27 Dec 2022
[Shri Ganesh V asked: On one side, You praise fan devotion to be the climax, in which the devotee commits suicide on hearing the human incarnation leaving it’s gross body and on the other side, You say that suicide is the greatest sin mentioned in the Veda written by God and clearly say that God never relishes the suicide of the devotee. How to reconcile both these contradicting concepts?]
Swami replied: If you use sharp analysis, there is no contradiction between these two concepts. I will enlighten this correlation with the help of an example. Doctors say that whenever the season changes, fever appears indicating the sign of good health. But the same doctors give antibiotics to remove the fever thereby removing the suffering due to the fever. Here, on one side, fever is appreciated as a sign of good health, but on the other side, the fever is destroyed by using antibiotics in order to remove the suffering due to the fever. Both are correct. Fever should come and that fever must be removed by using medicine. Similarly, a climax devotee (Gopika) of a human incarnation like Krishna tries to commit suicide on hearing the death of the human incarnation due to climax emotional devotion. This is a good sign of true devotion. Devotion (Bhakti Yoga) is theoretical phase and hence the attempt to commit suicide in the absence of the most beloved form of God should not enter the practical field called Karma Yoga. As far as the boundaries of theoretical Bhakti Yoga are concerned, the emotional decision to commit suicide is appreciable. At the same time, the practical action of committing suicide comes under the boundaries of Karma Yoga. In this Karma Yoga, good deeds to be done called merits and bad deeds not to be done called sins are mentioned by God in His constitution called as Veda and Dharma Shastra. The Veda clearly says that suicide is the greatest sin and such sinners will fall in a special dark hell called ‘Asurya Loka’. In Karma Yoga, the action of suicide shall not be implemented even though its decision is taken in Bhakti Yoga. Decision to commit suicide is like seasonal change-fever that is very much appreciated, but its implementation is to be restricted like using the medicine to cure the fever. Even in the case of the Gopikas, who committed suicide on hearing the death of Krishna, Krishna took equivalent amount of pain as the punishment of such sin in order to save the Gopikas from such hell.
Gopikas are sages, who have done tremendous penance for God for millions of births and such an exceptional case can never be found in this creation. If the devotee decides on suicide and at the same time restricts it due to the word of God, such a devotee is also given Goloka by God. Such a wise devotee is better than the Gopikas because he/she did not give pain to God in a foolish way! A wise devotee must continue his/her life on the earth engaged in the propagation of spiritual knowledge and devotion preached by the beloved human incarnation of God. God gave the human birth as the final chance to do spiritual effort and no soul shall waste it, which is equal to insulting God. A true devotee is said to be a perfect devotee when he/she always pleases God and never pains God. As mentioned in Sundarakanda of Valmiki Ramayanam, Hanuman also decided to commit suicide when Sita was not found by Him in Lanka. But He controlled Himself when such decision was to be implemented. Every devotee shall take Hanuman as the ideal because He is the incarnation of God Shiva and no devotee shall take Gopikas as ideal in this context because they were only souls. Even when Rama left this world, Hanuman did not commit the foolish suicide. Hanuman still continues in the service of God Rama by protecting the devotees of God Rama during difficulties. Similarly, Gopikas should have propagated the Bhagavad Gita after Krishna left.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★