My views on stories from William Dalrymple’s Book – Nine Lives ---- LIFE ONE

It is a life of a Jain nun – Prasannamati Mataji. A life led harshly but in peace and to attain more peace. All attachments cause suffering, and hence should be renounced. I feel the premise of all beliefs is the same. There is a subjective reality and a subjective illusion. For this nun, the ambitious material world around is an allusion and her ambition to attain salvation, the Jain way, is the only reality. An aim needs a path to follow and certain resources to achieve it. For Jains, the path is ascetic life and resource available is their own body and that alone. They get detached from family, friends, comforts, hunger, thirst, places and their own body. As a first step to prove their ability to bear pain, their hair is plucked from roots, just like in the case of our mataji in the story.

I see a sense of pride in all this. It is like saying – “Why should the presence or absence of something or someone in my life, cause me pain? I take the pride in giving them up before they give me up”. Sallekhana (the ritual fast unto death, believed as a best route to nirvana by Jains) which Prasannamati mataji’s friend takes to in this story, is also I feel is a way of not succumbing to uncertain, unexpected death but to decide oneself and initiate the process of death.

In an age where governments are striving to eliminate poverty by all means, mataji renounced a wealthy family and embraced ascetic life. The irony lies in the underlying “motive”. A Jain nun’s motive is to not to succumb to hunger but a poor person’s motive is to attain basic amenities to live. The former, wishes to leave this life peacefully and embrace another as easily as one renounces an old garment for a new one; whereas the latter wishes to live this day, this life, and to give a new life to his/her family in this world.

The nun led her life as a duty not expecting or knowing when the fruits will be attained, whether in this life or after living hundreds of such lives. But, the belief is so strong that the path to salvation is only by leading an ascetic life in all the lives. This high level of motivation is commendable. In spite of it, she succumbed to the pain caused by loss of her friend. Does this mean all her efforts are useless? I guess, according her, no. It is a continuous process to get detached from karma in every life and let the soul rise higher above to attain nirvana.

I see this way of living one’s life not as a religious or spiritual one but living one’s life by one’s own wishes not harming others. The pain caused to her family needs a mention here. But ‘culture’ has the strength and deep foundation to face the unusual or unexpected. A married daughter leaves for in-laws house causing pain to parents naturally, but is widely accepted. Similarly the path showed by Mahavir 2600 years ago, which his followers still embrace. Also, talking of pain, the protagonist in the story differentiates between suicide and sallekhana. While suicide, she says, is an escape from the pain and a result of hopelessness; sallekhana is an expression of hope of a new life. I am sure, it is not that simple a distinction to make legally. Moreover, a bigger moral question raises – ‘whether it is right to abet oneself/someone to die, whatever be the rationale?’  

A PIL filed in 2006 in Rajasthan high court against sallekhana is a relevant one and an unavoidable topic for moral debate - http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-20/india/28146721_1_santhara-jains-nikhil-soni