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It means penance, followed by observing vows, and reading scriptures give the fruits when one attains the Sam dhimara a, otherwise all is futile.
One should not therefore doubt that, "when all things happen with Sam dhimara a, only, than why should one do japa-tapa, one will attain Sam dhi at the end of life." But one should not think likewise, instead engaging oneself in tapa, lessening ones passion, will lead to a proper Samadhi death. Probably this is the reason that Kundakunda has given this death a place in ik Vrata. In Sam dhimara a and the tapa as a form of conduct there is a cause-effect relationship. When difficulties arise or sudden death arises or if any wild animal attacks or fire or storm occurs, the practice of tapa alone helps. If one spends his whole life in conduct and at the moment of death deviates from the self, then the do a does not fall on conduct, but possibly lack of self-effort on his part and the lack of self-discipline.
c rya ivakoti says, "When there is no rescue, when wild animals approach you, on proper conducive food is attained in famine, when no proper rules of conduct can be followed or when old age appears or when disease are there, in such a case it is necessary to take Sallekhan and abandon the body."
One who does s dhan is a seeker. At the time of death one who engages in his soul is also a seeker. At the end of life, to see body and soul as different and to overcome attachment to the body one has to take refuge in Sallekhan. If for the whole life one does tapa, but at the end engages in attachment and hatred, his life goes a waste.
crya ivakoti says, "One attains many lives if he cannot sustain a proper death even if he in his whole life works for Jñ na, dar ana, caritra. But on the other hand if Sallekhan is pursued the seeker enjoys the bliss."
Up sakadhyayana (896) says, "Aspirant who is doing fasting etc and engaged in studying to overcome passions, such a person should come to the sangha and undertake Sallekhan.
crya ivakoti has highly envisaged Sallekhan says, one who dies at instant that is at that moment with sallekhan, he never lives more than 7to 8 lives. Expressing the importance of sallekhan he further writes, "One who is fully engaged in service of a sallekhan practitioner also attains the pleasures of the devagati or heavenly destiny and than attains the highest place (liberation).
Similarly Pujyp da Devanandi (6th Cent A.D.) in his Sarvathasiddhi highlights the importance and necessity of Sallekhan and says death is not liked by all. If at all the disease attacks the body, one a seeker who takes sallekhan, automatically is liberated from the effect of the disease.
crya Amrtacandra, in his Puru rthasiddhaup ya (10th Cent A.D.), Wrote, "When death is nearing and it is confirmed at that time when the aspirant is on the path of liberating from passions, how is it that the self is destroyed. One who is engaged in activities with anger, his self is definitely destroyed.
All the trtha karas, c ryas, saints, monks, gurus, have asserted this path as necessary for the wellbeing of all humans.
S gradharmarta has the following numbers of g th s 8/1, 8/6, 8/7-8, 8/9. 8/12, 9/2 vividly describing sallekhan.
In Bhagavatisutra r dhan there are around 2500 g th s, and there are reflections on sallekhan in numbers 25, 28, 64, 65 and others. In this text there is a vast description on one of the death called Bhakta Praty khy na.
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0
