Suicide Does Not Provide an Escape From the Difficulties of Life or of Spiritual Development

An individual reaches an absolute low point in his life. He may be suffering under intense grief, he may have made mistakes that led to catastrophic consequences, he may be faced with exposure and embarassment for actions he has undertaken, he may be in intense pain and suffering from a terminal disease. He may have been rejected by a person he was attached to. He may be under the influence of various disorienting drugs. These are all predisposing circumstances that lead some individuals to contemplate suicide. There are even spiritual aspirants who feel like they are unable to succeed in their spiritual practice and who find no way to move forward. The great Tibetan Yogi, Milarepa, contemplated suicide when he reached a point of despair about achieving liberation in one lifetime to make up for the harmful, sinful acts he had committed previously. Luckily his Guru was able to see in his despair a readiness for the teachings and used that as the foundation upon which the truth of his life could be unfolded.

What do people expect the result of suicide to be? For the most part, suicide seems to be a reaction to a present circumstance and not much consideration is given to what may eventuate in the future. Many people do not have a clear conception of what, if any, existence there is after death. In a more or less simple way, they assume that suicide will erase the current bad circumstance and there is ‘nothing’ afterwards. They simply die and it is “over”.

For those who understand the deeper consequences of the chain of cause and effect, the law of karma, and the process of rebirth, of course, the deeper consequences are recognised. It is clear to them that suicide is not some kind of ‘escape hatch’ but simply a process that delays, and intensifies, the suffering in a future inca
ation. The Tibetan Book of the Dead shows how the direction of the thoughts and desires of the being at the time of death can lead to various circumstances of rebirth and for those who bring intense despair and suffering into the process, the resultant births can be painful indeed.

At some point, each individual will need to face the circumstances that are causing him to respond with a sense of suffering, despair or depression, and, through courage, and armed with patience and perseverance, find the solution to the challenges presented to him in his life. It is just such a circumstance that can be the first step for that inidividual on his way to understanding the deeper meaning of his life, and the reason for the difficulties he is facing. Just as Milarepa reached spiritual enlightenment from the depth of his despair, it is open to every individual to seek the deeper meaning of his life and proceed to move in the direction of light, growth and understanding that provides the antidote to the feelings that bring one to the contemplation of suicide.

Sri Aurobindo writes: “Suicide is an absurd solution; he is quite mistaken in thinking that it will give him peace. He will only carry his difficulties with him into a more miserable condition of existence beyond and bring them back to another life on earth. The only remedy is to shake off these morbid ideas and face life with a clear will for some definite work to be done as the life’s aim and with a quiet and active courage.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 3, In Difficulty, pp. 57-58