Aatmhatya Aur Santhare Ki Tulna

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Aatmhatya aur Santhare ki Tulna" (Comparison of Suicide and Santhara) by Jivraj Jain, based on the provided pages:

This book, "Aatmhatya aur Santhare ki Tulna," authored by Jivraj Jain, aims to differentiate between suicide and the Jain practice of Santhara. The author extensively uses research from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international bodies to establish the characteristics of suicide and then contrasts them with the principles and practices of Santhara.

I. Suicide (Aatmhatya)

• Definition: Suicide is described as an act of self-inflicted death, performed by oneself, through oneself, and for oneself, which yields results in a short period.
• WHO Research Findings:
  • No Desire to Die: Individuals who attempt suicide do not inherently wish to die. They resort to it when they feel utterly incapable of bearing the pressure and pain they are experiencing.
  • Cry for Help: The contemplation of suicide is a cry for help. Individuals wait for assistance until the last moment. When no help is visible, they attempt suicide.
  • Conflicted State: During a suicide attempt, the person is torn between the desire to live and the urge to die.
  • Mental State: In a state of stress and depression, they begin to think that life is not worth living.
  • Multiple Causes: Suicide is never caused by a single factor. It arises from a combination of predisposing (pre-existing) and precipitating factors. For example, failing an exam is a precipitating factor, but it only leads to suicide if there are underlying predisposing factors present in the individual. If everyone who failed an exam committed suicide, then failing would be the sole cause, which is not the case.

II. Santhara

• Definition: Santhara is a deliberate practice undertaken by an individual who understands that their time has come. This practice is undertaken without depression or sorrow, by relinquishing five specific desires. It is a vow made in the presence of family and the self.
• Five Desires Relinquished:
  • No desire to die.
  • No desire to live.
  • No desire for worldly pleasures.
  • No desire for heavenly pleasures.
  • No desire for sensual or material pleasures.
• Purpose and Circumstances:
  • The individual understands that their weakened body is no longer capable of performing religious duties for self-purification.
  • In such a state, it is considered more beneficial to cease all sinful activities (there are 18 types of sinful activities in Jainism). This protects the soul from further contamination.
  • A vow is taken through mind, speech, and body to create a protective shield.
• The Vow: According to the prescribed rituals:
  • The individual sincerely seeks forgiveness from all living beings in the presence of their guru and also forgives everyone.
  • They voluntarily renounce 3 or 4 types of food for the rest of their life, according to their capacity.
  • They focus their attention solely on auspicious thoughts.
  • They pray to their deity for the strength to remain unwavering in their vow, without being swayed by any obstacles. They have no other desires.

III. Comparison of Santhara with Suicide Criteria

The author systematically compares the research-based criteria for suicide with the circumstances and moments of Santhara:

1. Inability to Bear Pressure:

   • Suicide: Individuals resort to suicide when they are unable to bear the pain of pressure and feel helpless.
   • Santhara: An individual practicing Santhara is not agitated by the pressure or pain. They have neither the desire to die nor to live. There is no helplessness. A key difference is that a suicidal person acts without the command of elders or a guru, while Santhara is undertaken with the guru's permission, involving the renunciation of only specific types of food, not life or death itself. The Santhara practitioner also vows to abstain from sinful activities and engage only in religious practices. Suicide, conversely, is a direct mental and physical assault. Santhara is a vow of self-restraint from food and sinful activities, not self-harm. The mental anguish in suicide is often unbearable, stemming from social, familial, economic, or romantic failures, and can be overcome with emotional support (except in certain incurable diseases where physical suffering is immense). Santhara, on the other hand, lacks such causes of mental pain and is not seen as a way to alleviate immediate suffering. It is a conscious act to cease sinful activities and focus on righteous deeds. Suicide involves an artificial attempt to hasten death.

2. Waiting for Help:

   • Suicide: Contemplation of suicide is a cry for help, and the person attempts it when no help is forthcoming.
   • Santhara: This situation is entirely absent in Santhara. Since the person has no desire to die or live, they do not seek help from anyone.

3. Conflict Between Living and Dying:

   • Suicide: Individuals are caught in a conflict between the desire to live and the urge to die. They are absorbed in thoughts of escaping their mental pain. When they realize they are not understood, they try to end their lives quickly.
   • Santhara: Such thoughts and situations are clearly absent.

4. Life is Not Worth Living:

   • Suicide: In a state of stress and depression, the person feels life is not worth living. Suicide becomes a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
   • Santhara: This is a free and conscious decision made by the individual in the final stage of life.

IV. Other Aspects of Suicide

• Most individuals contemplating suicide suffer from depression and mental distress.
• Santhara is a religious process for self-elevation, performed with the permission of elders or gurus, renouncing food and water, and engaging in spiritual contemplation. It is a public religious ritual.
• The objectives, circumstances, mentality, religiosity, and lifestyle of the two are vastly different. They are not similar or equivalent.

V. Dr. Gopal Kabra's Perspective (Rajasthan Patrika)

• Suicide as Violence: Suicide is violence, even against oneself.
• Two Types of Suicide:
  • Momentary Impulse: Driven by temporary excitement.
  • Mental Depression: Committed through sustained mental depression.
• Mental Imbalance: In both cases, decisions are made under mental imbalance and a state of temporary insanity. Decisions made in insanity are not legally recognized as voluntary because the person's mind is not in their control. This is a decision made in temporary insanity, which falls under violence.
• Loss of Discernment: In impulse, passion, or mental distress, humans lose their discretion. There is no time for thoughtful consideration between the decision and execution of self-harm, nor for reconsideration.
• Santhara is Not Suicide: Based on this criterion, Santhara is not suicide because it is not a decision made in an unbalanced mental state, impulse, or despair. A decision made in religious faith is valid. Similar to Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse blood transfusions, considering it against their faith, Santhara practitioners have the right to renounce food and drink if their decision is independent and rooted in their faith.
• Supreme Court Ruling: The Supreme Court (referencing Articles 21 of 1987 and 1996) has stated that a dying person has the freedom to choose a limited death by not undergoing futile medical treatment. They differentiated between euthanasia and a dying person refusing treatment, accepting death.

VI. Pre-Modern Understanding of Suicide (Before WHO Research)

• Philosopher Freud: Suicide is seen as a way to escape trouble, a form of escapism.
• Causes:
  • Unbearable jealousy and envy.
  • Deep injury to ego.
  • Anger and disillusionment.
  • Uncontrolled egoic indiscipline.
  • Inability to bear the blame of failure.
  • Unbearable emotional distress.
  • Loss of the belief that circumstances change with time.

VII. BeFrienders Worldwide (BWW) Organization

• Mission: BWW, with centers in 50 countries, works for suicide prevention.
• Method: Based on WHO research, they believe suicide is preventable. They have developed a specific and effective methodology, training volunteers in listening therapy.
• Listening Therapy: Volunteers are trained to understand what individuals contemplating suicide want and do not want. They are skilled in providing emotional support, treating their problems with seriousness, respect, and confidentiality, without judgment or imposing their own opinions. Listening to the person's entire narrative without interruption and understanding their emotions reduces their mental pressure, allowing them to find their own solutions. An experienced volunteer has a 100% success rate.

In essence, the book establishes that suicide is a desperate act driven by mental distress and a feeling of helplessness, often with the aim of escaping pain. Santhara, conversely, is a conscious, spiritually motivated act of self-discipline and purification, undertaken with reasoned resolve and religious faith, representing a fundamental difference in intent, state of mind, and action.