritual practise. If he doesn‟t do this, he labours in
vain. If he is able to, a monk ought to tell his elders confidently how many steps he takes and how many
drops of water he drinks in his cell, in case he is in error about it. Although this seems a bit of an
exaggeration, it does give us the idea of how seriously they took the monastic vocation. Nothing was to
be left to instinct. Every moment was a conscious moment in a monk‟s life. They depended heavily on the
experiments done by their predecessors in the Desert so that they wouldn‟t waste time re-inventing the
wheel. Thus, great importance was attached to the Scripture. We must remember that for these great
monks, Scripture didn‟t mean just the Bible, much less the New Testament alone. The Scripture was a
generic term used to denote any and all recording of the spiritual effort of the people. Therefore Abba
Epiphanius said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is a precipice and a deep abyss.” But, great premium was
placed in those monks whose efforts had led to definite spiritual success and palpable spiritual
attainments. Abba Poemen said, “The distinctive mark of the monk is made clear through temptations.”

It was an invaluable tradition of Guru-Shishya that was nurtured over the ages in the Desert that
led to the unprecedented flourishing of the monastic achievements in the arid Deserts of Egypt. Abba
Isaiah said to those who were making a good beginning by putting themselves under the direction of the
holy Fathers, „As with purple dye, the first coloring is never lost.‟ And „just as young shoots are easily
trained back and bent, so it is with beginners who live in submission.‟

 Glorification of Self-Effort:

Abba Isidore the Priest said, “If you desire salvation, do everything that leads you to it.”A brother
said to Abba Anthony, “Pray for me.” The old man said to him, “I will have no mercy upon you, nor will
God have any, if you yourself do not make an effort and if you do not pray to God.” A brother questioned
Abba Arsenius to hear a word from him and the old man said to him, “Strive with all your might to bring
your interior activity into accord with God and you will overcome exterior passions.” This idea of interior
activity and overcoming exterior passions is a constant motif with the Fathers. One father said, “If the
spirit does not sing with the body, labor is in vain. Whoever loves tribulation will obtain joy and peace
later on.” One of the fathers asked Abba John the Dwarf, “What is a monk?” He said, “He is toil. The
monk toils at all he does. That is what a monk is.” Abba James said, “We do not need words only. At
present there are many words among men, but we need works, for this is what is required. Not words,
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which do not bear fruit.” Abba Poemen said, “A monk who teaches without doing what he teaches is like
a spring which cleanses and gives drink to everyone but is not able to purify itself.” Although the
unmistakable emphasis was on manly effort, they had no confusion regarding the aims in view. All work
was but a means to spiritual unfoldment. Abba John the Cilician said, “Let us imitate our fathers. They
lived in this place with much austerity and peace. Let us not make this place dirty, for our fathers
cleansed it from the demons. This is a place for asceticism, not for worldly business.” Abba Moses was
very forceful when he said, “The monk must die to everything before leaving the body. A monk whose
deeds are not in harmony with his prayer labors in vain. We should no longer do those things against
which we pray. For when a man gives up his own will, then God is reconciled with him and accepts his
prayers.” Abba Theodore said, “In these days, many monks take their rest before God gives it to them.”

 Vision of God – The central goal:

They were so focused in the crux of monastic life that they were able to achieve scientific
precision in their monastic practices. Abba John said to his disciple, “Let us honor one only, and everyone
will honor us. For if we despise one, that is God, everyone will despise us, and we will be lost.”Again,
look at the words Abba Arsenius said towards the end of his life: “If we seek God, he will show himself to
us. And if we keep him, he will remain close to us.” God is thus no more a belief with them. God was a
perception, clear as any of the other sense-perceptions that we are accustomed with.

