Category:Sallekhana

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Devout Jains, especially munis (monks), accept death as a natural part of life. They see death as renewal, the shedding of one body by the eternal soul, and taking up another one. When the end of life is imminent many of them gradually give up food and other sustenance and enter the final stage of samadhi, which is termed sallekhana or santharo. Some non-Jain Hindu spiritual scholars like Vinoba Bhave have also undertaken salekhana.

The Jains accept medical treatment, and many of the distinguished doctors in India are Jain. However, they generally regard artificial prolongation of life as unnecessary.