A religious ascetic is someone who practices extreme self-discipline and abstention from worldly pleasures in order to pursue spiritual goals. Two examples of religious ascetics are monks and fakirs. Monks are members of a religious community who live according to a set of rules and devote their lives to prayer and contemplation. Fakirs are Muslim ascetics who practice extreme forms of self-denial, such as fasting and sleeping on the ground, in order to achieve spiritual enlightenment.