 Whenever I stand here, I experience a sense of homecoming. Preeta, I'm really excited to see a galaxy of celebrated scholars and the patrons and promoters of Jainism in Great Vita. My subject is a serious subject. I'm going to speak on the art of death. While Ravishankar Guruji is speaking about the art of living, here is a paradox when the ancient Jain Acharyas have contemplated on the art of dying. Recently, it so happened, it is in 2015, last year, that the High Court of Rajasthan, when a client approached, has given the verdict that, post the judgment, that Santara is suicide and it is not permitted. Well, the entire Jain community, irrespective of sectarian differences, stood united and approached the Supreme Court of India. Well, the High Court judgment stands not cancelled. Now the status quo is there and with this in the background, a lot of discussion is going on on Santara or Salle Khana, whether it is a euthanasia or a suicide. Well, I'm going to discuss about that. Before that, I should draw to your kind notice one more factor. This is about how in Mumbai, an incident is very interesting. Well, my paper is printed, it is distributed and those who do not have the copies, I request them, the copies are kept outside on the table while going back, those who have taken, can take one more Please, you are free to take a copy of that as complimentary. The relevance of a talk on Santara or Salle Khana is of greater significance and needs no exaggeration since a debate on euthanasia is now of global interest. The article 21 of Indian Constitution states about the right to live with dignity and the debate is whether it also includes the right to die. The question is whether patients who are terminally ill and beyond the scope of medical revival be allowed to die with dignity. The case in reference that necessitated the legislation was that of nurse Aruna Shanbog, please listen to this, a nurse Aruna Shanbog who lay in a vegetative state in Mumbai hospital for an unbelievable prolonged period of 42 years between 1973 and 2015. Obviously, wise counselling thought it appropriate to avoid cruel and unwanted treatment. In fact, the Supreme Court of India, in its landmark verdict of 2011 after matured consideration had laid down a broad legal framework though has laid down a legal framework, a very broad legal framework though it did not back up active euthanasia such as injecting a patient with a lethal substance to put an end to patients a prolonged and a terrible suffering. The Supreme Court being aware and cautious allowed passive euthanasia that's withdrawal of life support but made it mandatory that every instance should get the approval of high court bench based on constitution with a panel of medical experts. Now, the Union government of India has informed a constitution bench of the Supreme Court stating its experts are examining a draft bill proposed by the law commission in its 241st report since the matter is pending before the court the law ministry has advised to hold back its enactment. Well, with this in background, we are all aware and most of you are very familiar with the Sanskrit quotations Jatasya Maranam Dhruva that is inevitable and Yamasya Karunam Nasti in the dictionary of Hema there is no word like concession he does not make any difference between the young and old man and woman nothing like that so death is a common subject, a global subject and let me illustrate with three or four examples as to how different countries have approached the death and hierarchical and chronological in the chronological order I would cite some three or four examples when Alexander the Great was on the verge of death and he instructed his office bearers that his dead body should be carried by doctors for doctors and then while being buried his hand should be kept outside well, the council of ministers asked him what's the reason? He said, I, not I, Alexander the Great well, I, being the emperor and paraphernalia the troop of ministers, generals so many wise doctors and they are all there in spite of that nobody could save me nobody could save me from death, from the jaws of death so let the world know and those who are under the impression doctors can postpone death that doctors also cannot save from the inevitable death and then the council of ministers asked why should, the hand should be kept out well, I had so much the entire empire was done, lot of wealth, my treasury was there but in spite of that when I left this world I did not take anything with me, I went bare handed this lesson the world should know like that he, Alexander the Great that is his approach to the death and then let me quote an instance from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the graveyard the worker was, he was digging the grave for one of the person who had died there and the corpse was to come and then Prince Hamlet was passing by the side of the same graveyard and he felt he wanted to know who has died therefore he asked the grave digger for what when you are digging this grave and without even lifting his head that worker said for no man sir then Hamlet felt that some lady must have died then he asked one more question then for what woman you are digging this grave he again simply said for no woman sir well Hamlet was a bit angry then for what thing you are digging this grave he said it's for a dead body sir well that's the Shakespeare's he has also written a sonnet come away, come away death take away, take away breath like that, that's a different thing and then when people become old many of us are like that in fact I should have been included in the previous session where it was an elder's session Professor Shah, Professor Jain I would have written very appropriately in that because with all our shining head we would have and well I just quote a Urdu shiree a couplet from Urdu, I'm not receding I'm not that familiar with Urdu but I will give the meaning, it's very interesting an old man he said when I was young women used to go around me even my perspiration I never used to apply perfume so attar, scent but even they used to come and meet me now I have become old even in spite of applying the perfume scent nobody comes near me that's the feeling when the death is approaching how we react to the reality that's one thing, considering all these aspects one of the famous which can also be considered as a canonical text the Aradanar text is very popular and it has many more names it is Aradanar of Sivarya he was a Pani Dalaboi he used to take his food in their palm and that means maybe Nirgrant naked Digambara monk but it is said that he belonged to the apaniya sect of second century of the current era Bhagavadana is also known as Bhrugadharadana Bhagavati Aradana Mool Aradana it is in Prakrit consists of about 2006 and the Gathas and then he has classified the variety of death he explains 17 varieties of death and ultimately he puts it in 5 varieties that is the Bala Bala Marana Bala Marana Bala Panditha Marana Panditha Panditha Marana that's the highest Bala Marana is committing suicide for one is disgusted or disappointed for various reasons many many are disappointed throughout centuries that's the history of the mankind and committing suicide like that it is Bala Bala Marana like that he goes