Page 56 - Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 21st Century ISBN

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was very much influenced with this principle and accepted “Samadhi Maran” / “Santhara” as described
in Jainism. Vinobaji’s greatest contribution to Jainism was that he made Jain principles practical.

He applied the principles on large scale involving masses. We can say that he was the first
man to apply Jain principles for social and political movements.

The art of living well is prescribed by almost all religions, but Jainism goes a step further.
Jainism teaches the art of dying well. The Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Jagdish Kashyap once said, “I have

learnt many things from Buddhism, but I have to learn the art of dying peacefully from Jainism.” The
same ideas were expressed by the Gandhian thinker, Vinoba Bhave, who actually chose to die the Jain

way. In old age or a terminal illness, a person practicing sallekhana gradually withdraws from food,
medicine, and any other attachments in a manner that does not disrupt inner peace and dispassionate

mindfulness. Prayers and scriptures then prepare the person for their passing.
Such a practice is controversial in the West because of discomfort with the decision to control

a person’s own death. In some Judeo-Christian traditions, choosing to die is considered a sin. This
taboo practice is common among Jain nuns and monks, though, and some lay people have followed it,

as well. Jains believe that the soul is a living entity and the body is not. Death marks the transition of this
soul from the current body to another, which is reincarnation. Because of this move from one body to

the next, Jainism asks that death be embraced rather than feared. It must be considered in a manner
similar to changing clothes or moving into a new house.

Dissimilar to suicide, which is often a result of a passionate reaction to something, a person
undertaking sallekhana is calm, dispassionate, and aware. Such a person is not eager to meet death

but is willing to face it with grace and self-control. Among Jains, preparing for death starts early and is
thought about frequently. One Jain prayer says, “I came in this world alone and will leave alone. That

is the nature of human life; even kings and ministers and most powerful people will die one day.” This
is stated in many religions in one way or another. In the Christian Bible, for example, it says: “All go to

the same place; all come from the dust, and all to the dust must return” (Ecclesiastes 3:20).
Before the advent of modern science, the time and cause of death were often unknown.

Advances in medicine now give a terminally ill person the opportunity to predict when death is
approaching, narrowing it down to months, weeks, days, or even hours. When this “window of death”

is clear, we can practice sallekhana in order to transition to the next life in a spiritual and peaceful way.
The first step is to become free from attachments — more specifically, to renounce all attachment to

family, home, and possessions.
At this point, the person vows deeper practice of the three principles of Jainism: non-violence,

non-absolutism, and non-possessiveness. They pray for forgiveness for any violence committed in this
life. The second and final step is, with the support of family, a doctor, and a spiritual guide, to give up

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