Jain Digest 2006 04

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 11

2.Inigini-marama-ansana - in this the movement
is further restricted to the place he occupies for the purpose of fasting. Here, he can move his limbs, but the movement should be as less as possible.
3.Padopgamana Ansana - in this penance, the person neither takes care of his/her body nor asks others to do so. He is steady like a statue until death. He remains in the same state in which he existed at the time of starting the fast. No movement at all is given to the body. Ansana is not suicide
Some people regard Ansana as suicide. Suicide is typically done in a fit of strong detachment and aversion as a result of a deluded mind. The person commits suicide with the aid of poison, weapon or any other similar means. The aim of such activity is to end life suddenly. But Ansana is not taken in a fit of attachment or aversion, neither is it a result of delusion.. If someone undertakes Ansana to kill himself immediately due to physical disease or depression as a result of a problem, we cannot call it Ansana. Such an action would not lead him to the highest goal of emancipation. True Ansana is not aimed at ending one's life. But it is done to attain purity of consciousness, which ultimately ends in self-realization. Ansana is, therefore, called as Samadhi-marana, i.e. death attained with complete tranquility and equanimity. Such a person is not eager to meet death, but is willing to face death with grace and equanimity as it comes over the course of time.
Although body is is relinquished both in Ansana and suicide, the important thing to consider is the reason for giving up the body. The difficult path of Ansana can be followed only by a spiritual aspirant who has practiced spiritualism thoroughly, who has experienced that the body and the soul are totally different. The aspirant realizes that the body is temporary and lifeless while the soul is permanent and the seat of consciousness and life. In suicide, the person is fully of tensed, while in Ansana the person is fully relaxed. At the time of suicide, the physical posture does not express calmness, but it is overwhelmed with stress. In suicide, death comes suddenly, while in Ansana, death will be a natural phenomenon.
Ansana means removing the attachment from the body by understanding the reality of nature, while in suicide one tries to give up life to escape from worldly troubles. The former is accepted by a virtuous person, while the latter is embraced with pessimism or negativity. There is no bravery in suicide; on the contrary, it is cowardice. Suicide is based on fear and desires. It is full of passions and excessive lust. Ansana on the other end is an exercise to overcome weakness, fear and vices. Thus, although giving up the
JAIN DIGEST. Summer 2006/9 Jain Education International
body is common to both, Samlekhana (Ansana) and suicide - their aims are quite different.
In conclusion, Ansana means the right type of death in which there is no desire to live or die. It means to give up the body with equanimity. Persons attached to body, worldly pleasures and worldly possession does not like to face death. They try every possible means to stay alive-holding on to the body. But in the end they have to face the laws of nature, because when life is a reality, death is also a reality. Regardless of the enormous efforts put by the doctors and the patients to stay alive, the persons have to eventually face death. On the other hand, in Ansana, the aspirant is fully prepared for death and faces it peacefully and with equanimity. Such a person does not fear death, but accepts it as an experience that soul goes through when it departs the body.
Thus, there is no place for fear or temptation, compulsion or force, attachment or aversion, anger or delusion in Ansana. Ansana is a means to attain the goal with equanimity. Every ascetic and every lay follower should aspire to embrace such death. The Jain canons mention three aspirations for all religious persons, one of which is to embrace death through Samlekhana or Ansana.
ILA MEHTA'S TRIP TO AMRITSAR INDIA
IN SEARCH OF WAYS TO BUILD PEACE
ILA MEHTA, the Mid west Vice President of JAINA attended an interfaith conference titled, "Reconciliation: Creating Partnerships for Building Peace," which was sponsored by the Goldin Institute of the Parliament of the World's Religions. The conference was well attended by dignitaries from various countries and religions across the globe. The conference emphasized that while many international leaders are doing their best to reduce tensions at national and international levels, the real change and a peaceful resolution of conflict will only come from ordinary people's awareness, volunteer's hard work, inputs from grass root activist, and efforts from civic, cultural and religious organizations. Ilaben found it refreshing that the world community has realized that the only way to get lasting peace is by following the principle of Mahavir conveyed in his message "Live and Let Live". The challenges of today and tomorrow for a safer cleaner and healthier environment can be met only through non violence.