Sallekhana is Not Suicide

SR No.: 001568
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: T K Tukol
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1976
Total Pages: 124
Language: English
Classification: Book_English & Religion
File Size: 8 MB

Page 96

SECTION VII
SALLEKHANA IS NOT SUICIDE
Though it is possible that the word "suicide was used to cover all deaths which were not homicidal, it has now gained a special connotation to mean." death" which is in the nature of self-destruction. It cannot be denied that the concept of Sallekhana, its religious character and the method of achieving it were not known to the English people. Even in the beginning of the 19th century, Geothe said: "Suicide is an incident in human life which however much disputed and discussed demands the sympathy of everyone and in every age must be dealt with anew." The great German Philosopher and writer merely implied that the person who commits suicide is a helpless victim of circumstances which may vary and therefore require a sympathetic approach from time to time.
Suicide is a common phenomenon in all the countries of the world. It has therefore attracted the attention of the great sociologists and psychologists in every country. Durkheim, the great French sociologist, was of the opigion that since instances of suicide do not yield all information about the cause in each case, "consequently Knowledge by the actor of the deadly consequences of his action should be the fundamental factor in deciding that a death is suicide. Most importantly, they (i. e. the Western Writers) implicitly assumed that before one could judge the actor in the case, one had always to know his intentions, the situation in which he found himself and the nature and the outcome of his actions "1
Dealing with the psychological effects on the survivors of a suicide the author proceeds: "The suicide has great 1. Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, Vol. XV, p. 376.