Every year, hundreds of monks, Jain kill himself by hunger Bashny.Net

For the sake of liberation dushi



In one of the oldest religions in the world, Jainism, there is a practice called santhara: believers swear to abstain from food until they die of hunger. Jains believe that this is the way to achieve moksha - escape from death and reincarnation, and thus, the release of the soul.

Every year brings hundreds of Jain vow. Some of them - the monks, but most lay people, with almost 60% of followers santhara - women, so Jains believe that women are stronger than men, and religious. Most often, however, the oath seriously ill people, which in any case must soon die, but there are completely healthy. In 2009, the year in India took an oath 550 Jains.





A person can live without food for 87 days - at least, that is how much has held in 2009, the 60-year-old nun sadhvi Charan Pragayi. When she was about to have to die, I look at her death came 20 thousand people. Santhara - public process, in the newspapers even publish information about those who took an oath, so that everyone could come and look at dying.

Santhara considered the greatest blessing that can be obtained in life. Usually die dressed in white, but there are those who are sitting at some distance completely without clothes. When the pilgrims are feeling the approach of death, they raise their head and start singing the names of their gods, while life does not leave the body.





But in recent years, this practice is controversial. Some activists believe that it should be banned in general, because it is no different from an ordinary suicide. But Jain said in response that, under the Constitution of India, the person has the right to profess any religion, and all citizens who wish to preserve their cultural identity, also have this right.

However, there were occasions when the police spat on disputed issues in the constitution, forcibly fed Jains. Those then sued, and religious disputes must be nazhilos a lot of lawyers.

via factroom.ru