As people are gradually acknowledging the mind-body link to overall well-being, we look at spiritual healing, or faith healing, as a way to get better. Tanisha Saxena connects the dots and unpacks the concept of faith healing with inputs from experts.
Going by figures, India has one psychiatrist per 500,000 people and only one psychiatric nurse per 2 million. But faith healers are commonplace. Simpy put, faith healing is a method of treating ailments by praying to God or performing gestures that invoke divine intervention.
Krishna Kant, an anthropologist, shared, “We deeply acknowledge the role of faith healing in the overall well-being of the community. Almost all tribal communities have some form of faith or belief in order to ensure their well-being. For example, Pahari communities in Himachal Pradesh have strong beliefs in Devta institutions, through which they ensure their health and well-being. In short, it’s positive energy, and it’s considered part of the indigenous health knowledge system. In fact, there have been numerous studies on the role of secular spaces such as shrines in promoting people’s mental health.
There is a very thin line between institutional ways of healing and religious beliefs. But there are many other quacks emerging who want to overtake the existing roles. Sometimes, they are good; sometimes they trap people under their spell and take undue advantage. If you see the Art of Living, the Nirankari Sect, and other such organizations, they have been seen as positive ones. It’s very sensitive for the subject to come to a conclusion.”
People who approach faith healers are mostly from rural areas, but some come from urban areas as well. It is observed that the faith healers, whom we also call traiteurs, believe in various gods and goddesses or follow a particular religion.
People came for a variety of reasons, including supernatural possession, various diseases, salvage, bad omen, unemployment, family problems, and so on, and these healers used a variety of methods to solve the problems, such as giving charms and amulets, making personal sacrifices, and so on.
According to a study, “There are various different reasons from the faith healers for which the persons usually came for. These were supernatural possessions, various diseases, bad omens, stepping on chillies and lemons, marriage problems, unemployment, lost items, family problems, headaches, cancer, psychiatric illnesses, visa problems, infertility seizures, and a variety of other things.” The same study further mentions that many individuals, particularly those belonging to the lower socioeconomic classes, took not only their psychiatric problems but also their personal and social problems to spiritual healers.
Another researcher mentioned that the diseases that have been healed through faith include mental problems, malaria and typhoid fever, sexually transmitted infections, infertility, chicken pox, menstrual problems, sexual weakness, and many more. In fact, faith-healing practises may be resorted to by those expecting a miracle cure for conditions like cancer.
Felix, a faith healer in the northeastern part of India, told The Pioneer, “Faith is at the core of an individual. We believe in certain aspects of life that don’t require validation from anyone or anything. In essence, faith healing is a way of treating illness through faith and not necessarily medical science. Healing via faith is generally practised through prayers to gods and deities. Almost every religion has its own healing practices. People at the dargah, for example, believe that if they live within the protective boundary walls, they will eventually heal from all the illnesses that have plagued them.
In Christianity, we chant Bible verses that heal and give strength. Traditionalists in the form of animists, who mostly heal through prayer, lay hands on patients, providing holy water and medicinal herbs.”
People who believe in faith healing follow certain rituals and practices for betterment.
Felix also describes how, some time ago, he was approached by a family who was helpless because one of their members had been diagnosed with cancer. Felix prayed for the patient, and now she’s better. Felix adds, “Faith comes from the urge to try to be positive.
The body wants to heal, but it cannot do so without the support of the mind. Divine power is supreme, and when nothing works, we resort to the almighty. There’s positive energy when we pray that helps an individual deal with problems.”
Undoubtedly, medical science has also recognised the power and potential of faith healing. According to an article in The Observer Dawn, “Doctors at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) conducted an interesting study to ascertain the efficacy of meditation techniques. As many as 50 patients awaiting cardiac bypass surgery were placed on meditation under the supervision of Nita Saxena, a cardiac specialist at the hospital. Normally, anxiety and fear of cardiac surgery initiate the stress response much before the actual stress generated by anaesthesia and surgery. The aim of the study, therefore, was “to see a patient enter the operating room with a smile on his face”,” said Saxena.
Speaking on this subject, doctor Charan Teja Koganti, associate professor at VRKMC, Hyderabad, and consultant, asserted, “People pray especially in times of need to alleviate anxiety and to feel hopeful. When they succeed the first time, it acts as positive reinforcement to keep praying, hoping it stays the same. Also, believing in a higher power can give some people satisfaction and a sense of comfort that they are looked after. It’s like meditating, where positive, optimistic energy can reduce your stress hormone levels, calming your nervous system.”
Scientists have also developed devices that streamline measurement techniques for checking the effects of meditation. One such device is the alpha wave recorder, an electronic instrument. Meditation actually slows down the brain’s waves. When we are stressed or anxious, the mind produces beta waves in the brain, while a calm and relaxed mind produces alpha waves.
Furthermore, the article published in Observer Dawn stated, “Researchers call the state of normal wakefulness the beta level, and a relaxed state of sleepy wakefulness the alpha level. We put out 14 to 21 brain energy pulsations per second at the beta level (active wakefulness). Alpha, on the other hand, is a mental state in which about seven to 14 pulsations are emitted every second.”
When an individual is meditating, the person is in a deep alpha state. It is the state of a very peaceful and relaxed mind. It is at this very level that stressed organs and systems recuperate and gets revitalised. As a result, blood pressure normalises and the pulse rate stabilises. Also, chanting prayers have also been found to have a soothing effect on stressed nerves as it reduces the secretion of stress hormones like epinephrine.
Doctor Sujatha Rajamani, consultant psychiatrist at KIMS Hospitals, Secunderabad, when asked about faith healing, explained, “There’s a saying that if you have faith, you can even move mountains. Agreeably, faith is one of the strongest emotions or states of mind. Even doctors say it is both “dawa” and “dua”. In faith healing, one is basically conditioning themselves. It works like going to the temple and asking for blessings or having the priest pray for you, so you have this feeling inside that you’re going to be fine, and that state of mind actually supports the body and speeds up healing.”
She also pointed out that people often reach out to faith healers because they think that approaching them is less stigmatising than visiting a psychiatrist. Our society has still not come to terms with the fact that mental health is as important as physical well-being. Additionally, those who try to seek medical help, especially for mental health issues, end up bearing the burden of expensive medicines and therapy.
The cost of a single appointment ranges from anywhere between Rs. 500 and Rs. 2000 at private practices. Doctor Sujatha concluded, “Another aspect is social influence. When ten people say that one should seek help from a faith healer, it is automatically accepted.
Moreover, faith healing removes the accountability of society and declares that the problems are rather due to religious sins, and therefore, faith healing would eventually work.”In conclusion, we are abuzz with stories of faith and its healing powers. Now that medical professionals have also said that faith healing complements the medical process and helps people tackle illness, it is indeed a concept worth noting.
