________________
Sallekhanā is not Suicide
there is no killing of oneself because that occurs when there is taking away of life by poison etc. in a heat of passion.”8
The late Champat Rai Jain has clarified some misconceptions expressed by the Simla Times which accused that Jainism encouraged suicide. He wrote : “ Bhaktapratyākhyāna Marana is not proper for him who has many years of saintly life be. fore 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 falls from the true path.”. Commenting on the passage, the author says : “There is no question here of a recommendation to commit suicide or of putting an end to one's life, at one's sweet will and pleasure, when it appears burdensome, or not to hold any charm worth living for. The true idea of Sallekhanā is only this that when death does appear at last one should know how to die, that is, one should die like a monk, not like a beast, bellowing and panting and making vain efforts to avoid the unavoidable. Had A. S. P. read anything of the true science of religion, he would have known that the soul is a simple substance and as such immortal. Death is only for compounds, whose dissolution is termed disintegration, and death, when it has reference to living organism, what is a compound of spirit and matter. By dying in the proper way, will is developed, and it is a great asset for the future life of the soul, which is a simple substance, will survive the bodily dissolution and death.”10 He concludes his discussion by say. ing : "The Jain Sallekhanā leaves ample time for further reconsideration of the situation, as the process, which is primarily intended to elevate the will, is extended over a period of days and is not brought to an end at once."11
8. Sāgāra-Dharmämsta of Ašādhara, Canto VIII, Verse 8. 9. Jainism and World Problems by C. R. Jain, pp. 178–79.
10. Ibid., p. 179.
11. Ibid., p. 182.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