Abba Amoun of Nitria came to see Abba Anthony and said to him, “Since my rule is stricter than
yours, how is it that your name is better known amongst monks than mine is?” Abba Anthony answered,
“It is because I love God more than you.” Although this reply by Abba Anthony seems to be haughty, we
must understand that he was making this statement as a matter of fact. He was just being logical about it.
Monks in the Desert were accustomed to discern who among them had perceived God. Rules of external
life did not fool any of them. And the wave of actual realization of God was an unprecedented
phenomenon. Many monks there were who had genuine spiritual vision. One day Abba Daniel and Abba
Ammoes went on a journey together. Abba Ammoes said, “When shall we too, settle down in a cell,
Father?” Abba Daniel replied, “Who shall separate us henceforth from God? God is in the cell, and, on
the other hand, he is outside too.”

 The Inner Life:

The hall mark of a monk was the quality and intensity of his inner life. For instance look at this entry:
The brothers praised a monk before Abba Anthony. When the monk came to see him, Anthony wanted to
know how he would bear insults. Seeing that he could not bear them at all, he said to him, “You are like a
village magnificently decorated on the outside, but destroyed from within by robbers!” Abba Agathon
said, “Under no circumstance should the monk let his conscience accuse him of anything.” Personal
integrity is the crowning glory of a monk. He remains true to the ideals he has vowed to realize in his life.
He doesn‟t need any external supervision to judge and monitor his life. His own inner voice is strong
enough to supervise and guide him along his monastic path.

One day Abba Arsenius consulted an old Egyptian monk about his own thoughts. Someone noticed
this and said to him, “Abba, how is it that you with such good Latin and Greek education, ask this peasant
about your thoughts?” Abba Arsenius replied, “I have indeed been taught Latin and Greek. But I do not
know even the alphabet of this peasant.” The desert monks never confused academic learning and
scholarship with real knowledge of oneself that arises from years of intense inner struggles.
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Abba Isaac said that Abba Pambo used to say, “The monk’s garment should be such that he could
throw it out of his cell for three days and no one would take it.” Since the real personality of a monk is his
inner personality, the true monk will naturally pay all attention to his inner life and look upon his external
personality merely from a utilitarian point of view. The body needs to be protected against the ravages of
the climate, hence a wrapper is needed. And there ends the subject of the cloth to be worn. No further
attention needs be given on the cloth. This is the drift of the thoughts of these wonderful Desert monks.

Food, sleep and work are important issues in a monk‟s life. The Desert monks made extensive
observations on these vital subjects. Abba Arsenius used to say that one hour‟s sleep is enough for a
monk if he is a good fighter. Someone asked Abba Biare, “What shall I do to be saved?” He replied, “Go,
reduce your appetite and your manual work, dwell without care in your cell, and you will be saved.”
Abba Gregory said, “The whole life of a monk is but one single day, if he is working hard with longing.”
Abba Daniel said, “The body prospers in the measure in which the soul is weakened and the soul prospers
in the measure in which the body is weakened.” Abba Doulas said, “If the enemy induces us to give up our
inner peace, we must not listen to him, for nothing is equal to this peace and the privation of food. The
one and the other join together to fight the enemy. For they make interior vision keen.”

