Indian Culture and Jainism

Author(s): Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Jain Vidya Samsthan

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wars he is required to confine his operations in such a way as may affect the life and existence of a very limited number of Jīvas. In these two provinces the point to be noted is that of alleviating the amount of injury that is apt to be caused and not that of total relinquishment which is not possible without jeopardizing the survival of man. The hard fact to be noted is that man is subject to Himsa by the very condition of his existence. Yet instead of aggravating the natural weight of Himsā by falling foul upon one another and by our cruel treatment of the animal and vegatable kingdoms, we should endeavour to alleviate this general curse, to the extent to which we are capable of doing, by conforming ourselves to the sacred injunctions enjoined by Jaina spiritual teachers70. Vegetarianism is therefore prescribed. It limits us to the unavoidable injury caused to only one-sensed-Jivas. This is the philosophy of vegetarianism propounded by Jainism.
10. Accepting Sallekhana as the spiritual welcome to death withou any. fear and perturbation"
Sallekhana implies the enervation of external body and internal passions in a legitimate way by the gradual removal of the causes of their nourishment, so that one may renounce the present body with a view to having a new bodily modification. Sallekhana is performed on the occasion when the time of natural death has been known in all probability. No doubt the body which is the medium of upliftment of the soul is to be properly nourished and cared for and the diseases are to be serously met with without any retreat. But if the body refuses to respond to our earnest endeavours, we should not falter to forsake it in the interest of saving the peace of mind. Thus if one is encountered with the termination of duration of the present life one should resort to the performance of the process of Sallekhanā, which is not other than the spiritual welcome to death. This is not yielding to death, but a way of meeting the challenge of death undauntedly and adequately. "Self-restraint, study, austerities, worship, and chairty - all become useless if the mind is not pure at the last hour of life, just as the training of a king who has learnt the use of weapons for twelve years, becomes useless if he faints on the battlefield." The person performing Sallekhana should observe self-control, and than fix his mind in the Atman, when the vital forces depart from the body. The process of Sallekhana must needs be distinguished from
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