ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 23

(Tyakta). Whatever be its form, in most cases it has always evoked fear. Even then the history of human race is replete with the incidents of death inflicted on oneself and the others on one pretext or the other.
Among the voluntary deaths also there are deaths by personal choice under widely varying circumstances and those that are part of religious rituals or practices. Amidst this line of thought, there are quite a few religions that consider voluntary death, embraced under suitable frame of mind, as soul-liberating and recommend it for their followers. Jainism is one such religious philosophy that glorifies voluntary peaceful death (Sallekhanā or Samādhimarana) as a very potent means of shedding the karmic encumbrance that the soul has been carrying since time immemorial and, hence, a way to seeking spiritual emancipation and final liberation from the mundane existence. So much so that all the incidents mentioned in Jaina scriptures where an aspirant practitioner has liberated, he has done so by embracing voluntary death in a state of equanimity of mind, with his soul free from desire, passions and attachment and aversion and at peace with itself.
However, all is not well with 'voluntary deaths' and these very religions consider many of such deaths as not only not liberating but positively soul-shackling. Jainism is no exception to this distinction amongst various forms of voluntary deaths that can be grouped under the following heads:
1. Sallekhanā or Samādhimaranaor 'Voluntary Peaceful Death', 2. Other religious deaths, 3. Honour deaths, 4. Euthanasia, and 5. Suicide.
In this lecture cum discussion, it will be my Endeavour to discuss various facets of Euthanasia and to compare it with Sallekhanā.
3.2 Euthanasia and Sallekhanā or Samadhimaraņa
The question of the right of the humans, the most thoughtful and intelligent beings on planet Earth, to decide for themselves as to when and how to die has been debated ever since they suffered intolerable and incurable maladies and wanted no more of it. However, the advocates of Euthanasia or gift of death to the suffering and terminally ill people to mitigate
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STUDY NOTES version 5.0