________________
118
ETHICAL DOCTRINES IN JAINISM
consequence if it does not lead to the conquest of passions. The flagellation of the body must issue in the denial of passions.1 The resignation of body to death has not been considered to be as difficult as the observing of self-control, and the fixing of one's mind in the Atman, when the vital forces depart from the body. Thus the emphasis is on the rejection of passion, and consequently this noble death serves for the fulfilment of Ahimsā.3 It is on account of this insistence on the abnegation of passions that the process of Sallekhana must needs be distinguished from suicide which is perpetrated by the cruel dominance of passions through the mal-agency of water, fire, poison, inhibition of breath and the like. Suicide is easy when compared with the adequate performance of Sallekhana. The latter is undertaken only when the body fails to answer to the spiritual needs of the individual and when the inevitability of death is a matter of undisputed certainty; while suicide may be committed at any time in the life time under the spell of emotional disturbance or passionate attitude of mind.
PROCESS OF SALLEKHANA: To deal with the process of Sallekhanā,5 the aspirant must attain the purity of mind by renouncing attachment, aversion and infatuation. Afterwards in modest and sweet words he should make his earnest request to the members of his family and others around him to pardon him for the vicious deeds committed by him to afflict them wittingly and unwittingly. He should also forgive them from the bottom of his heart for being troubled by them on certain occasions. He should then practise the five Mahāvratas and engage himself in the study of scriptures with adequate zeal without allowing himself to be seduced by grief, fear, hatred, and the like. Nourishment is to be renounced gradually so that mental disturbance may be avoided. The persistence of equanimous mental state is the prime necessity. The physical renunciation of food to enervate the body must needs be balanced by the enhancement of the strength of the spirit. In other words, the gradual development of spiritual energy must automatically result in the gradual renunciation of the causes of physical nourishment. In the first place, only milk and whey should be continued after having abandoned the solid food, then
1 Sāgā. Dharma VIII. 22. 3 Puru. 179. 4 Puru. 178. 5 Ratna. Srava. 124 to 128,
Jain Education International
2 Ibid. VIII. 24.
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
