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Icchamaran, Samadhimaran, Santhara

 

By Dr. Hemang D. Koppikar

 

We speak from personal and medical experience. Though deaths are broadly classified as "Natural or Unnatural" and the latter is subdivided into "Homicide, Suicide or Accident"; Icchamaran / Santhara does not exactly fit into any of these categories. Let us take a simple example from everyday life - the gender of human beings. There are broadly only 3 genders - Male, Female and Neuter/Hermaphrodite. However, at the genetic level, there are as many as 16 subtypes with true male and true female at 2 ends but 15 more in-between. Similarly, Icchamaran / Santhara needs to be classified as a separate entity. It is a non-violent self-desired termination of life, when there is no longer a will to live. While it is true that there is a responsibility towards the gift of life, to live well and keep our body and mind well nourished, as it is the home to our immortal soul, one has to ponder about the situation in which the person realises that the body is no longer able to sustain the soul any longer in its spiritual journey. This is the time when there is no further need for food/nourishment, and then we must give up food voluntarily, with a sense of inner calm and peace. This is only possible for those who get this 'divine' inspiration/call.

Let me take you on another medical journey at the cellular / micro level. We should remember that some part of us is dying every moment. There is also regeneration of some cells, while some can never regenerate. The phenomenon of apoptosis - wherein certain cells seem to be programmed to die -suicide at the cellular level - has baffled scientists. A common example is Glaucoma, an eye disease in which the nerve cells of the optic nerve die and lead to progressive, gradual blindness, despite heroic treatment measures. This has hence generated the tremendous interest in stem-cells - which have generative potential which is attempted to be tapped for treating such 'degenerative' disorders by getting dead cells to regenerate or be replaced. Icchamaran is thus apoptosis on the macro level. It is to be noted that extremely few persons are capable of performing this rite. Icchamaran / Samadhimaran is practiced by the contemplative and evolved souls (arihants) through anshan / samalekhana / anveshan / santharo vrat mainly in Jainism and has many rules to oversee them.

The person has to take permission from a Spiritual Guru, and is often given 'diksha'; ask forgiveness and permission from family and friends, bow to God and all great souls, abandons (tyaag) all worldly, external and materialistic attachments, including food. One empties one's mind of all passions -fear, hatred, regret, desire, prejudice, etc- and achieves equanimity and freedom from feelings of attachment, and focuses entirely on the purification of the soul. The complexities of such spiritually guided deaths cannot be understood by lay-people. An important aspect is that the person doing santharo has to give up everything -physical as well as mental i.e. progressive daily reduction of food, and all passions. It is said "We must eat to live and not live to eat". Therefore, when one realises that he/she no longer wants to live, then he progressively reduces and then totally stops nourishment. An important point missed by most people is that the santharo performer has also to give up the desire for death - though the end point is death. As this seems ironic, one may wonder how? The answer is that the person, while giving up all desires, has also given up the desire to live, in a totally detached manner. You have rightly quoted the Taittiriyo Upanishad 'Life comes from the mind, is sustained by the mind and goes back into the mind'. It is indeed 'Mind over Matter'. It is well known that when one member of a pair-bond in humans, birds and animals dies, the survivor sometimes loses the will to live and dies soon thereafter. As doctors we know that we can treat the patient, but healing comes from within the patient. No doctor can cure a patient who does not wish to get well. Conversely, some patients get well despite adversities and are called 'miraculous' cures. When one witnesses a Santharo death, it is amply evident that the person has truly died a very peaceful death, repeating the name of God, and indeed verily attained moksha. The person is in full control of his last journey to the beyond. Just as you have the 'art of living', this is the much greater 'art of dying'. After such a noble death, the family and friends do not mourn or weep at the funeral. The person has taken leave of all and hence is wished Godspeed on the final journey. There is no fuss or fanfare, just the respectful acceptance of the individual's wish to end life with dignity.

You have compared the Santharo practitioner to a Holocaust victim. In the Holocaust, it was a forcible, violent persecution of mankind. They may look alike but it is like chalk and cheese, so this is not true. In Santharo, the individual voluntarily uses up all resources available in the body and once they are exhausted, and no more fuel is available, the engine shuts down. Look at it as wringing out the last drop from a rag/sponge or as complete utilisation of natural resources. The body gets almost mummified and does not have any stench. This is also the way the world will once end after the sun finishes off all its fuel. Let us take another example from the animal kingdom. Elephants have a fixed set of molar teeth which are replaced as they wear out during the lifetime. Once the last replacement occurs, usually in the 7th or 8th decade, the elephant can no longer eat and starves to death in an isolated quiet site. This has been nature's form of death for these behemoths that attain senility in the wild, escaping the execution of human poachers.

Icchamaran is not a true suicide, as already explained above. In suicide, the mind is full of impure feelings, such as anger, frustration, anxiety, depression, guilt, and hatred. It is approached violently and often secretly by means of cutting, hanging, poisoning, shooting, jumping of from a height or throwing oneself in front of a speeding train or car. The last type has the double sin of unwittingly causing the driver of the vehicle to become an involuntary executioner. Suicide is a cowardly way of escaping life, while Santharo is an act of purification, embracing life and also embracing death courageously and without fear.

