Day 60 - Sallekhana

I've always believed that the act of Suicide is an indication of two extreme conflicting emotions in the individual. While at one end it is an act of extreme cowardice and an acceptance that there is no way things can get better, at the other end it is also an act of courage because taking one's own life and suffering as you go is not an easy task.

I've always believed that any problem can be solved and that life is more precious than losing it. Which is why sometimes I snicker at the Hindi movie dialogues - मैं तुम्हारे लिए जान भी दे सकता हूँ (I can even give my life for you) - wondering what use is it if you lose your life to prove your love. You won't be there to see if she cares anyway. But coming back to the point, I've been fortunate enough never to be in those shoes - shoes where as you face life you realise that there is no way forward. And I thank God profusely for that.

How can someone take one's own life?

And then as I started reading William Dalrymple's book 'Nine Lives', I came across 'Sallekhana' - the Jain way of giving up one's life or more precisely the Jain muni's (nun or holy man) way of giving up one's life. I was astounded by what I read and could not understand why someone would do it?

Sallekhana is the Jain muni's way of voluntarily embracing death when the muni sees that death is imminet due to a severe disease or old age or intuition. Sallekhana is possible only if the muni seeks and gets the approval of their guru or mentor. It is up to the mentor to decide if the person can contribute much more in life of if the person can pass on to the next world. It is a ritual fast onto death. One by one you give up all the food - first you fast one day a week, then you eat only on alternate days. One by one you give up different kinds of food - rice, vegetables, juice till you come to a stage where you take only water everyday. You then make even that on alternate days. Eventually when you are ready you give up that too. Jains believe that when you do this gradually the body adapts, cools down and you can concentrate only on the soul.

It is easy to confuse this with suicide but jains think of this as releasing the soul - attaining mukti from this world. As I sit back and think on this, I sort of agree. But what takes my pickle is the extreme confidence and peace the muni must find with oneself to actually embark on this route for once the vow of Sallekhana is taken, there is no going back. Suicide is instantaneous and an act of mental anguish. Sallekhana, on the other hand, is giving up of the final frontier. Taken in context - the Jain muni starts off on the path by renouncing everything, family, comfort. home, possesions, Sallekhana is the renouncement of the body and an acceptance of starting off in a new world.

The Jain muni lives a life of renouncement. I wonder if a lay person with desires and needs would be able to walk down the path of Sallekhana and find peace in the final moments!

Would you be able to take Sallekhana?