Is committing suicide a good idea?

"Life is so frustrating. I feel caged in a prison and not able to move. Why is the world around so suffocating? I don't want to live any more! I want to die." 

These are not the thoughts of a person suffering from depression, but of Joe, who is one of the most intelligent and innovative students at Imperial College of Engineering. Remember that guy from 3 Idiots who could not built the drone on time and Virus refused to give him even a small extension? Virus's attitude was surely despicable and he has himself paid a huge price for it (by loosing his own son), but thankfully he at least had a change of heart later on! Hopefully that saved a few young lives at least. But are all suicides caused due to such insensitive people around us? What about Raghav from Chhichhore? He seemed to have very cool parents and equally good friends. We also don't know of any such insensitive teachers, relatives or neighbours that he may have had. But still, he did jump off his friend's balcony after not being to clear the coveted JEE! As Raghav's father recollects later on, "I told him how we would celebrate once the results are out and he clears the exam. But I never said what we would do if he could not clear it". Raghav could not stand the fact that both his parents were JEE rankers and he could not clear the exam. That led to a complete loss of self-worth, which  then led to him taking such a drastic step! So seemingly cool parents and supportive environment could also not prevent it. Whether what Joe and Raghav did was right or wrong is hard for us to judge since no one else can truly understand what a person goes through in a given life situation, and why s/he is forced to take such a drastic step. But in general, is committing suicide a good idea?

Its true that life goes through good and bad phases for everyone, and these bad times should not overpower us so much that we give up on life itself. The tide will eventually turn, and the sun will rise from the East! Its also perhaps true that our family and society has invested a lot in us to help us grow, and we perhaps have no moral right to give up our lives without taking their wishes into consideration. But all said and done, when one is going through an absolutely traumatic phase in life, none of these points seem important enough. All that matters is to end the suffering as soon as possible, and by using whatever means are available at hand. Its easy for people to give sermons, but very hard to remember them and implement them when the times are bad. 

So what does one really do when s/he is going through such a terrible situation? Very hard to say. Such situations are like unstable critical points in dynamical systems. A small perturbation to any one side can completely change the system dynamics. The person no longer has control over the situation. A slightly less hot tea served in the canteen can be enough to instantly tip the balance to the wrong side! Suicide is not really an idea one gets after pondering over a situation. Its more like a compulsiveness forced upon us by situations around us which have gone beyond our control. Its a state of helplessness and utter despair. 

Science does not seem to have an answer to this problem, but what about Philosophy? Philosophy is usually seen as too abstract a subject, and is unfortunately looked down upon by  many scientists and engineers these days. The main reason is that modern Science has largely become about doing calculations, and thinking about deeper meanings of things is considered a waste of time and an unnecessary fruitless distraction. However, its a fact of life that all human beings have their own philosophy which guides them through their lives. I am not referring to the philosophy we gather by reading books and listening to intellectuals. I am talking about the philosophy which we truly believe in and stand by. Decisions in life are not taken by calculating various formulae. They are taken using our philosophy of life, which we may or may not be able to describe to others.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, you may no longer care for how your parents, siblings, family members, and other members of the society are going to be affected by your decision and actions, but you surely do care about what would happen to you, right? I hope you would agree that committing suicide would be a good idea if and only if it actually alleviates the pain and suffering you are going through. Right? If you had a big fight with someone late in the evening, would you be able to sleep well that night? And would you wake up fresh? Have you experienced a hangover in the morning after a drunken night? Its pretty bad! Suicide is something similar to forcing the body to sleep using pills after having had a big fight or after being totally drunk. It does not do good to you. Your sleep will be disturbed and so will the next day be. If you had a big fight, its important to calm down your nerves through other means before going to sleep. There are many ways and means to calm down our nerves when we are in a tough situation, but the main point to remember is that death of the body is just like an extended sleep. If you want to sleep, no problem. We all have to eventually sleep one day. But make sure that your mind is in a calm condition when that happens. That and only that will ensure that you have a good sleep and you wake up fresh!