Compendium of Jainism: XVII ►Sallekhana

Bhagavān Mahāvīra has said that there are two ways of ending life with death: death with one's will, and death against one's will. An ignorant man attached to pleasures and amusements, transgresses the law of Dharma and embraces unrighteousness trembles in fear when death is at hand and dies in misery having lost his chance of making the best of life. The virtuous who control themselves and subdue their senses face death full of peace and without i jury to any one; such a death falls to the lot of every monk and some superior house-holder.^[1]

Sallekhanā is facing death (by an ascetic or house-holder) voluntarily when he is nearing his end and when normal life according to religion is not possible due to oldage, incurable disease, severe famine;^[2] he should subjugate all his passions and abandon all worldly attachments, observe all austerities, gradually abstain from food and water and lie down quietly meditating on the real nature of the self until the soul parts from the body. The basic concept of this vow is that man who is the architect of his own fortune should face death in such a way as to prevent the influx of new Karmas and liberate the soul from the bondage of Karmas that may be still clinging to it.

Every soul is pure and perfect by nature; it is characterised by infinite perception or faith, infinite knowledge, infinite bliss and infinite power. It is associated with Karma from eternity and therefore becomes subject to numerous forms of existence subject to births and deaths. The supreme object of religion is to show the way for liberation of the soul from the bondage of Karmas. Those who adopt the vow immediately become self- reliant, self-composed and self-concentrated; they cease to be agitated by personal considerations and suffering, and rise above the cravings and longings of the flesh. The soul is lifted out of the slough of despondency and negativity. To be able to control one's conduct at the moment of death is the fruit (culmination) of asceticism.^[3]

A comprehensive exposition of this vow is to be found in the "Ratna-Karaṇḍa Śrāvakācāra" by Acarya Samantabhadra who probably lived in the second century A. D. The vow is also called sanyāsa-maraṇa. He who adopts the vow should, with a pure mind, give up friendship, enmity, company and possessiveness. He should forgive his own relations, companions and servants, and should, with sweet words, ask for pardon of everybody. He should discuss frankly with his Guru (preceptor) all the sins committed by himself, or sins which he abetted others to commit, or consented to their commission by others, and abide by the great vow till death. During the period, he should wholly efface from his mind all grief, fear, regret, affection, hatred, prejudice etc., and with strength of mind and enthusiasm, he should keep his mind supremely happy with the nectar of scriptural knowledge. He should gradually give up food and take only liquids like milk, butter-milk etc., later, he should give up milk also and take only warm water. Thereafter, he should give up even warm water gradually according to his capacity, continue his fast and quit the body while the mind is wholly occupied with the meditation of the Namokāra-mantra.

During the period of observance of this vow, he must avoid the five kinds of transgressions:

1. He should not entertain a feeling that it would have been better if death had come a little later.
2. He should not also wish for a speedy death.
3. He should entertain no apprehensions as to how he would bear the pangs of death.
4. He should not remember his relatives and friends at the time of death.
5. He should not wish for a particular kind of fruit as a result of his penance.^[4]

According to Umāsvāmi, the vow of Sallekhanā should be adopted most willingly or voluntarily when death is very near,^[5] A person adopting the vow can obtain his peace of mind by making a frank confession of his sins, either committed or abetted; when it is not possible to approach an Acarya or Guru, one should sit calmly, meditate upon the pañca-parameṭṣhis and recall to one's mind all types of sins and transgressions either committed by oneself or abetted by oneself. He should shut out all his evil thoughts. If he is suffering from deadly or serious disease, he should endure all the pangs with equanimity and tranquillity without exhibiting any signs of suffering, with an inborn conviction that the disease itself is the result of his own Karmas. He should eliminate all his passions and mental weaknesses. The mind should be filled with the ambrosial knowledge of scriptures that gives him joy and strength.^[6]

The body has to be protected so long as it is useful for attainment of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct. The body is mortal; if it dies, you can have another body; but if you sacrifice your religion for the sake of your body, you cannot regain the sanctity of your religion which helps you in your spiritual realisation. When life is coming to an end by a natural cause or by some calamity like a disease, or attack from an enemy, it is proper to adopt the vow of death by fasting and meditation in fulfilment of the religious vows and practices.^[7]

It is common knowledge that amongst the Jainas, the monks, nuns, house-holders and the house-ladies were accustomed to fasting during the course of their normal life. Hermann Jacobi says: "Among the austerities, fasting is the most conspicuous; the Jainas have developed it to a kind of art and reached a remarkable proficiency in it".^[8] During the period of fast, one ought to acquire complete detachment and peace of mind not only • by freeing the mind from passions of every kind like anger, greed, love and pride etc. but also by repentance for the sins or lapses committed after making a frank and full confession of the same before his or her Guru. One should acquire mental and spiritual poise before adopting the vow.

The "Ācārānga Sutra" has explained the three kinds of Sallekhana: bhaktapratyakhyāna Maraṇa, ingita Maraṇa and pādapōpagamana.^[9] The first one is prescribed for a well-controlled and instructed monk. He should desist from doing, causing, or allowing to be done any movement of the body, speech or mind. The second one which is still more difficult requires the monk not to stir from one's place and check all motions of the body. The third one is still more difficult. The monk should examine the ground most carefully and lie down wholly unmindful of his body, putting up with all kinds of mortifications of the fiesh. Me should seek enlightenment in the contemplation of the eternal characte­ristics of the soul without any delusions of life. A monk or a pious layman should reach the end of his life without any attraction to external objects after having patiently chosen any one of the three methods for attainment of Nirvana.

