I am writing this article against the background of an experience that should suffice to highlight a trend entrenched deeply in our culture, and calling for immediate attention lest we should let it continue and imperil many a life. Right off the bat, however, I make myself clear that my concern is not to debase the trend, but rather to demystify it, and enable my brethren to not see such things through rose-tinted spectacles.
It concerns something most of us have a compelling tendency to take recourse to when things take an ugly turn in our lives, in the way of health upsets, familial issues, nuptial troubles, and so forth.
Perhaps the intelligent reader has already caught my drift. Yes,what I have been hinting at thus far is the practice of visiting faith healers with the firm hope of having one’s problems shooed away.
While I recognise that there are bona fide spiritual persons whose benison or insufflation does have a Midas touch (Indeed Lord Almighty has ennobled them!), many others abound whose claims of spirituality do not hold water. I do not intend to cast aspersions on anyone here and I reiterate that my only purpose of writing this article is to disabuse the reader of his or her ill-conceived notion of faith healing as an alternative to more meaningful approaches.
Prelude:
Many months back an elderly relative of mine complained of frequent minor illnesses bedevilling him: Moderate to severe headaches accompanied by pain in the limbs that gradually became sizeable enough to seek medical attention. And since the doctor dismissed the pains as not being indicative of something serious,common Kashmiri logic took over,i.e.,pinning it on the poor Djinn.
Thus the doctors’ doors were slammed shut because one doctor happened to dismiss the illness as a non-issue. But the pains continued unabated and brought with them a battalion of other unwelcome conditions as they are often wont to :apathy, enervation, excessive sleep, and irritability. Voilà! That is the handiwork of a Djinn, now isn’t it! At the behest of other relatives, my elderly relative consulted many physicians but none could trace the etiology.
Assuredly,t here was something wrong going on because symptoms don’t lie. The doctors took enough pains to locate the cause of the problem but narrowly missed it, often coming as close as naming headache as migraine and pinning the other symptoms on this usual suspect.But the real culprit was eluding everyone as was the specialist.
Voilà! That is the handiwork of a Djinn, now isn’t it! At the behest of other relatives, my elderly relative consulted many physicians but none could trace the etiology. Assuredly,t here was something wrong going on because symptoms don’t lie.
The doctors took enough pains to locate the cause of the problem but narrowly missed it, often coming as close as naming headache as migraine and pinning the other symptoms on this usual suspect.But the real culprit was eluding everyone as was the specialist.
But seeing a specialist is seldom an easy task for most of us for a variety of reasons. Top among these reasons are a lack of sufficient awareness and the stiff competition doctors face from another lobby, i.e., faith healers. And in the case of my elderly relative too the detour was expected,him being a firm believer in the faith healers’ art of treatment.
No amount of dissuasion would do and finally everyone gave in when the non-specialists were still struggling with the exact nature of the ailment.
Enter Faith Healer:
The people inside the room were packed like sardines when we arrived and the ambience of the place held such a serene quietude about it that one was literally transported to a different world. Often these consultation rooms are tucked away in remote places,inducing a somniferous feel.
Needless to say then, a certain momentary respite is felt at such places which elicits that secretly felt satisfying thought: “Poof! My troubles will soon be out the window.”
As my elderly relative unpacked his bag of woes onto the faith healer when his turn came, the man fastened his deep gaze on him and listened to every detail carefully as if he really needed them in the first place for prescribing the treatment, which more or less, was always the same for everyone. My elderly relative took the Bisleri bottle he had purchased outside and a few other items handed out by the faith healer and out we went.
The people inside the room were too caught up in their personal ordeals to eavesdrop on the conversations others had with the faith healer. Outside, my elderly relative heaved a big sigh of relief as he took a complacent sip from his Bisleri and I too humoured myself with the thought that he was finally okayish.
A few days passed, and when the placebo had lost its efficacy, the symptoms returned strongly. Again my elderly relative made a quick trip to a local doctor, who prescribed some pills different from earlier prescriptions for an illness he best guessed was migraine aggravated by stress. Since the relief was far from coming for reasons obvious, a second trip to the faith healer was due, who had after all succeeded in providing relief, albeit temporary.
Another Bisleri plus scraps of paper that were to be lighted and the smoke to be inhaled. A sure-fire way to smoke the Djinn out, the faith healer had assured my elderly relative this time. The process continued ad infinitum with different faith healers exhibiting their standard practices to exorcise the demon inside and with the doctors still see-sawing between headache and migraine diagnoses.
One incident here deserves mention for its sheer originality and if the act is pulled on an otherwise wise person, he or she too might fall hook, line, and sinker for it. This faith healer (not the earlier one) had told my elderly relative that he had been hexed and conjured bits of paper with my elderly relative’s name written on them.
I was not party to this incident but my elderly relative’s wife swore a million times that such was indeed the case. What amazed us further was when they unearthed similar paper bits in their courtyard like the faith healer had foretold them. The drama continued and my elderly relative’s health continued to worsen. High time we saw a specialist, mused another relative on seeing the sorry situation of my hapless elderly relative.
Enter Shrink:
Finally after coming to the painful realisation that his fortune had been chipped away at with poor results along the way,my elderly relative resolved to seek proper medical help. A well-meaning doctor with an insight of the situation advised my elderly relative that he see a psychiatrist.
It’s a case of depression, observed the shrink. He prescribed antidepressants and advised my elderly relative to have a counselling session with a psychologist.The advice was readily acted upon and consultations regularly made. No wonder, a few months into the treatment and my elderly relative was sprightly as ever. It took a few antidepressants to smoke out the invisible Djinn!
TAILPIECE:
Lest I sound as a moraliser, I must add further a word or two about my own convictions as regards faith healing. I come from a family where spirituality alongside sciences is highly valued and we have frequently been in touch with men with a spiritual lineage.
I revere them and honestly see them as holy vessels. Even so, I maintain that if you are faced with problem of any sort, consulting the right person who has knowledge of your problems and solutions thereof often saves time and energy.And sometimes life too! You may seek additional solace from the right spiritual person as an assist. But self-proclaimed demigods ? Pray No!
The writer has done his BE in civil engineering and is a passionate quizzer.