Diogenes, His Life Style

"He has the most who is most content with the least."

"It is the privilege of the gods to want nothing, and of godlike men to want little."

Diogenes

One of our philosophers with the most misunderstood way of life is this great man. Diogenes was someone who tried to elevate himself spiritually to the highest degree possible right here on this material plain. And of course, to be totally spiritual is to detach oneself from all material goods, possessions and attachments.

Many admire this man and try to do exactly the same only to find themselves very hollow and bored with life soon after. I have even seen one say that he felt he was lying to himself by saying he didn´t want material possessions or a girl friend but convinced this was THE way to win the favor of God or become spiritual.

Another great man has said this,
"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."
Buddha

It is, I believe, a marvelous thing to follow the examples of these wise men BUT only if, as Buddha said, that his/her philosophy agrees with your inner self. It would be very unwise to practice something JUST BECAUSE a well known philosopher had said it even though deep inside you disagree or feel uncomfortable or simply not ready to practice his or her lifestyle. These lifestyles where something made by themselves FOR themselves without the slightest notion to "teach" it to anybody when they started on their path. Students who personally watched these mentors later on went to them for knowledge knowing, at least visually, what they were getting themselves into. We don´t have that with these philosophers anymore unless time machine was a physical reality right now. We can only read what they or their disciples have left and only imagine how things were like living like Diogenes.

We must also have a more opened mind and see that just like there are countless different ways to get from New York to LA, there are countless different ways to elevate oneself spiritually. The WAYS could be different (the ways of Diogenes, the ways of Buddha, the ways of Aristotle, etc) but one fact is solid, there exist THE ONE AND THE SAME DESTINATION. If you study their materials and teachings clearly, you will see that none has told any student,
"You MUST do this to be like me or there is NO other way!" I personally would stay away from anyone who says that or anything alike. The would-be students all went and asked these teachers,
"How can I be like you?"
and they answered something like
"I will show you how I have done it," or "These are my teachings," but never
"Do EXACTLY as I did and study ONLY MY teachings!"

For someone living in this society, being a Diogenes could be extremely difficult. Many give up but many persists totally unaware that wise people like Diogenes or even Buddha have already experienced enough earthly pleasures which they all grew out of later on. That is the reason why they were able to detach themselves from all of it. But don´t get me wrong, this is not something one can accomplish so easily in ONE life time. They have already gone through many lives before to have grown to what they have. So the process of detachment was something that came naturally out of themselves. This was not a struggle for them like it is to us.

If you are practicing detachment from earthly pleasures and are struggling with it most likely you are going against something within yourself or your core beliefs. Maybe you are not quit ready yet. Maybe you must experience a little more or a lot more BEFORE you can go on living the life of Diogenes or anyone alike. Maybe your soul or spirit, the omnipotent part of you, knows that you must experience some more in your ordinary day-to-day world in order for you to ascend without sacrifice or struggle. Continuing our lives like Diogenes might be an extreme for us. Remember another thing he has said and done

"I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough."

If you can even throw away your cup and start drinking ONLY with your hands from now on without feeling any discomfort, GREAT! Proceed. If not, then live differently. 

Find the most pleasant and comfortable way from all these innumerable philosophers that fits best with you, your mentality, your beliefs and your lifestyle. You will then see that there is nothing to struggle for or give up to live the life of a wise man.