NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK

SEPT. 5-11 IS “NATIONAL
SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK”

KIRKSVILLE (USA) - Sunday marked National Suicide Prevention Week. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 18 to 24-year-olds and accounts for 1.3 percent of all deaths in the United States annually. Suicide and depression can be very hard to bring up in conversation. Many people feel embarrassment and loneliness so they keep their emotions boiled up inside. Mental Health Councilor Joe Hamilton says the most important thing to do is talk. “With suicide in particular, people get really nervous about bringing up the subject” said Hamilton. “What we want to make sure is that people are open to talking about it. Often times, the person finds it’s a relief and they can talk about it and that they have someone willing to listen.” Hamilton recommends talking to a councilor or mental health expert. If you are shy and are scared to talk to a professional, you should at least talk to a friend. Being able to recognize warning signs is important.

Many people who experience suicidal thoughts will send out warning signs - they may be obvious and overt or they may not.

The American Association on Suicidology identifies the following common warning signs:

- Increased substance (alcohol or drug) use. - No reason for living; no sense of purpose in life. - Anxiety, agitation, unable to sleep or sleeping all the time. - Feeling trapped - like there’s no way out. - Hopelessness. - Withdrawal from friends, family and society. - Rage, uncontrolled anger, seeking revenge. - Acting reckless or engaging in risky activities, seemingly without thinking. - Experiencing dramatic mood changes. - Threatening to hurt or kill oneself or talking about wanting to hurt or kill someone. - Looking for ways to kill oneself by seeking access to firearms, available pills, or other means. - Talking or writing about death, dying, or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person.



It is very sad to see how many people believe that by committing suicide they will be alleviated from their suffering. On the contrary, because of that nonsense they will be placed in even more painful life situations. They ignore that the living entity is eternal, and therefore one still lives after the end of this life. The end of suffering comes when one begins the process of Krishna consciousness and reaches the supreme spiritual abode.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

I have heard that a group of people in South America committed collective suicide because they felt that their faithful way of life was going to be destroyed by the present civilization. They could not tolerate that, but rather, they thought, “Let us take poison and leave this world behind. ... We have no charm for anything in this mundane world”. ... We can agree that there is no charm here that shall make us hesitate to withdraw from this world, but we must also disagree and say that our life in this world is valuable. Why? With this life we can acquire a higher aspiration. We can have the chance of acquiring the goal from this plane. ... If we can use this human life in a valuable way, we can acquire the key by which to become free from the whole chain of life in this troublesome world. ... This human form of life is the most advantageous position to escape this entanglement and reach the highest object of our divine life.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“The Golden Volcano of Divine Love”
Part 3 “Conclusion - A Drop of Divine Love”
Section: “Let us Take Poison ...”
http://bvml.org/SBRSM/index.htm