Voluntary solitude is not an invention of the 21st century. It's an ancient tradition that existed in all cultures and on all continents.
Desert Fathers and Mothers
3rd-4th centuries CE, Egypt. Christian ascetics retreated to the Scetes Desert to live in complete solitude, dedicating their lives to prayer and contemplation.
Saint Anthony the Great spent 20 years in an abandoned fortress, communicating with people only once every few months through a crack in the wall.
Simeon Stylites spent 37 years atop a stone pillar 15 meters high in Syria, avoiding any contact with the world below.
These were not miserable outcasts. These were people who consciously chose radical solitude for a spiritual purpose.
Buddhist Hermits
In Buddhism, the tradition of solitary meditation (vipassana) spans thousands of years—from the caves of India to the monasteries of Bhutan, from the mountains of Japan to the forests of Thailand.
Monks retreated to caves in the Himalayas for years, sometimes decades, practicing meditation in complete isolation.
Milarepa, an 11th-century Tibetan yogi, spent most of his life in caves, eating nettles and meditating. His skin turned green from the diet, but he achieved enlightenment.
In Japan, the tradition of "sokushinbutsu" included monks who voluntarily mummified themselves in meditation—an extreme form of seclusion.
Taoist Hermits
In China, Taoist sages lived for centuries in the mountains of Huashan, Wudangshan, Emeishan, rejecting worldly life for harmony with nature.
Laozi, author of the "Tao Te Ching," according to legend, spent years in seclusion before recording his philosophy and disappearing forever.
Zhuangzi preached "effortless action" (wu wei) and rejected social obligations for the sake of freedom.
Sufi Recluses
In Islamic mysticism (Sufism), the practice of "khalwa" (seclusion) was a path to spiritual purification.
Sufis retreated to the caves of Turkey, the deserts of Morocco, the mountains of Afghanistan, spending 40 days in complete isolation and meditation.
Rumi, the great Sufi poet, wrote about the necessity of solitude for knowing God and oneself.
Philosopher-Loners
Diogenes of Sinope, a 4th-century BCE Greek philosopher, lived in a barrel in the Athens marketplace, demonstratively rejecting social conventions.
When Alexander the Great offered him any assistance, Diogenes replied: "Stand out of my light."
He chose poverty and solitude not from destitution, but from philosophical conviction: true freedom lies in the absence of dependence on others.
Henry David Thoreau in the 19th century spent two years in a cabin on the shore of Walden Pond in Massachusetts, writing a classic treatise on simple living in solitude.
"I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude," he wrote.
In Russia, Leo Tolstoy at the end of his life dreamed of leaving the world, which he partially did by abandoning Yasnaya Polyana.
Hindu Sadhus
In India, the tradition of sannyasa (renunciation of worldly life) spans thousands of years.
Sadhus retreat to forests, caves, live on the banks of the Ganges, renouncing family, possessions, social connections.
Ramana Maharshi spent years in a cave on Mount Arunachala, meditating in silence, until he became one of the most revered sages of the 20th century.
Indigenous Traditions
Indigenous peoples of North America had the "vision quest" ritual—a young man would go alone into the desert or mountains for several days without food or water to find his spiritual purpose.
Australian Aboriginals practiced "walkabout"—solitary journeys lasting months for spiritual growth.
Shamans of Siberia, Mongolia, and Amazonia often lived separately from the tribe, serving as intermediaries between the human world and the spirit world.
What Unites Them?
All these people from different cultures, eras, and continents chose solitude not from an inability to socialize, but from a striving for something greater:
Spiritual growthPhilosophical insightsCreative freedomLiberation from social conventionsKnowledge of self and world
Solitude was not the goal, but the means.