Man wants freedom from pain, not death

 Man wants freedom from pain, not death

Fighting life's challenges patiently, taming the mind through wisdom and yoga is the real message of Eastern philosophy of life.

Psychologists say that people choose the path of suicide as an alternative to get rid of pain when they lose their mental and emotional balance.

In order to prevent suicide, there is a need to extend mental health services to villages as a basic health service and promote the 1166 helpline.

The folk saying "As long as there is breath, there is hope" is very popular in Nepali society. This line, which has a deep meaning hidden, considers the real beauty of human existence to be moving forward without giving up on the situation. This beautiful aspect has also been made alive by this folklore.

There is life and there is possibility. As long as there is an understanding that there is not only problems, complications, sorrow, fear, illness, grief, but also happiness and joy in life, even though people struggle until the last moment, they want to live and continue to live.

Suicide and its causes

Statistics of Nepal Police show that 19 people commit suicide every day. According to the data of the Nepal Police for the last 5 years, nearly 7 thousand people commit suicide every year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data of 2025, more than 700,000 people have committed suicide in the world in 1 year.

A study conducted by the Nepal Police in 2081 on suicide reduction and management showed that 85 percent of the poor and middle class were affected by suicide.

There are not only mental reasons for people to wish to die, there are many reasons including emotional, social, economic. In a general sense, there are many problems or pains in human life. Which people cannot easily accept. He does not find a way out of such pain. After that, severe depression, i.e. feelings of despair, hopelessness and helplessness arise in him. Due to mental disorders like bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, it seriously affects the thinking and decision-making ability of a person.

According to American psychologist Edwin Schneideman, the father of modern suicidology, 'suicide is behavior that seeks a permanent solution to a temporary problem.' From a psychological point of view, suicide is not a desire or a choice, it is a situation that occurs when conscience stops working at the moment of losing mental and emotional balance.

According to the 'psychache' theory propounded by the same psychologist Edwin, a person crosses the limit of enduring mental pain caused by shame, guilt, despair, fear or great loss and he sees the only way to get rid of this pain, that is death. Man does not die to die, rather he chooses the path of suicide to stop his unbearable pain.

According to psychologist Thomas Joyner, when three situations occur simultaneously, people choose the path of suicide. Suicide is the result of the confluence of these three things, when you feel like you are a burden, when you feel isolated from society and relationships, and when you are unable to bear fear or pain.

The idea that 'I am only a problem or a burden for others', 'I am alone, no one understands and loves me' leads people to commit suicide.

In such a situation, a person's thinking range begins to shrink like a dark tunnel. Who cannot see other options, solutions or rays of hope in life. The irreversible thinking and hopelessness seen in him finally leads him to commit suicide.

A person cannot reach such a situation by any one issue or problem alone. A person suffers deeply because of the breakup of a love relationship or marriage, the death or loss of a person with whom he has a very emotional connection, or a financial loss that is much higher than his own. Similarly, not only the constant job loss, but also the situation of being a victim of physical, mental or sexual violence since childhood, also causes serious anxiety.

Due to an incurable disease and the inability to bear the suffering caused by it, or due to the continuous consumption of drugs and alcohol that weaken self-control, a person begins to feel isolated, i.e. lonely. Which leads to suicide.

Suicide: Ignorance and Great Sin

Eastern philosophy considers the human body as the two main means of experiencing karma and attaining salvation. According to Karma Siddhanta, man got this body to enjoy the fruits of previous births. Be it sorrow or happiness. According to eastern philosophy, those deeds are not destroyed by committing suicide, but remain and will be experienced in the next life as more suffering. Therefore, Eastern philosophy considers suicide to be ignorance and a great sin.

In the third verse of Ishavasyopanishad it is said:-

'Asurya naam te loka andhen tamasavritah.

Tâste pretyabhigachhanti ye ke chatmahano janaah..'

That is, those who kill their body, after death, they go to the dark and cruel world (asura world).

While the Vedas say 'Jijivishechathan sama' meaning 'desire to live for 100 years'. Because destroying the life received as a gift from God is considered as an adharma. The ancient Smriti text Manusmriti has also completely prohibited the funeral or tarpan of a person who commits suicide as a violation of natural law.

However, Eastern philosophy has also explained death by will, i.e. Samadhi. Moksha Q is to control Prana through Yoga Sadhana and to be absorbed in God Accepted. A person who has completed all the duties of life has interpreted fasting to death or giving up food and water as a means of attaining salvation.

During the Ramayana period, after completing his work, Shriram took a water burial in the Sarayu River, while Sitaji was immersed in the earth and sacrificed her body. Similarly, during the Mahabharata period, after completing their rule and duties, the Pandavas went on a pilgrimage to sacrifice their bodies by covering themselves in snow.

Lord Gautama Buddha strongly opposed suicide. He has guided people to follow the 'Arya Ashtanga path' instead of sacrificing the body to get rid of cravings and sufferings.

Fighting life's challenges patiently, taming the mind through wisdom and yoga is the real message of Eastern philosophy of life.

What to do now?

Suicidal ideation is not a personal weakness or failure. Rather, it is a sign of serious mental distress that requires treatment or counseling. In such a situation, if a person gets proper treatment, counseling or help from his relatives, he will not reach a serious situation like committing suicide.

People often give hints before attempting suicide. In family, social and behavioral terms, they start to relax. As soon as you are aware of such a situation, you should create an environment where you can present your stress confidently. In this way, after hearing pain or stress, one should not preach to them, but rather listen carefully to them, accept them and support them sympathetically.

It is necessary to bring about a change in the way society looks at those who are suffering from mental health problems. Like other physical problems, mental problems should be understood as a condition and treated accordingly.

It will be easy to get family support and support in times of stress if you make it a habit to discuss regularly within the family and do enough homework and family discussion before making new decisions.

If various groups in the society, community health volunteers, local public representatives, teachers, social workers etc. are made responsible for mental health problems, their identification and diagnosis methods, there is sure to be a reduction in suicide.

When the media sensationalizes the reporting of suicide incidents, the suicide incidents may increase by imitating the same details. Therefore, when reporting on such issues, adopting sensitivity and mentioning the helpline numbers at the end of the news can reduce the incidence and alertness.

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The government should also implement mental health services as a basic health service and provide primary mental health counseling and medicines free of charge in village health posts. Along with this, the 1166 helpline number operated for suicide prevention should be disseminated widely to reach the masses.

In order to connect people with nature, meditation and yoga, the local government should be more aware of this. If it can be developed into a habit by considering it as a daily mandatory action, then the disorder elements that come into people's thinking, thoughts and feelings can be filtered to some extent at the beginning.

If a subject has self-blame, then it is even better if one can develop the ability to see the strong and positive aspects of such a subject through ruthless self-criticism.

People can return to their normal state with constant association, cooperation and relationship with those who have hope and faith and with positive thinking. It is not difficult to understand the behavior of a person who is always meeting.

If such a change is seen, if only we can take him to a quiet and comfortable place and listen to his pain, give him courage and show him ways to get out of those problems, then we can control suicide.