A friend in need is a friend indeed!
Searching for ways to help a friend through her tough time is indeed a great deed. Trust the following will prove useful and supportive in your endeavor.

Life is like a see-saw.
At one moment of life, happiness is at the top, and in the other moment, comes the turn of unhappiness. But when you give too much importance to one particular thing, life loses its rhythm and hovers just over that one thing only. This is not right because if, for some reason, things don’t turn out as you expect them to be, it makes you so miserable that you even forget the value of your precious human life!

The person who remains positive in all circumstances comes out a winner.
Even when times are tough or challenging, one can and must focus on the positive things that arise from the situation. For example, if your friend’s parents are forcing her to get married against her wish and emotionally blackmailing her, here’s an opportunity for her given by Nature, to learn how to deal with people and circumstances in an untoward situation, to learn how to put forth one’s argument calmly and effectively so that she is able to convince people to arrive at an amicable solution. Don’t you think this art is worth developing? So, inspire your friend to invest her time in cultivating this art rather than wasting it in thinking about suicide.

Now, let us also understand why such a situation arose in your friend’s life.
Every situation or person one encounters in life is actually the result of one’s own past deeds. Whatever you sow, so shall you reap! This is how the law of Nature operates; and no one can escape it. Therefore, it is better that your friend pays off her karmic debt by facing whatever difficult situation has arisen in life, brave-heartedly and with equanimity. By committing suicide in this lifetime, all of these problems will return in future life with a greater intensity.

Suicide will only increase our problems.
Param Pujya Dadashri explains, "A person may die by committing suicide but he will have to come back to pay off his debts and obligations. As a human, one is bound to face difficulties, but does that mean one has to commit suicide? The consequences of committing suicide are extremely serious. The Lord has forbidden suicide because its consequences are very grave. One should not even think of committing suicide. Resolve to pay off whatever outstanding karmic debts you may have, but do not even think of suicide."

There are so many people in this world fighting against the toughest of odds with a smiling face, not giving up until they have paid off for all the wrong deeds that have happened by them in past. So tell your friend, “why lose spirit? You too will get through all of this one day.”

No problem is that big, the solution of which is suicide.
Let us first understand the implications of the action of committing suicide. Say for example, we throw a ball upwards. Now, how many times will the ball touch the ground and come up?
Although our action is only once; its reaction takes place so many times! Similarly, when one commits suicide only once, in reaction, one has to face similar conditions that lead to suicide again and again in next few lives, sometimes even for seven lives.

The science behind this is: A strong longing for something in our mind or some drastic, severe action such as suicide, etc. leave behind long-lasting deep impressions on our mind. These impressions are called sanskara. Every such deep sanskara takes seven to eight lives to exhaust. Yes, seven to eight consecutive lives!

When your friend is finding it difficult to face this current situation just once, imagine how will she face similar situations seven to eight times? Therefore urge her to desist from creating such sanskaras in the first place. And help her remain vigilant and very strong in not allowing any of such negative impressions or inner intents to be created in her mind, for we now know that its consequences are far too grave and far reaching, making things much more difficult to bear, going ahead.

One can and should destroy these sanskaras by remaining alive and doing pratikraman. Teach your friend how to do pratikraman. In pratikraman, she:

1. Confesses her mistakes before God. “Oh God. To think about committing suicide or actually committing suicide is a serious mistake. I have made this mistake.”
2. Asks for forgiveness for that mistake. “Oh God! I am sorry I have made this mistake. Please forgive me.”
3. Resolves not to repeat this mistake ever again. “Oh God! I vow that I will never repeat this mistake. Please give me strength so that I do not do this again.”

There is tremendous strength in pratikraman. Doing it sincerely daily for about an hour brings great results. It will definitely make the sanskaras weaker. Then in the next life, because they have already become weak, they will just crumble away.

Go to Gnani!!!
Owing to the past life sanskaras, negative thoughts of such high order arise within that it immerses one in complete internal darkness such that he is not able to ‘see’ anything ahead. Therefore, with great compassion in His heart, Gnani pleads, “Do not ever attempt to take your life, no matter how much you are suffering. Endure it. If ever you notice suicidal tendencies arising within, think of me and come to me, and only then do it if you still wish.”

So, if you feel that your friend is genuinely contemplating suicide, don’t wait! Please have her connect with Pujya Deepakbhai, the Living Gnani, as soon as you can. With His guidance, your friend will not only find the right direction in life but will also gain right understanding of how to live life with the right purpose and belief inside.

Being her friend, urge her to attain Self Realization (Gnan) from Gnani
It is due to the ignorance of real Self, that we take the thoughts that arise in our mind onto ourselves. With the correct understanding of ‘Who am I?’ we can easily remain unaffected amidst good or bad thoughts that cross the mind. Because it is the nature of the mind to show us all types of thoughts; but since we are separate from our mind, we can remain unaffected.

When your friend attains Self-Realization from Gnani, it will become easier for her to keep her mind separate. She will realize that, “I am Pure Soul and my nature is only to see and know.” With this, her wrong belief that, ‘I am indeed the one who is having this thought of suicide’ will drop off.

And Self-Realization is important for all!
Who would not want to know one’s real identity, isn’t it? So, you too come along with your friend and attain Self-Realization. For details, you may check out https://www.dadabhagwan.org/path-to-happiness/spiritual-science/who-am-i...

Author's Bio: 

Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifest within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.