Maintaining silence was highly appreciated in the lives of the Desert monks. It was said of Abba
Arsenius and Abba Theodore of Pherme that more than any of the others, they hated the esteem of other
men. Abba Arsenius would not readily meet people, while Abba Theodore was like steel when he met
anyone. It was said of Abba Agathon that for three years he lived with a stone in his mouth, until he had
learnt to keep silence. Whenever his thoughts urged him to pass judgment on something which he saw, he
would say to himself, “Agathon, it is not your business to do that.” Thus his spirit was always recollected.
Abba Andrew said, “These three things are appropriate for a monk: Exile, poverty and endurance in
silence.” A brother who shared lodging with other brothers asked Abba Bessarion, “What should I do?”
the old man replied, “Keep silence and do not compare yourself with others.” He also said, “Detach
yourself from the love of the multitude lest your enemy question your spirit and trouble your inner peace.”
It was said of Abba Helladius that he spent twenty years in the Cells, without ever raising his eyes to see
the roof of the church. He also said, “Restrain yourself from affection towards many people, for fear your
spirit be distracted, so that your interior peace may not be disturbed.” Abba Theodore said, “The man
who has learnt the sweetness of the cell flees from his neighbor, but not as though he despised him.” Abba
Theophilus, the Archbishop of Alexandria came to Scetis one day. The brethren who were assembled said
to Abba Pambo, “Say something to the Archbishop, so that he may be edified.” Abba Pambo said to
them, “If he is not edified by my silence, he will not be edified by my speech.” Abba John gave this advice:
“Watching means to sit in the cell and be always mindful of God. That is what is meant by, ‘I was on the
watch and God came to me.’ (Matt. 25, 36).” The same Abba John was very fervent. Now someone who
came to see him, praised his work. But he remained silent, for he was weaving a rope. Once again the
visitor began to speak and once again he kept silence. The third time he said to the visitor, “Since you
came here, you have driven away God from me.” It was said of Abba John that when he returned from the
harvest or when he had been with some old men, he gave himself to prayer, meditation and psalmody
until his thoughts were established in their previous order. Abba John said, “If a monk has in his soul the
tools of God, he will be able to stay in his cell, even if he has none of the tools of this world. If a monk has
the tools of this world, but lacks those of God, he can still use those tools to stay in his cell. But if a monk
has neither the tools of God nor of this world, it is absolutely impossible for him to stay in his cell.” Abba
Isidore said, “When I was younger and remained in my cell, I set no limit to prayer. The night was for me
as much the time for prayer as the day.” A brother questioned Abba Hierax, “Give me a word.” The old
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man said to him, “Sit in your cell. If you are hungry, eat. If you are thirsty, drink. Only, do not speak evil
of anyone, and you will be saved.” Abba Aio said to Abba Macarius, “Give me a word.” The old man
said, “Flee from men, stay in your cell, weep for your sins, do not take pleasure in the conversation of
men, and you will be saved.” A brother came to Scetis to visit Abba Moses and asked him for a word. The
old man said to him, “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.” A brother said to
Abba Matoes, “Give me a word.” He said, “Restrain the spirit of controversy in yourself in everything,
and weep, have compunction, for the time is drawing near.” He also said, “Just as the king’s body-guard
stands always on guard at his side, so the monk’s soul should always be on guard against the demon of
fornication.”

Abba Bessarion, at the point of death, said, “The monk ought to be as the Cherubim and the
Seraphim; all eye!” What does this mean? A monk must be eternally vigilant. He must be always awake
to the workings of his own mind. He must observe himself at every step, every moment of his life. Abba
Evagrius said, “Always keep your death in mind and do not forget the eternal judgment. Then there will
be no fault in your soul.” Going to Egypt one day, Abba Poemen saw a woman who was sitting on a tomb
and weeping bitterly. He said, “If all the delights of the world were to come, they could not drive sorrow
away from the soul of this woman. Even so the monk would always have compunction in himself.”

It would be wrong to conclude however that these Desert monks were long-faced, killjoys. True
monastic profession is always attended by intense joy. It is a joy that is un-caused, and hence
spontaneous. And it finds expression in the daily life of a monk established in his monastic practices. As
he was dying, Abba Benjamin said to his sons, “If you observe the following, you can be saved: Be joyful
at all times, pray without ceasing, and give thanks for all things.”

