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endeavour to save his life earnestly applies himself to control his destiny. The result is that while the latter attains to deva birth in the highest heavens, the former only finds himself in painful and uneviable circumstances and surroundings'.
Except as indicated above, sallekhanā is forbidden in the Scripture of Truth, as will be evident from the following from the "Bhagawati Ārādhanā" (by St. Śivakoți) :
"Bhakta-pratyakhyāna maraṇa (sallekhanā) is not proper for him who has many years of saintly life before him, who has no fear of starvation from a great famine, who is not afflicted by an incurable disease, and who is not faced by any sudden cause of death. Whoever desires to put an end to his life, while still able, with his body, to observe the rules of the Dharma and of the Order properly, he falls from the true Path!"
The sadhu, intent upon the observance of the sallekhanā vow, begins by giving up solid foods, taking to such sustaining liquids as milk, curds, whey and the like, and finally, comes down to hot water, which too is given up as soon as he is able to sustain himself on the strength of his indomitable will. He now refrains from all kinds of foods and drinks till the last moments of life. If trouble comes and the cravings of hunger and thirst are overpowering, he engages himself in holy meditation, going over in his mind the amount of food and water which he has taken in the course of the infinity of lives through which he has passed, on २१ ४६६
