Will the atma get moksha if a person dies in unnatural ways such as suicide, murder, etc?
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1there is no rule for getting moksha, anyone can get it and in any means. suicide, murder, nothing is a limitation to attain moksha. So long as the soul is one-pointed towards God, He will come to the rescue of His beloved disciple at the needed time and liberate the jeeva from bondage!– SaiSep 2, 2014 at 22:27
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@Sai Don't we normally associate good death with good souls? And we assume only good souls go to moksha. Suicide and Murder are not considered good death.– karthikbharadwajSep 3, 2014 at 3:06
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@Kiran RS, I think you are talking about Mukti, because Moksha doesn't comes with death.– Mr. KSep 3, 2014 at 11:42
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1good and bad are simply relative. For a soul which attains moksha it has been liberated from all and there are thus no restrictions. Take the case of Jesus Christ who was murdered and crucified, is he not a liberated being? Or take the case of Parikshit Maharaj, who was bitten by a snake? Or how about Ravan who was killed by Sri Ram?– SaiSep 3, 2014 at 14:12
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Just like student asking will I get 99 percent marks if I study just one hour before exam.... Even if it's an open book exam he will miserably fail. If you cannot remember God during the course of your daily struggle for living how can you remember him during death which is crescendo of struggle especially when the prana is quitting the body. Only one who lives a life of remembrance of God can remember him at the last moment of his life. For that mercy of Lord and Guru is most important. Mental concoction and speculation won't help. Read the Bhagawad Gita as it is by Srila Prabhupada, take she– user5270Apr 8, 2016 at 19:46
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2 Answers
No, the atma will not get moksha by such deaths. The default rule is, a person dying such unnatural death as suicide, weapons, etc. will become a ghost:
udbandhanamṛtā ye ca viṣaśastrahatāśca ye
ātmopaghātino ye ca viṣūcyādihatāstathā [GP - 2.22.8]Meaning
One who dies by hanging, also through poison and weapon, one who commits suicide and also dies by cholera etc. becomes a ghost.
The Gardua Purana chapter 2.40 describes many more such untimely deaths upon which one can go to hell or become a ghost. Some of them are, death by strangulation, who fall from peaks, whose bodies are not properly cremated, who are defiled by jackals, dogs and worms, who die of terrible disease and so on.
Generally, such kinds of death are considered to be results of past sins. So the chapter 2.44 of Garuda Purana says in the first three verses who die out of suicide, animals, reptiles, water, poison, etc. are said as great sinners.
However, what will happen after death, whether a person will enter permanent ghosthood or not, etc. are dependent upon the action of the jiva while he was alive (svaiḥ svaistu karmabhiḥ prāptaṃ pretatvaṃ - [GP - 2.2.33]). So the scripture says God redeems such a soul and gives moksha if he had done devotion and remembered Him always while he was alive:
baddhaḥ parikarastena mokṣāya gamanaṃ prati
kṛṣṇakṛṣṇeti kṛṣṇeti yo māṃ smarati nityaśaḥ [GP - 2.38.8]Meaning
I give moksha to that bound soul who always remembers Me as Krishna, Krishna, Krishna.
So even though the natural and default outcome of such unnatural deaths is hell and pretavta (ghosthood), through devotion and remembrance of God one may get rid of it. After all, what next state the jiva will attain solely depends upon the last thoughts in his mind. So the Gita says:
Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, O son of Kuntī, that state he will attain without fail. [BG - 8.6]
And whoever, at the end of his life, quits his body remembering Me alone at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt. [BG - 8.5]
That is why yogis, even though die at their own will, do not get bound by such laws. They fix their mind upon God and willfully discard the body. But for common people like us, it is very very difficult to remember God while dying because emotions of all kinds, pain and fear of all kinds will take over our mind. Hence, saints and sages suggest to practice remembrance of God always so that it will be easier for us to remember Him while leaving the body.
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I think you shouldn't use the word Moksha here, the more correct word is Mukti– Mr. KSep 4, 2014 at 12:44
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@jabahar Why can't I do that, just think of him now for one hour, meditate on him and then suicide! This is the dead simple way to get moksha. Isn't it? ;) Dec 9, 2014 at 19:35
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@JavaTechnical first thing is that, God redeems only those souls who remember him always while alive, not just one hour before dying. That is why I made "always remembers" bold in the above post. And second thing is that, it is the thoughts of the last moments while the prana leaves the body that matters, not what you were thinking before it. And I believe that is very very hard because even while alive we are unable to concentrate only upon God just for a minute and all kinds of thought enter the mind. So how difficult it must not be during dying?– Be HappyDec 12, 2014 at 8:26
- ShishupAla & Kansa got killed by Krishna
- Krishna was killed by hunter Jara
- RAvana was burnt alive by RAma
- RAma, Drona & Bhishma gave up their bodies
But all are believed to have attained Moksha. As rightly stated in this comment, there is No specification for who will get Moksha.
Rationally, if the "Moksha" is beyond the material world, how will the material world rules matter to attain it!? During Gita, Krishna has mentioned many times, that even the most sinner person should be considered SAdhu, if he has plugged his mind in "Me"/Self.
There are certain "hints" during death time, to let know if the soul has liberated or not.
How can we know that an Aatma got Moksha?.
answered Dec 18, 2017 at 5:10