 Humility – the crowning glory:

They placed the highest premium on humility. They held that humility was the crowning glory of
a monk. Humility alone it was that was a monk‟s greatest safeguard against any sort of fall. Abba
Anthony said, “I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, „What can
get through from such snares?‟ Then I heard a voice saying to me, „Humility‟.” The same Abba said, “A
man who is angry, even if he were to raise the dead, is not acceptable to God.” Anger is the soul‟s violent
reaction to the annihilation of its existence before it is ready to abdicate the throne it has usurped. Abba
Ammonas said, “I have spent fourteen years in Scetis asking God night and day to grant me the victory
over anger.” Abba Euprepius said, “May fear, humility, lack of food and compunction be with you.” And
how was one to conquer anger, and thereby his arrogant individuality? The Desert monks found that Jesus
had shown the way. Abba Zeno said, “If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he
prays for anything else, even his own soul, when he stands and stretches out his hands towards God, he
must pray with all his heart for his enemies. Through this action God will hear everything that he asks.”

Another expedient in taming the arrogant self was forbearance of insults from others. Abba Isaiah
said, “Nothing is so useful to the beginner as insults. The beginner who bears insults is like a tree that is
watered every day.” We have already quoted Abba Isaiah‟s words above; he said to those who were
making a good beginning by putting themselves under the direction of the holy Fathers, „As with purple
dye, the first coloring is never lost.’ And ‘just as young shoots are easily trained back and bent, so it is
with beginners who live in submission.‟ The same Abba Isaiah, when someone asked him what avarice
was, replied, “Not to believe that God cares for you, to despair of the promises of God and to love
boasting.” He was also asked what anger is and he replied, “Quarrelling, lying and ignorance.” Abba
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Theodore said, “There is no other virtue than that of not being scornful.” A brother said to Abba
Theodore, “Speak a word to me, for I am perishing.” Sorrowfully, he said to him, “I am myself in danger,
so what can I say to you?” This may sound like a bit trite, serving no purpose. But we must understand
that the wise Fathers addressed the mind that asked the question rather than just answer the question as it
was worded. The question came out of a subtle sense of self-worth! That illusive sense of self-worth was
detrimental to the monk. So, Abba Theodore answered that he, even he, the acclaimed Abba Theodore,
was in danger! She also said, “Neither asceticism nor vigils nor any kind of suffering are able to save.
Only true humility can do that. There was an anchorite who was able to banish the demons. He asked
them, “What makes you go away? Is it fasting?‟ They replied, „We do not eat or drink.‟ „Is it vigils?‟ they
replied, „We do not sleep.‟ „Is it separation from the world?‟ „We live in the deserts.‟ „What power sends
you away then?‟ They said, „Nothing can overcome us, but only humility.‟ Do you see how humility is
victorious over the demons?” Abba John also said, “We have put the light burden on one side, that is to
say, self-accusation, and we have loaded ourselves with a heavy one, that is to say, self-justification.” He
also said, “Humility and the fear of God are above all virtues.” Abba John was sitting in church one day
and he gave a sigh, unaware that there was someone behind him. When he noticed it, he lay prostrate
before him, saying, “Forgive me, Abba, for I have not yet made a beginning.” A monk has to be
considerate to those around him. Abba John felt compunction that he did not maintain silence in the
Church, as a result of which his brother‟s contemplation might have been disturbed! That is the reason
why he prostrated before him and asked his forgiveness. A brother asked Abba Isidore the Priest, “Why
are the demons so frightened of you?” The old man said, “Because I have done my practices since the day
I became a monk, and not allowed anger to reach my lips.” Note the subtlety of the expression here. Abba
Isidore says, „I have not allowed anger to reach my lips.‟ He doesn‟t say he did not allow anger to rise in
him at all. Why was that? External manifestation has to be avoided at all costs. Temptations do arise in
the mind for a long, long time, until the full blast of divine light burns bright in the inner consciousness. It
is only the beatific vision that can annihilate the demons once and for all. For a long time until that
beatific vision occurs, the monk has to be extremely careful, eternally vigilant to avoid external
manifestations of the inner struggles.

Abba John of the Thebaid said, “First of all the monk must gain humility, for it is the first
commandment of the Lord who said, „Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.‟”
Abba Nilus said, “Happy is the monk who thinks he is the outcast of all. The monk who loves interior
peace will remain invulnerable to the shafts of the enemy, but he who mixes with crowds constantly
receives blows. The servant who neglects his master’s work should expect a beating.” Abba Xanthias
said, “A dog is better than I am, for he has love and he does not judge.”

