World of Philosophy

Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan

Page 909

It is important to note that, only those who were possessed of high ascetic power and detached to worldly desires were permitted to undertake all these kinds of voluntary acts. The ordinary persons lacking in high ascetic power was generally denied resorting to such kinds of methods. Again, there were protests against all these kinds of voluntary deaths from certain corners of ancient, mediaeval and modern Hindu texts. These texts state that, these voluntary deaths are strictly forbidden in Kali-era." Bānabhatta (6th century A,D.), vehemently condemns these voluntary deaths. Writers of 16th and 17th centuries denounced it as an inferior way of death.61 But history tells us that this prohibition was never strictly followed or enforced. Jainism has also approved the selfimmolation by fasting, which is known as sallekhanā. This is a religious vow, which is given a very high place in Acarangasūtra, one of the earliest Jaina Āgamas.62 Umāsvāti Vācaka (5th century A.D.), also in his monumental work Tattvārthasūtra, refers to this vow.63 Sallekhanā is a vow to be adopted for seeking liberation of the soul from the body as a religious duty during a calamity, severe famine, old age or illness from which there is no remedy. 64 In this ceremony many kings, men and women alike took part and devoted themselves to contemplation of the divinity for days without food or water. Sravanabelagola inscriptions are full of such instances. But all are not authorised to follow this path. Only those who have acquired the highest degree of perfection in the spiritual path are allowed to choose this religious vow. Except death by fasting, all other kinds of speedy methods of voluntary deaths are denounced as vulgar and evil by the Jainas. 66
Even Buddhist literature, notwithstanding the opposition of the Buddha, is full of stories of various kinds of self-immolation. The Majjhima-Nikaya states that a husband threatened with separation from his beloved wife, kills her and also himself in order that they may be united as husband and wife in their next birth. There are many stories which prove beyond doubt that, Buddhism, in certain cases and in certain circumstances, approved self-immolation. The stories relating to selfimmolation attempt of Siha, Sappadasa, Vakkali and Godhika are good examples of this fact. The stories of a future sākyamuni who gave his body to feed a starving tigress and the legend of Bhaisajya-rāja who filled his body with all sorts of oil and set it on fire are worth noticing. Sāntidāsa in his Siksāsamuccaya? (a compendium of the rules of the disciple of the Great Vehicle), prohibits only those from self-immolation, who are just beginners on the path of spirituality, implying that, the spiritually advanced may resort to this method of self-immolation under certain circumstances.
We have also several examples of men and women, who adopted self-immolation, out of devotion to tbeir masters, mothers and for other
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