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Essence of Jainism
Anticipation of Death and Non-violence
Non-violence means freedom from infatuation or passiod and Jealousy or attachment. Jain works have strongly protested against the custom of suicide that comes of old days. Fall from the top of a mountain, drowning ones self in water, taking poison were prevalent in the old days they are so to day; the death in the case may be designated dharma or it may be due to some worldly reason. Both annihilation of animals and suicide are known right from old days. The two are prevalent to-day also, particularly at the feet of Siva or Sakti.
The self-contradiction in prohibition of these customs on one side and fast unto death or anticipation of death is, indeed puzzl. ing. The self-contradiction ceases to exist if we grasp the original spirit. Jainism prohibits only that ending of ones life that springs from infatuation or attachment. So many cases of suicide are known to take place following a desire to acquire this--worldly or other-worldly prosperity, desire for obtaining youthful beauty, with a desire for some other uplift or through a sense of dharma. Jainism states that all these cases of suicide constitute violence because the inspiring element at the root is one or the other type of attachment. If fast unto death and anticipation of death are inspired by the same spirit or fright or miserliness, they constitute violence. Jainism does not recommend the committal of these. Fast unto death that is recommended is death through Samadhi.
When a situation arises in which one has to choose between the body and self-control, a virtue that is spiritual, the individual will prefer not to care for the protection of the body if, to him. dharma is the very life of the self; he will sacrifice his body and save the genuine spiritual state. This is like a real Sati, who saves her purity by the sacrifice of her body, when no way is left. But it will happen almost invariably, that under such a state, the individual will get angry with somebody or will be frightened. This should not happen in the case of real sacrifice. In real sacrifice, all his attention will be on the defence of ones controlled life and towards the protection of equanimity. One should protect ones body as also self-control both till it is possible. But when the
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