 Abstinence & Obedience:

Next to humility, they valued abstinence and obedience to their Abba. Abba Joseph said to Abba
Lot, “You cannot become a monk unless you become like a consuming fire.” The monks of the
Ramakrishna Order were directed by Swami Vivekananda thus: „Brahmacharya must be like a burning
fire tingling in your veins!‟ Abba Anthony said, “Obedience with abstinence gives a monk power over
wild beasts.” Compare this with the words of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi who once said, “It is
sufficient if you stay in this Order. You will gain everything. Of course, stay in this Order and practice
strict Brahmacharya, and you will gain everything.” Abba Anthony also said, “He who wishes to live in
solitude in the desert is delivered from three conflicts: hearing, speech and sight. There is only one
conflict for him and that is with fornication.” He also said, “Unless he keeps the commandments of God, a
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man cannot make progress, not even in a single virtue.” A brother asked Abba Agathon about fornication.
He answered, “Go, cast your weakness before God and you shall find rest.” Abba Anoub said, “Since the
day when the name of Christ was invoked upon me, no lie has come out of my mouth.” The same Abba
said, “For fourteen years I have never lain down, but have slept sitting or standing.” Imagine the sense of
purpose these ancient monks for self-development! We must further remember that they were solitary
dwellers; that means they had no one to keep a watch over what they did! Abba Gerontius of Petra said
that many, tempted by the pleasures of the body, commit fornication, not in their body, but in their spirit,
and while preserving their bodily virginity, commit prostitution in their soul. Abba Epiphanius said,
“Reading the Scriptures is a great safeguard against sin.”

While these monks were very serious of conquering concupiscence, they were quite aware of the
various perversions that a struggling soul has to face! Take for instance the stiff fight against
homosexuality. Abba Eudemon said this about Abba Paphnutius, the Father of Scetis, “I went down there
while I was still young. He would not let me stay, saying to me, „I do not allow the face of a woman to
dwell in Scetis, because of the conflict with the enemy.‟” Abba Isaac said, “Do not bring young boys here.
Four churches in Scetis are deserted because of boys.” Abba Carion said, “A monk who lives with a boy,
falls, if he is not stable. But even if he is stable and does not fall, he still does not make progress.” Abba
John the Dwarf said, “He who gorges himself and talks to a boy has already in his thoughts committed
fornication with him.” These might seem like too inflexible a rule for monastic life, but considering the
innumerable falls that are being reported now-a-days, we cannot but appreciate the wisdom behind these
strictures of the ancient Desert monks.

It was an established fact among the monks that one who wished to rein in his senses had to stay
in one place for a protracted period of time. Inability to settle in one place was recognized for its true
cause – mind‟s violent reaction to the attempts of controlling it! Abba Eudemon said, “A beginner who
goes from one monastery to another is like an animal that jumps this way and that, for fear of the halter.”
Amma Theodora said, “There was a monk, who, because of the great number of his temptations said, „I
will go away from here.‟ As he was putting on his sandals, he saw another man who was also putting on
his sandals and this other monk said to him, „Is it on my account that you are going away? Because I go
before you wherever you are going.‟” Abba Eudemon also said, “When God wishes to take pity on a soul
and it rebels, not bearing anything and doing its own will, he then allows it to suffer that which it does not
want, in order that it may seek him again.” The wise monks realized that there was an urgent need to
sublimate the urge to flee constantly from a place in search of a new place. Abba John the Cilician said to
the brethren, “My sons, in the same way that we have fled from the world, let us equally flee from the
desires of the flesh.” Wanderlust had to be internalized and a region had to be reached in the inner realms
of one‟s own consciousness where there was no more trouble from the inner demons.

