It's called santhara.
Coming from the Jain religious tradition, santhara is voluntary fasting to death by gradually reducing one’s intake of food and fluid. Many yogis have transitioned this way when they were very aged or very sick. It is not considered suicide because it is not an act of desperation nor does it use poisons, weapons or violence.
This ancient way of exiting the body is being rediscovered and re-applied among yogis who prefer to make a conscious departure in weeks rather than months of medical intervention and drug therapies leading to a loss of consciousness. Upon committing to santhara it takes approximately thirty days for release to come through death.
Coming from the Jain religious tradition, santhara is voluntary fasting to death by gradually reducing one’s intake of food and fluid. Many yogis have transitioned this way when they were very aged or very sick. It is not considered suicide because it is not an act of desperation nor does it use poisons, weapons or violence.
This ancient way of exiting the body is being rediscovered and re-applied among yogis who prefer to make a conscious departure in weeks rather than months of medical intervention and drug therapies leading to a loss of consciousness. Upon committing to santhara it takes approximately thirty days for release to come through death.
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