going through a temporary anguish, such as loss of loved ones, a physical

injury, a financial loss or the failure to pass an exam and the fear of
an angry thrashing from parents when they find out. That is called life.
It is not enough that we are filled with sorrow. None of these reasons is
enough to justify suicide, and thus it is in such cases an ignoble act. It is
not necessarily even enough we are suffering a serious, terminal illness,
one of the thousands that beset human beings on this planet.
Saturday
LESSON 230
Expiring
By Fasting
In their love, their wisdom of the meaning and purpose of
life, the ishis, the divine law makers, provided an alternative
for extraordinary human suffering. They knew that
excruciating suffering with no possible end in view is not
conducive to spiritual progress and that it is best to have
a fully conscious death in a joyous, religious mood, meditating or listening
to scripture and sacred songs to the Gods. So, the Vedic ishis gave, in
rare circumstances, the anguished embodied soul a way to systematically,
nobly and acceptably, even to loved ones, release itself from embodiment
through fasting. They knew, too, that life is more than a body, that the soul
is immortal, that a proper exit can, in fact, be elevating. Death for Hindus
is a most exalted human experience, a grand and important departure,
424 LIVING WITH IVA
mah prasthna. The person making such a decision declares it publicly,
which allows for community regulation and distinguishes the act from
suicide committed privately in traumatic emotional states of anguish and
despair. Ancient lawgivers cited various stipulations: inability to perform
normal bodily purification; death appears imminent or the condition is
so bad that lifes pleasures are nil; and such extraordinary action must be
done under community regulation. The gradual nature of pryopavea
is a key factor distinguishing it from sudden suicide, svadehaghata, for
it allows time for the individual to settle all differences with others, to
ponder life and draw close to God, even to change his mind and resume
eating, as well as for loved ones to oversee his gradual exit from the physical
world. One begins this highly ritualized practice by obtaining forgiveness
and giving forgiveness. Next a formal vow, mahvrata maraa, great
vow of death, is taken before ones guru, following a full discussion of
all karmas of this life, especially confessing ones wrongdoings fully and
openly. Thereafter, attention is focused on scripture and the gurus noble
teachings. Med itation on the innermost, immortal Self becomes the full
focus as one gradually abstains from food. At the very end, as the soul
releases itself from the body, the sacred mantra is repeated as instructed
by the preceptor. To leave the body in the right frame of mind, in the
right consciousness, through the highest possible chakra, is a key to spiritual
progress. The seers did not want unrelenting pain and hopelessness
to be the only possibilities facing a soul whose body was failing, whose
only experience was pain without reprieve. So they prescribed a kindly
way, a reasonable way, especially for the pain-riddled, disabled elderly and
the terminally diseased, to choose a righteous release. What wonderful
wisdom. No killer drugs. No violence. No involvement of another human
being, with all the karmic en tanglements that inevitably produces. No
life-support systems. No loss of the family wealth for prolonged health
care or into the hands of unscrupulous doctors. No lapsing into unconscious
coma. No loss of dignity. No unbearable anguish. And no sudden
or impulsive decisioninstead, a quiet, slow, natural exit from the body,
coupled with spiritual practices, with mantras and tantras, with scriptural
readings, deep meditation, reflection and listening to favorite religious
songs, with joyous release, with all affairs settled, with full self-awareness
and with recog nition and support from friends and relations. But dont

try it unless you meet up to the qualifications and, above all, have community
support.
CHAPTER 33: BIRTH, ABORTION AND SUICIDE 425
Sunday
LESSON 231
Thirty-OneDay Retreats
From our cyberspace c