Abba Theodore said, “If I do not cut myself off from these feelings of compassion, they will not let
me be a monk.” Compare this with the training that Swami Vivekananda gave to his monastic disciples, as
recorded by Sister Nivedita – the monastic training [or Brahmacharya] entails complete emotional
solitude. Abba Theodore said, “Do not sleep in a place where there is a woman.” Notice that the advice is
not to meet her, nor is it not to see her. A monk is asked not to sleep in a place where a woman resides! If
we think deeply over this strange advice, we will appreciate the wisdom that uttered this invaluable
advice. The mind of a struggling monk is extremely sharp, extremely volatile, extremely impressionable.
The mind would have clearly noted the presence of a woman in the vicinity. While awake, the mind may
seem subdued. But when the mind sleeps, the monk will certainly have a fall. It is against such an
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eventuality that the saying already quoted above has to be understood: One of the fathers asked Abba
John the Dwarf, “What is a monk?” He said, “He is toil. The monk toils at all he does. That is what a
monk is.”

Abba Theodore of Eleutheropolis said, “Privation of food mortifies the body of the monk.”
Another old man said, “Vigils mortify it still more.” Although physical privations have their sure
advantages in the general scheme of monastic life, the wonderful Desert monks never lost sight of the
central theme of prayer and love of God that gave their life real meaning! Abba Theonas said, “When we
turn our spirit from the contemplation of God, we become the slaves of carnal passions.” Abba John also
said, “Who is as strong as the lion? And yet, because of his greed he falls into the net, and all his strength
is brought low.” Abba John also said, “The Fathers of Scetis ate bread and salt and said, „We do not
regard bread and salt as indispensable.‟ So they were strong for the work of God.” Abba Isidore said that
for forty years he had been tempted to sin in thought but that he had never consented either to
covetousness or to anger.

Abba Isidore the Priest said, “It is impossible for you to live according to God if you love
pleasures and money. If you truly desire the kingdom of heaven, despise riches and respond to divine
favors.” What was the justification for leading a disciplined life? It was quite simple. Common sense
provided the answer! Abba Mius of Belos said, “Obedience responds to obedience. When someone obeys
God, God obeys his request.” Abba Nilus said, “Do not always want everything to turn out as you think it
should, but rather as God pleases. Then you will be undisturbed and thank full in your prayer.”

 Brotherly Love:

The virtue next in order of value to monastic life was brotherly love. Abba Anthony said, “Our
life and our death are with our neighbour. If we gain our brother, we have gained God. But if we
scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ.” He also said, “I have never gone to sleep with a
grievance against anyone, and, as far as I could, I have never let anyone go to sleep with a grievance
against me.” A brother who had sinned was turned out of the church by the priest. Abba Bessarion got up
and went with him saying, “I too am a sinner.” Abba Isaac said, “I have never allowed a thought against
my brother who has grieved me to enter my cell. I have seen to it that no brother should return to his cell
with a thought against me.” Abba Poemen said about Abba Isidore that wherever he addressed the
brothers in church he said only one thing, “Forgive your brother so that you may also be forgiven.”

 Common Sense:

