Santhara In Jainism is it a suicide?

[chini13 11]

Jainism is a very difficult religion to be followed. It has strict rules and laws.The karma is to be followed inorder to free the soul from the clutches of the human body.Jainism allows for the death which is willfully taken.In it the person go on starving until he dies.They do no consider it a crime or a suicide.It is done when person fulfills all the purpose of life and is no longer desiring to live.The goal of this deed is to purify the body.How can one decide that the purpose of life is over? I think if the natural death does not takes us away that means we still have the purpose of life left.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santhara

[APS 0]

Jainism is a very difficult religion to be followed. It has strict rules and laws.The karma is to be followed inorder to free the soul from the clutches of the human body.Jainism allows for the death which is willfully taken.In it the person go on starving until he dies.They do no consider it a crime or a suicide.It is done when person fulfills all the purpose of life and is no longer desiring to live.The goal of this deed is to purify the body.How can one decide that the purpose of life is over? I think if the natural death does not takes us away that means we still have the purpose of life left.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santhara

Whats your purpose for asking it?

[chini13 11]

APS i put a question as i think killing onself is a crime anyhow.This religion is promoting suicide..

[web_designer 7]

i agree with you chini, it is really a horrible thing to be done for a human being. starving till death??? OH GOD...i really don't know how a religion supports someone to kill himself, whereas religion should be a set of rules that bring order to our life, to protect the human life and property. not encouraging killing and suicide.i only hope that the new generations there will think and make decisions and choose to fight these rules that made by human not god. because god never let man kill himself like that.

[iGuest 3]

There is nothing horrible about it. Its something said by God.. Dont look at starving to death.. The reason for doing it something else.. Better go into the in-depth study of it and than comment..