an old brahmin is supposed to deed his possessions over to his oldest son, then become a wandering holy hermit and go live in the woods

the fact that family and max ascetic spiritual life are not compatible is worked into the system

once the man's grandchildren are born, he alone or he and his wife if he wants can go be wandering monk hermits in the woods until they drop dead mid prayer or meditation or whatever

there are strict guidelines on how much they may own, what they may do, how much food they can eat and from where they can procure it

so basically they did your thing already

just saying

I think that simply separating two domains works just fine

Which leads us back to the question of what kind of marriage is the most ideal or suitable for those who wish to do so, or consider doing so their obligations

is asceticism an ideal for every man?

are people who cannot measure up to their obligations even worthy of trying to be an ascetic like that?

Again, I emphasized Rome, where getting married was a paramount duty for an Aristocrat

if they were capable of it, lets assume

can't run the world on ascetics

yes, sadly you need go getters like me and fallot

I'm not a go-getter

you're a surgeon

Well, asceticism is by definiton an exceptional effort

asceticism could be an abstraction

yeah but that's to pay the bills

It's like saying "not everyone can be a long distance runner"

That is to be understood

not everyone SHOULD be a long distance runner

that is what is under consideration

not what you said

I disagree

Or actually

It could have a point

8]

so I've addressed practical matters re: asceticism vs family life incompatibility, so now I want to know - what is the point/reason/goal of asceticism?

If you added "should TRY"

TES that is egalitarianism

Nope

some are born to be human farm animals and it would be a crime to try to elevate them past it

should everyone try to be an ascetic then?

I meant not everybody should attempt to become an ascetic if he feels such a thing is deeply against his nature

Every ascetic turns to life of meditation because he feels called to do so

so no

everyone shouldn't try to do it

I'm having a feeling that many of the concepts we are discussing about have been taken for granted in the past in a way where people simply assumed some things

I don't think there was something spectacular in the fact that Zoroaster decided to be a priest

People who pursue spiritual experiences were considered as a normal occurence