But the overarching feature of the Desert Monks was their common sense! Abba Mark asked
Abba Arsenius “Is it good to have nothing extra in the cell? I know a brother who had some vegetables
and he has pulled them up.” Abba Arsenius replied, “Undoubtedly that is good. But it must be done
according to a man’s capacity. For, if he does not have the strength for such a practice, he will soon
plant new ones.” Abba Arsenius used to say that a monk travelling abroad should not get involved in
anything. Thus he will remain in peace. This is a wonderful advice that can be appreciated only if one has
sufficient experience in life. Abba Epiphanius said, “The acquisition of Christian books is necessary for
those who can use them. For the mere sight of these books renders us less inclined to sin, and incites us to
believe more firmly in righteousness.” He also said that one of the Fathers used to say, „Eat a little
without irregularity; if charity is joined to this, it leads the monk rapidly to the threshold of Apatheia.‟ A
brother came to Abba Theodore and began to converse with him about things which he had never yet put
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into practice. So the old man said to him, “You have not yet found a ship nor put your cargo aboard it and
before you have sailed, you have already arrived at the city. Do the work first; then you will have the
speed you are making now.” Abba Theodore also said, “If you are temperate, do not judge the fornicator,
for you would then transgress the law just as much. And he who said, ‘Do not commit fornication’ also
said, “Do not judge.‟” Abba Isidore the Priest said, “If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with pride,
but if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat
meat than to be inflated with pride and to glorify himself.” Abba Isidore the Priest said, “Disciples must
love as their fathers those who are truly their masters and fear them as their leaders. They should not lose
their fear because of love, nor because of fear should love be obscured.” Abba Cassian said, “There was a
monk living in a cave in the desert. His relations according to the flesh let him know, „Your father is very
ill, at the point of death. Come and receive his inheritance.‟ He replied to them, „I died to the world before
he did and the dead do not inherit from the living.‟” Abba Matoes said, “I prefer a light and steady
activity, to one that is painful at the beginning but is soon broken off.”

The greatest outcome of nurturing common sense as a trait in the Desert monks was the
broadening of the vision. Fanaticism can be overcome mainly by common sense. It is quite well known
that even genuine spiritual realization does not remove fanaticism. That is the reason why we find even
great saints with genuine spiritual unfoldment still entertaining stifling ideas of fanaticism. Since the
Desert monks nurtured „discernment‟ as a requisite virtue, we find the cool breeze of expansiveness in
these ancient monks. Take for instance this saying of Abba John. He said, “The saints are like a group of
trees, each bearing different fruits, but watered from the same source. The practices of one saint differ
from those of another, but it is the same spirit that works in all of them.”

Although they were all monks in the Desert, keyed to the highest ideals of monastic life, they
however knew very well that excellence could be achieved as a secular too. This revelation too was a
direct outcome of cultivation of „discernment‟ or common sense among the monks. It was revealed to
Abba Anthony in his Desert that there was one who was his equal in the City. He was a doctor by
profession and whatever he had beyond his needs he gave to the poor, and every day he sang the Sanctus
with the Angels. However, the ideals of one were not to be confused with the ideals of the other. It was
said of Abba Arsenius that, just as none in the palace had worn more splendid garments than he when he
lived there, so no one in the Church wore such poor clothing as he did. Two father asked God to reveal to
them how far they had advanced. A voice came which said, “In a certain village in Egypt, there is a man
called Eucharistus and his wife who is called Mary. You have not yet reached their degree of virtue.” The
two old men set out and went to the village. Having enquired, they found his house and his wife. They
said to her, “Where is your husband?” She replied, “He is a shepherd and is feeding the sheep.” Then she
made them come into the house. When evening came, Eucharistus returned with the sheep. Seeing the old
men, he set the table and brought water to wash their feet. The old men said to him, “We shall eat nothing
until you have told us about your way of life.” Eucharistus replied with humility, “I am a shepherd, and
this is my wife.” The old men insisted but he did not want to say more. Then they said, “God has sent us
to you.” At these words, Eucharistus was afraid and said, “Here are these sheep. We received them from
our parents and if, by God’s help we make a little profit, we divide it into three parts: one for the poor,
the second for hospitality and the third for our personal needs. Since I married my wife, we have not had
intercourse with one another, for she is a virgin; we each live alone. At night we wear hair-shirts and our
ordinary clothes by day. No one has known of this till now.” At these words, they were filled with
admiration and went away giving glory to God.

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 Conclusion:

It is the belief of the Eastern Orthodox monks even today that these ancient Fathers are not just
historical persons, but living powers. Their sayings have sufficient power to shape our lives if only we
open ourselves to their benign influence. May the spirit that guided these Desert Fathers shape our lives
too.

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