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Sallekhana is not Suicide
for the dead and the other of strengthening the faith of devotees in religion. The atmosphere around and about the dead body is one of veneration. There is neither sorrow nor mourning. The occasion is treated as a religious festival, with pūjās, bhajans and recitation of religious mantras. There is no place for grief but only for joy. Many would be admiring the spiritual heights reached by the departed, the calmness and peace with which death was faced and the new inspiration and devotion awakened by the supreme event.
Thus there is nothing in common between suicide and Sallekhana except that in both cases there is death. In the case of suicide, death is brought about by objectionable means because harm is caused to one's own body and to the interests or feelings of the relatives and friends.
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The Jaina thinkers have addressed themselves to this question of Sallekhana being not a suicide and given very logi cal clarification. Amṛtacandra Suri has stated: He who is actuated by passions, puts an end to his life by stopping breath or by water, fire, poison or weapons is certainly guilty of suicide." In Sallekhana, all desires and passions are subjugated and the body is allowed to wither away gradually by fasts and meditation when the mind itself is in unique peace and full of bliss. Here death comes in due course gradually when the senses cease to function while in suicide death is brought about suddenly and prematurely by adoption of questionable methods. In his commentary on Tattvārtha-Sūtra, Pujyapada says: "A person who kills himself by means of poison, weapons etc. swayed by attachment, aversion or infatuation, commits suicide. But he who practises holy death is free from desire, anger or delusion. Hence it is not suicide." The same view is expressed by Asadhara when he says: By becoming indifferent to the body as a result of the vow taken,
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6. Puruṣārtha-siddhyupaya by Amṛtacandra, Verse 178.
7. Reality by S. A. Jain, p. 205.
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