The widespread popularity of religious and non-medical faith healers bears witness to the fact that people have deep-seated faith in cures brought through faith healing. Such people attribute supernatural causes to disease and for them it is important to know whether a particular disease in a patient is due to the wrath of a goddess, the work of an evil spirit, sorcery, witchcraft, or the breach of a taboo. Once this has been found out, obtaining a cure is a matter of following the advice given by a faith healer.

Faith Healing: A Worldwide Belief

The art of healing practised in all the ancient civilisations - Indian, Chinese, Mesopotamian, or Egyptian - in a large measure, was based on the belief that diseases were caused by different supernatural agencies. Patients as well as their relatives had complete faith in the competence and skill of the medicine man to cure these diseases by means of his own supernatural counter measures.

In the New Testament, we read of the miraculous cures brought about by Jesus Christ. Faith in Him, in His disciples and in the gospel, cured many a sick and incapacitated person. In the Middle Ages, the Church accorded official sanction to mystic methods of faith healing such as the laying-on of the hand (Therapeutic Touch Method), the use of amulets, and even exorcism. ‘To preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick’ became the aim of the followers of Christ.

Even after the Renaissance, the king’s touch was believed to cure the sick. Charles II performed ‘miracles’ each year and, by the end of his reign, boasted a grand total of 100,000 miracles. Those afflicted by the king’s evil (glands in the neck) or mere boils, thronged to London on the day of the ‘miracle’ ceremony. As they kneeled before the king, he said, ‘I touch you and God heals you.’

In India, as far back as the days of the Atharva veda, people believed in the wrath of gods, the mischief of evil spirits, and the magic of human beings. Faith healing is still practised in villages, tribal areas, and even in cities.

How Faith Healing Works

Superstitious beliefs and illiteracy still cause many people in India to believe that evil spirits, magic, and witchcraft are the cause of different diseases. The wrath of gods and goddesses is considered to be a major cause of epidemics. When goddesses are not given due recognition and reverence, they are believed to get angry, and in their wrath cause disease and death among people.

Enemies, be they neighbours or relatives, through their own magic or with the help of a sorcerer, can inflict disease and destruction upon others. If the condition remains undiagnosed and untreated, it can lead to death.

Witchcraft is feared even more. If a man is killed by a tiger or bitten by a snake, or a boy’s limbs wither and he goes lame, people in tribal communities immediately look round for a witch or sorcerer who might have reason to inflict harm.

The role of the evil eye in causing disease is common to cultures the world over. It is believed that some individuals cast a spell on others just by looking at them. Some do it involuntarily at whosoever comes across their paths; others do it voluntarily because they are jealous of others and desire to possess what others have. These individuals are known to be either very ugly or very beautiful, and when they cast the evil eye, the subject of their envy faces misfortune. The person may fall ill or have an accident. Children are believed to be particularly susceptible to the effects of the evil eye.

Omens and dreams are also believed to be harbingers of illness. Some healers believe in touch as the cure: laying-on of hands on the inflicted person or touching his aura or energy field. Other healers propitiate gods and goddesses by exorcism, rituals, sacrifices or incantations.

Even though healers may adopt different methods, they follow a common working pattern:

1. They identify the name of the illness and its probable causes. This wins over the patient’s trust.
2. The patient develops a rapport with the healer and believes he can cure him.
3. The healer’s reputation, the aura created around him, and the equipment he uses all add to win over the subject’s confidence.
4. A suitable method of healing is selected, keeping the subject’s background and symptoms in mind.

Case History

Just as a practitioner of allopathy begins with the history of present illness, so does the ojha or medicine man start by interrogation. He questions the patient in order to find out whether he has intentionally or otherwise broken a taboo; has been disrespectful to a deity; has not cared or provided for an ancestral spirit; if he has noticed any strange object in the surroundings; has had a quarrel recently with a neighbour, or relative; or if he suspects somebody intends him harm or illness. The ojha asks the patient about his dreams; he interrogates other family members to find out what they think about the probable cause of the illness; he looks for omens.

Types of Treatment

In most systems of healing, the treatment of a disease is decided after identifying the cause of that disease. If an educated man believes that the cause of malaria is the malarial parasite which reaches the bloodstream through the bite of an infected mosquito, then to get a cure he takes chloroquine or an allied drug, and to prevent further attacks, he tries to keep mosquitoes away. In a similar fashion, those who believe the cause of the disease to be the wrath of a god, influence of an evil spirit, sorcery, or breach of a taboo - treat that disease with such measures as are appropriate for its cure and prevention.

After the ojha has identified the cause of the illness, he requests the different spirits by name to reveal themselves and to indicate their demand. He requests his helping spirit in the other world to find out the truth and reveal it to him, which the latter does either directly to him, or by entering the ojha when he is in a trance and speaking through his mouth.

It is indeed remarkable how often patients benefit from this divination. Some get instantly well after a competent ojha has diagnosed their case and advised the appropriate offerings. There are, of course, cases where the diviner fails. Then other means of cure are adopted.