on explaining the ideal death the highest death is Panditha Panditha Marana and who attains that Panditha Panditha Marana since it runs to 16 pages if I read it it will take only 2 hours since it is 30 minutes have been allotted to me to every one of us I want to say 5 5 minutes I will conclude it in 25 minutes therefore I am just keeping several pages here and there I am reading most interesting pages not like that because the whole text is interesting well the Aradhana text prescribes both nature of stories to be told to the aspirant who is willing to accept the Santara or Salekhana I am going to give more details about the usage of the technical words what does it mean what is the difference like that and how this the Santara or Salekhana is different from euthanasia and suicide suicide is well the Aradhana text prescribes both nature of stories to be told to the aspirant when the aspirant accepts the O of Santara observing well when once he accepts there is no question of going back to keep him in good mood the Apakacharya and his disciples they go on narrating stories stories of those monks who accepted earlier the similar Vrata or Salekhana or Santara but so boldly they faced it and whatever Svarga or Sarvartasiddhi attained because of observing and following that Santara all those details are narrated so that to keep in good mood and not giving room for him to go back and then the selected and illustrative narratives extoll and confirm that death by Santara is neither suicide nor euthanasia person who commits suicide does it in haste and all of a sudden without being noticed by others in secret there are many ways of committing suicide by consuming poison or by hanging or by drowning or by many other methods nobody encourages or appreciates the act of committing suicide but he who seeks Salekhana does not do it in haste he is cool and composed he does not do it in secret it has a methodical process people encourage and appreciate there are different ways and the only prescribed path is fasting these differences confirm that Santara is neither euthanasia nor suicide mental state circumstances leading to death the mode of committing the act materially employed or instruments used to die etc etc are different in the acts of suicide and Santara suicide is devoid of richest conduct and it is not a vratha whereas Salekhana is a vratha a vow a methodical process enjoined with the disciplined code of conduct pujipada acharya has clarified that Salekhana is neither atma vada suicide nor himsa violence contemplating on the nobility, dignity and sanctity of the vow he accepts it on his own and not out of someone's instigation or force without any love hatred or anger and without using poison or deadly instruments the aspirant happily submits himself to perform the vow and nobody compels him this is from Sarvarta Siddhi it is to be underlined that Santara is Tapa finance a Sarhana spiritual exercise an Aradhana worship Samyama control of fashion and Sambhama extreme joy the aspirant will harbor no violence he experiences Santrupti complete satisfaction and feels a sense of Santushti gratified these are all completely absent in the act of suicide in Jainism there is no room for suicide in the code of conduct prescribed for the recluse and householder committing suicide is a greater sin for the matter Jainism does not favor the system of observing Sati a wife performing self-immolation on the pyre along with her husband's dead body there is certain difference between self-immolation and Santara the wife after the death of her husband being secured a sense of orphanage distress fear of helplessness haunts her to get rid of possible trouble and turmoil she opts for Sati or self-immolation contrary by accepting and observing Santara one feels secured and elevated it is believed that such a death to a better rebirth and the soul leaving one body and assuming another body moves towards the state of sammam bonam the body and the soul are different the former is transient whereas the latter is permanent the body differs from man to man and human but the soul is similar in all living beings since all souls are equal there is no qualitative difference the soul has no caste class gender, nationality or race the path to eternal bliss is to become Vitaraga enlightened detachment each and every one desires to live therefore the soul is more important and hence it deserves more importance hence aspirants aspire for death in the holy manner prescribed by early masters the technical terminology need not confuses the words Santara Salekhana Sannyasana are all synonymous the words Santara and Salekhana are sectarian or regional variants in the sense the former is more employed in the northern that is in the Shwetambara tradition and texts where as the latter is frequently used in the southern text the etymological meaning of the word Santara is grass while observing the woe of death the aspirant will sleep on stock of dry grass this method of sleeping on grass and attaining Pandita Marana is called Santara we may recall the story of Ananda an ideal lay disciple of Mahavira who took the woe of himself without getting administered by a monk teacher Upasaka he renounced his family reached the fasting hall spread the bed of grass and slept on it he fasted for long and consequently became extremely thin according to Sivadja, Salekhana means simultaneously thinning out both the inner passions and the outer body Sivadja states to give up all juicy food which enrich physical strength and thus become weak is exterior Santara it includes Anasana Avomodarya Agha, Vrttipari Sankhya Kaya, Klesha and Vivitashayasana having realized that body and soul are separate the aspirant gradually will give up Khadya, Swadya, Lehiya hard food then soft food then milk juice and hot water and finally stops all intake of any type of food he remains nirahari completely abstaining from food the Pandita Pandita Marana is also one more synonym suggesting that it is the excellent mode of death preferred by the wise and matured the prakrit word Santarapayana deals with the topic of religious death and cites examples of Samara, Chanakya and Subandhya etc similarly the Marana Samahi another prakrit word also deals with Samadhi Marana death while in Dharmadhyana sacred meditation is frequently referred to as Samadhi Marana the word Salehana is a prakrit word equivalent to Sanskrit Salekhana the Marana or death by the Goa of Salekhana is technically described as Samadhi Marana death while in meditation in Kannada language the word Mudipu and in Telugu language Mudinja or Tulu language Mudinja and in Tamil or equivalent Dravidian words to Sanskrit Salekhana the words Mudipu and you have just 5 more minutes ok ok ok well, I would just read the last lines and conclude the ideal place for practicing Salehana or Jinalaya or temple premises Siddhakshetra on the top of similar hills of liberated souls and near tanks containing lotus pond however, willing aspirants can observe the wo Sagihe Jinalaya in their house or temple premises or on the top of the hill the Chikkabetta small hill, Olimchandragiri or Kalvapur Shauna Belgula and the Kopanadri hill they are all sepulchral hills well thank you very much Shasanaam Shasanaam Jinnaguna Sampatti Hovumajjam thank you