Our culture is replete with many incidences of Icchamaran. The earliest well-known instance of Icchamaran is of Bhishma-pitamah of Mahabharata fame. Though he fell on the battlefield, wounded, he was not dead, and he deferred his time of death to what he considered the auspicious time. Saint Dnyaneshwar also took Samadhi at Alandi. Acharya Vinoba Bhave also did a fast-unto-death and was visited by several dignitaries, including the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi, who could not dissuade him from his steadfast resolve. Every year, many ascetics (mainly Jain) and some lay persons (estimates are about 100) still perform Santharo. It is only now, with the widespread media coverage that more people are being made aware of this practice, which is still rare and cannot be performed by just any one.

It may surprise you that the Mrutyunjaya japam is actually said not in order to prolong life, but in the last stages of life, to achieve Moksha - release of the soul silently and without torment and attain immortality by merging with Lord Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna says that a part of me (the Soul) is in you. If you pray to me with full faith in me, when you die, you will return to me. However, to come back to me, just as you require a vehicle to reach your destination, you require a Guru. The ideal Guru is Lord Shiva, and He is the mediator. Praying to Him (Shiva - Trayambaka) - the fragrant one and the increaser of nourishment - may He release me, like a cucumber from its stem, from the bondage of death, but not from Immortality (Moksha). Death is the sequence of growth and Amrittatva is fullness of growth and it is 'soul-fulfillment' that we are striving for.

The first protagonist for asserting the question of individual rights was Mr. Minoo Masani, who launched the Society for the Right to Die with Dignity. This is still limping along and comes into prominence when a disgruntled and very old gentleman gets fed up of an unloved and uncared-for life. Not all persons are capable of doing Santharo. The disposal of suffering humanity has activists for or against - its called Euthanasia - a good easy death (Eu=good; thanasia - after the Greek god of Death - Thanatos). Euthanasia is a strong weapon in the hands of the unscrupulous. Financial constraints, the load of a dying lingering relative can drive a family to obtain permission through the usual means - and WHAM! the "burden" is gone! However, the need for an alternative to euthanasia - the Hospice Concept needs to be stressed - and how advanced India really is, in ensuring a cared-for, loving and NATURAL death for terminal patients. In a Hospice, loving, compassionate care enriches the last days of the terminally ill patients, allowing them to die peacefully, without much lingering, and without resorting to suicide or homicide. We know this and speak from personal experience, and are connected with the Hospice movement in India. Dr. L. J. De Souza, a Surgical Oncologist and a pioneer in the field, has defined a Hospice thus-"It is neither a hospital nor a home. It provides the symptomatic care of a hospital, and compassionate loving care towards a natural, peaceful death". To most Doctors, the motto is to preserve life at any cost, regardless of the quality of life. Doctors should not only know how to treat, but also when to change the goal of treatment from cure to comfort, and Not to assist in suicide or commit homicide (euthanasia). In the year 1986 India's first Hospice, The Shanti Avedna Ashram, at Bandra, admitted its first patient. In the twenty years since its existence, it has looked after over 10,000 patients and expanded to two more branches in Delhi and Goa. What is significant is that following its lead, many more, large and small hospices have been established all over India. It is essential to emphasize that Hospice care is NOT Passive Euthanasia. Hospices care humanely for the terminally ill; tend to the dying - medically, emotionally and spiritually - with 24-hour commitment and empathy by a motivated team working in close harmony. Trained Counselors also help the family and encourage them to actively share in the care, comfort and support of the dying person. The final days are made as painless, happy and meaningful as possible. Thus the hospice is a boon to the dying and the family. To look after one's fellow human's peaceful end is justifying calling ourselves God's supreme creations. A peaceful going away for the patient and a grief-stained relief for those left behind to mourn genuinely.

If one is fortunate enough to have the time and the physiological and mental awareness, a very important aspect of dying well is to execute a living will which is an end-of-life instruction. It normally instructs the manner of death, what the patient wants or does not want should be done in the event of a life-threatening ailment. This is especially applicable to the use of life-supporting equipment. It is legally acceptable especially if witnessed by a physician or family member. It is morally wrong not to accept the living will, as is sometimes done, by not acceding to the last wishes of the dying person who is very sure of what he / she wants.

 

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Authors : Dr. Hemang D. Koppikar, Tele : 9820270160, Ophthalmologist, Involved in the Hospice Concept
209, Mehta Bhavan, Opp. Hinduja College, Charni Road, Mumbai-400004, E-Mail : hdkoppikar@vsnl.net

Dr. Satyavati M Sirsat, Tele : 2646 3092, Founder Trustee-Counselor, Shanti Avedna Ashram (Sadan) India's First Hospice Tele : 2642-7464)

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Mail to : Ahimsa Foundation
www.jainsamaj.org
R280806