If a devotee commits suicide, what will be his status after death?
A male devotee who does not like to be named asked like this:
“hare krsna sir…all my family members are hating me. so, i want to die. but, i have fear to die. i fear abt the pain of death. i want to knw what will happen if i commit suicide? will i take birth as devotee again? if it is possible, i will make up my mind to die. please please give me advice”
REPLY:
If you sincerely follow the social regulations and procedures, no one will hate you.
If you commit suicide, your problems will increase, not decrease. Your status after death will come down.
If a devotee commits suicide, he can’t be taken to the Lord and he will definitely get rebirth either on earth or in lower planets. But, that rebirth will not happen immediately. If a devotee commits suicide, he loses the opportunity of going back to Godhead and he can go only after taking one or more births.
(KARMA & SUICIDE: If karma decides suicide, why the person is punished with a ghost body? READ HERE!)
If you violate the rules of country fixed by the government, you are sent to jail. Similarly, if you violate the rules of the creations, you are taken to a jail called hells.
The following details have been given on the basis of Garuda Purana.
If a person commits suicide, he will become a ghost. Actually, the Lord sends us to this earth to live for a certain years. In those years, we are expected to face all the good and bad karma based on our activities in our previous births. We should not try to escape from those karma. Though we escape by committing suicide, that prarapth karma will be pending and continue when we take next body.
Let us see an example:
Let the Karma network has fixed the lifetime for a person in this birth as 80 years based on all his karma accounts of his previous births. Now, that person commits suicide in the age of 20 itself. What will happen?
He will not get new body immediately. He has to wait more than 60 years.
After leaving his body, that jeevan (athma+ Sukshma body) will be unable to go to any other higher planets, because, he has life time for 60 more years. No other worlds will accept that departed soul as he had been given permission to enter those worlds only at /after his age 80.
So, he has to wander on the surface of earth itself with his Sukshma body as a ghost, for the remaining 60 years.
During these ghost period of 60 years, this Sukshma body will have all desires including Appetite of food, interest to have sex, etc! But, pitifully it can not eat or have sex because, it has only invisible sukshma body and it has no gross body of organs to eat or have sex! It will like to be with its husband/ wife, but it can not, because of the absence of gross body! How horrible this situation is! It will be starving like this for 60 years, till it gets another world/ body!
(If someone commits suicide, What will happen after that? READ HERE!)
After 60 years, that soul will be brought to Yama by wearing a temporary body and he will be sent to the hells for having committed suicide. After spending some years at hells, he will be allowed to take another body on earth. All his pending past karma from his old body will be transferred to this new body. So, he has to face their reactions in the new body.
He escaped from those reactions in his previous body by committing suicide. But, Karma network imposes those same pending reactions in his new life.
Therefore, No one can escape from the problems by committing suicide. It will definitely continue in his new body.
WE SHOULD NEVER COMMIT SUICIDE AS WE HAVE TO STARVE & WAIT FOR LONG PERIOD FOR ANOTHER BIRTH! Suicide is not an escape from the pains; but, it is the cause for serious pains after death as a ghost.
Suicide is not the solution for problems. It is the start of serious problems. So, forget about the suicide and start to live for Krishna deserting material attachments. This will be the best decision.
If you thus clear your fixed karmic reactions by facing the pains, who knows, you may go back to Krishna even after the natural death in this birth itself.
Skip suicide thoughts; Adopt the thoughts of the Lord. You will be fine. Visit your nearest ISKCON center, have as much satsangha as possible and lead a detached and blissful life by serving Krishna.
Instead of committing suicide, live for Krishna. This is my clear advice. Please accept it and follow. If you accept my advice and follow, one day, you will shy for having thought of suicide in the past.
Hope you are now clear if a devotee commits suicide, what will be his status after death.
(What is the Karmic reaction for causing someone’s suicide? READ HERE!)