I've been trying to understand the concept of tapas since I started learning the eight limbs of yoga. Tapas seems to have many definitions from "asceticism" to "heat". But the meaning is more about accepting extreme discomfort to purify the body, mind and spirit.
When things such as metals are heated, they are purified. We say that heating the body causes sweat which helps expel toxins from the body. This is a form of physical tapas.
People generally do things that are pleasant or want things that make them feel good. These can become addictions when it begins to cause cravings or you begin to let them control your actions. When a person has an addiction (for me it is chocolate, but for sake of discussion let use cigarettes), they must use tapas to control the addiction. You must control your lust--don't pick up the cigarette--which brings you discomfort of the mind. It can be very difficult for some people who are "weak-minded" to control. Sometimes, they use shortcuts to control the lust, like a nicotine patch. But this is not a true form of tapas because the pleasure is still existing through the drug. To truly "burn" the craving, one must overcome the addition by enduring mental anguish.
A spiritual form of tapas--I have a harder time defining this one. I think an example of spiritual tapas would be the story of the Jews' Exodus from Egypt. Being persecuted for your spiritual beliefs, enduring the painful journey to find a home and live peacefully. For me, a spiritual tapas is just finding the time to devote to divine things, or even find a spiritual teacher! It is easy for me to just forget or do other things. I must force myself to focus on the aspect of spirituality. I wrote earlier that I am having a hard time defining God. I can not put it into succinct words, but I think I have a clear feeling of God. However, because I disagree with rules of most organized religions, it is very hard to find a spiritual leader.
I've wandered a bit from defining tapas. But, it's good to think on these things.
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