Acarya Kundakunda has referred to this vow and stated that death is of three kinds: bala-Maraṇa- bālapaṇdita-maraṇa, and paṇḍita-maraṇa.^[10] Bāla-niaraṇa is the death of an individual who has right faith but does not possess full self-control. The second is a kind of death which is faced.by a house-holder who has reached the fifth stage of his spiritual progress, and who is unable to abstain from the himsā of one-sensed beings and is still indecisive in the matter of self-restraint. Paṇḍita-maraṇa is the death of an ascetic who has attained pure knowledge about his own self. The death of Tirthankaras or Gaṇadharas is of this kind.

Since the main object of all vows and austerities is the liberation of the soul from the bondage of Karmas, the objectives of the vow of Sallekhana are: the Karmas obscure the inherent qualities of the soul; the mind and body should be led towards purity, and help the soul to live a life of compassion. While fasting purifies the body, meditation and introspection assist the soul in its purification, elevation and realization. When the body is to perish due to any of the causes mentioned above, a course o^r planned death is preferable to a life of irreligion. Before accepting the vow, the monk or the house-holder must conquer all his passions. He should achieve complete detachment from all ties of affections and be free from prejudice and ill-will. Supreme forgi­veness towards all must govern his attitude of mind after having begged for forgiveness from everyone else for himself. The mind should be full of joy and equanimity. The acceptance of the vow is thoroughly voluntary with no faltering or lapse of any kind in mind or conduct. Death by Sallekhana according to scriptural rules is the victory of the soul over Karmas and other infirmities of the mind and body. It is an act of fulfilment and a fitting culmination to a life of piety and religion.

Inspite of its religious character and austerity, some western and eastern scholars have characterised Sallekhana as suicide or a form of suicide. Such a view overlooks the sociological and psychological distinctions that exist between the characteristics of Sallekhana and of suicide. The psychology of a person committing suicide is marked by one or more of the following characteristics:

1. Ambivalence or a desire to die which simultaneously creates a conflict in the mind.
2. A feeling of hopelessness or helplessness, with inability to handle the problem on hand.
3. A physical or psychological feeling of exhaustion, frustration or both.
4. The mind is full of anxiety, tension, depression, anger, or guilt or some of them.
5. There are feelings of chaos and exhaustion in the mind with inability to restore order or calm.
6. The mind is unable to see any solution to the situation causing the agitation.
7. There may be loss of interest or fear of life, with excitement frustration or extreme depression.
8. In suicide, death is brought about secretly and suddenly by means of offence: hanging, cutting, poisoning, shooting etc.

A monk or a house-holder adopting the -vow of Sallekhana has none of these infirmities of the mind or emotional excitement, depression, or frustration. Suicide is committed to escape from certain situations from which the victim is unable to save himself. The idea is to put an end to life immediately v by some violent or objectionable means. The suicide results in harm to the family or kith and kin of the person who commits suicide. While suicide is committed in secrecy and by adoption of questionable devices, Sallekhanā is adopted when the mind is free from all passions with the full consent of the Guru and with an open mind of forgiveness and compassion towards all; death evokes devotion and religious feelings while in the case of suicide, death is attended with horror or scorn.

There is thus difference between suicide and Sallekhana as regards intention, situation, means adopted and the consequences of death. Jaina thinkers have addressed themselves to this question and have given cogent reasons for saying that Sallekhana is not suicide. Amṛtacandra Suri has defined suicide with such precision that his definition can stand the scrutiny of any modern jurist: "He, who actuated by passions, puts an end to his life by stopping breath or by water, fire, poison or weapons is certainly guilty of suicide."^[11] In Sallekhana, all desires and passions are subjugated and the body is allowed to wither away gradually by voluntary fasting with no bodily pangs or pains when the mind is blissfully peaceful. C. R. Jaini has summed up the position of Sallekhana vis-a-vis suicide thus: "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 Sallekhana is only this, that when death does appear at last, one should know how to die, that is, one should die like a man and not like a beast, bellowing and panting and making vain efforts to avoid the unavoidable... By dying in the proper way, will is developed, and it is a great; set for the future life of the soul which is a simple substance, and will survive the bodily dissolution and death. The Jaina Sallekhana leaves ample time for further consideration 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.^[12]

In sum, suicide is an act of mental aberration due to some cause which the victim cannot control, while Sallekhana is a well- planned death in pursuance of noble laws of religion inspired by the highest ideal of self-realisation or peaceful death to ward off further entanglement in the bondages of Karmas, Hundreds of instances of Sallekhana have been recorded in this inscriptions found in the different parts of the State of Karnataka and collected in the twelve volumes of Ephigraphia Carnatica published by the State Goaernnient. The latest instance is that of the greatest modern saint by name Śrī Śāmisāgar Mahārāja who observed the vow in September 1955 on the Hills of Kunthalagiri in the Maharashtra State (India).