In the case of wrathful gods and goddesses, propitiation is done through religious prayer, incantations, and offering animal sacrifices. In the case of evil spirits of various types, different measures are adopted which include propitiation, driving away the evil spirit, and exorcism. Exorcism: By far the most potent method of driving out spirits is exorcism - the expelling of evil spirits through the magic power of the word. Certain words have to be chanted at the right moment if the spirit is to yield to mechanical pressure or let itself be transferred. These incantations, can take the form of commands, such as ordering the spirit to relinquish its host, or appealing to more powerful spirits for intercession. Spells can be cast: that is, words are combined in such a way that on hearing them, a spirit cannot resist them. The ritual of exorcism takes different forms among different people in India.

Preventive measures against the attack of evil spirits are also taken. Evil spirits are believed to shun certain colours, metals, or fumes; hence, these substances are used widely to keep evil spirits away. Since spirits are believed to avoid black, red, and yellow colours, vermilion is commonly used; they avoid iron, hence, articles made of this metal are kept under the head while going to sleep. Mauli (red and yellow thread) signifies that any spirit which dares to come near will be tied up with it; leaves of certain trees are hung about the door for the same purpose; ghee and asafoetida are sprinkled around the house, and certain figures made of mud or metal are commonly hung near the entrance of the houses.

Charms: Charms and incantations are also used to bring about cures of different diseases. In some villages in Punjab, aches and pains are treated by madaries (charmers). Enchanted ashes are rubbed on the affected part of the body, or enchanted water or other edibles are given to the patient. Enchanted threads are tied round the leg, neck, arm, or waist as a cure for aches and pains.

A favourite mode of using charms is to write the formula on paper or on the inside of a cup. and then to dissolve the writing in water, which is administered to the patient. Charms are also engraved inside metal cups which are reserved for this special purpose.

The most popular charm against the evil eye is kajal or lamp black, which is smeared around the eyes of a child. But if in spite of the above precaution a child is exposed to the evil eye, the mother takes the dust from the footsteps of the person who is responsible for having cast an evil eye on it. The dust is roasted over a fire and then thrown away.

Amulets: An amulet is an object worn or carried on the person, or preserved in some other way, for magico-religious reasons, that is, to cure disease, provide luck, or protect the possessor from specified danger or misfortune.

A majority of children in villages are seen wearing amulets around their necks or loins; some of them possess about half a dozen amulets, each one for a particular purpose. Men and women wear them on their person in the form of necklaces, girdles, bracelets, anklets, or pendants. The material of which the amulets are made depends upon different factors, one of which is the availability of a particular material in the area. Some natural and artificial objects used as amulets are stones, especially those of a curious shape or naturally perforated; curious vegetable growth, roots, leaves, seeds, nuts; horns, teeth, claws and other parts of animals and insects; shells; human hair and teeth, relics of the dead; medicinal substances, substances believed to have been extracted from the sick in magical cures; iron, gold, silver, rock crystal, alum, salt, coral, strings, threads and rings; representations of eyes, hands, horns and crescents; beads, written charms, quotations from sacred writings, inscribed objects, medals, coins, obsolete weapons and ornaments; relics and momentoes of holy persons and places; portions of offerings and dedicated objects.

Effectiveness of Faith Healing

Though faith-healing treatment is effective in some cases, it is ineffectual in most cases whose basis 7s not a disturbance of the mind but that of the body. In such cases, the treatment offered by the ojha leads to progression of the disease, often making it incurable. It may also do great harm to the community if the patient is suffering from an infectious disease which is capable of taking an epidemic form.

The dramatic rituals associated with propitiation of gods and goddesses, and more so with exorcism of evil spirits, do provide a ‘cure’ in cases of different hysterical manifestations. In villages and tribal areas, when cures are attempted in such cases, children are not forbidden to attend such functions. This leaves an indelible impression on their minds. When they grow up and are under mental tension or stress, they turn to faith healing too. The patient and the people around really do believe in possession by the evil spirit, and the effectiveness of the treatment, which acts as shock therapy. Its modern-day manifestations are the electric shocks or insulin injections given in hospitals.

Furthermore, the patients are almost under obligation to ‘feel well’ after such treatment, because if they don’t, a more cruel fate awaits them; they may be turned out of the village by being labelled as ‘dangerously possessed’.

The role that faith plays in bringing about relief or cure is witnessed by practitioners of every system of medicine. Emotions and attitudes raised by a physician have a tremendous effect upon the patient. Some doctors are said to possess a ‘healing touch’. A large part of this healing touch depends upon the doctor’s personality and manner of eliciting the faith of the patient. The role of faith in a particular person - be it a priest or a faqir - and his blessings or medicaments in the cure of a patient, even though the latter may be suffering from a seemingly incurable disease, cannot be denied. If at this stage of our development of knowledge - scientific or otherwise - we cannot understand how such a miraculous cure can occur, we need not, at least, deprecate the proposition.

—————————————————————————————Now You Know…

Faith healing is for those who attribute supernatural causes to a disease and need to know whether the disease is due to the wrath of a god, magic, evil spirits …. Help of a faith healer is sought, who, by the aura around him, wins over the subject’s confidence. After identifying the cause of the disease, the faith healer convinces the subject to accept measures to rid himself of the disease-causing factor.
Though useful for treating some psychological disorder’s, faith healing, by itself, is ineffective in cases where physical causes are responsible for disease. In such cases, only its motivational impact may have some relevance.