An analysis of the Vedanta philosophy to understand why suicide is a sin while Jauhar used to be treated with respect few centuries back in India

 

Isopanishad talks about 'atma-hatya' which means killing the self. But, another meaning of this word is killing the soul which is also the meaning that Isopanishad implies. The sacred mantra says that the one who does 'atma-hatya' goes into the realm of demons. Maybe the Christians will call it the hell. But, why was Jauhar or Sati treated with so much respect in the country of learned pundits? The queens who became sati were worshipped and revered as devis, though sati too was a kind of suicide. And, if sati was so revered then why did Mirabai refuse to perform it when her in laws forced her to? Mirabai has always been treated like Radha Rani and has been loved and adored likewise, her in laws who tried to kill her when she tried to commit sati have always been treated as a villain. Yet, all these apparent contradictions fit together and agree with the pavitra mantra in the Isopanishad. Here is how. 

The killer of the soul is a demon because he has refused to oblige to the authority of the atma. St Teresa of Avila has said that the soul is the mirror of God. So, the individual atma reflects the doings of the Paramatma. Since Paramatma is beautiful, the soul which is the image of Paramatma, is also very beautiful. 

The Gita says that the body is like the chariot or the instrument, the heart is the charioteer, the horses are the senses and the one sitting on the chariot is the soul, the master of it all. It is the soul who has to be obeyed. If someone refuses to acknowledge the authority of their own soul it means they are ready to defy the purpose of their own creation, they are ready to defy the authority of the Paramatma. Satan did the same so the one who does it is Satanic. 

So, killing the soul means killing the innermost virtue with which a person is born. It makes the person Satanic. The soul connects the mortal body and fickle mind to the immortal divinity. When the soul is dead, all connections to the divinity are severed and only the body, the mind, the heart are left which do only Satanic things. 

The women who committed jauhar did it mostly to protect their satitva from the hands of the devil. The intruders would disrespect these women who had lost their men in battles against this devil. So, killing the body like Rani Padmini is obeying the orders of the soul. 

Then, there was Mirabai. She was forced to marry at a very young age to a Kumar Bhojraj. In reality, her soul belonged to Krishna himself. Mira loved Krishna and that was the only purpose for her existence. So, death of Bhojraj did not mean the death of her husband. Besides, Mira was not going to be handed over to any devil invader if she lived as Bhojraj's widow. Yet, because of superstitions and far too rigid customs, her in laws forced her to be a sati. Had she committed it, she would have been a killer of her own soul. It is because a woman never hands over her everything to a man she is forced to marry. Mira was a virtuous woman and she knew that Krishna alone was her husband but He was immortal so She did not have to become a sati. 

Hence, both Rani Padmini and the adorable Mirabai conform to the Vedanta philosophy and protect their souls by completely opposite methods. But, these methods are different only superficially, both were virtuous women who should be respected and followed.