Hypnotherapeutic Techniques in a Central Asian Community

STUDY OF SPECIALISED TECHNIQUES IN

CENTRAL ASIA

Jajar Hallaji*

During a sojourn in Afghanistan in the spring of 1961, I had the

opportunity of observing hypnosis among the people of an ancient

culture. I feel that the following notes on my experience may contribute

to a knowledge of the nature of hypnotheraphy in places which have been

relatively unaffected by modern developments, and hence shed some light

on the histroical use of this technique.

The community which I observed is a semi-monastic one, known as

Nakshbundi Sufis.. The culture is similar to that of the Yogis of India,

in that the training of mind and body is stressed, while supernatural

elements are rigidly excluded in practical work. Sufism has, however,

a respectable literature of transcendental character, and most of the

mystical poets of the Persian, Turkish and Urdu classical periods were

Sufi practitioners.

Training of the Sufi practitioner is done in secret, given only to

selected disciples, and it claims to be the only real "occult training".

Its purpose is the production of a "perfect man" complete in mind

and body. Disciples have to prove their fitness by undergoing tests

and training. Many Sufis are known as "Hakim" (Doctor), meaning

that they have passed through a 16-year course in their art.

A description of the activities of the Sufi doctor or practitioner

will be the main purpose of this paper.

In the community which I observed, a "clinic" is held each Thursday

night prior to the group devotions and exercises of the entire body.

This clinic is composed of 60 devoted practitioners of the Sufi methods.

The precise method of the training of practitioners for this clinic was

not available. The Sufis are opposed to any investigation of their

art because official medical science has not accepted their activities.

They were even reluctant to let me observe their methods in a clinic

because they feared that I might be associated with an official inquiry

into Sufi methods. However, after these difficulties were overcome,

the "Pir-Hakim" (Elder Physician), a man of about 60 years, accompanied

by his six senior practitioners, took me to their place of operations.

The clinic was a large, whitewashed building which contained one

large room and several smaller ones; the rooms were dimly lighted by

oil lamps which hung by chains from the roof. In the large room string-

bedsteads were arranged against the walls, each covered by a cotton

quilt. During the particular night on which I was observing, there were

18 male patients, ranging in age from approximately 18 to 50. Their

ailments included insomnia, headaches, indigestion, lack of appetite,

impotence, undefined fears, and backache. The patients consisted of

Caucasian and Semitic-type nomads, farmers and other local residents;

most of them appeared to be uneducated.

Each applicant was first seen by the Chief and his assistants in one

of the small rooms and then assigned a bed in the clinic. After the

patient had been assigned a bed, he lay on his back, with his eyes fixed

upon one of a number of octagonal moldings. Set in the ceiling, these

moldings were embellished with a nine-pointed diagram. The chief

practitioner and his assistants now visited each bed in turn. While

the rest of the group maintained a chant of the syllables, "Ya HOO,

Ya HUKK!", the chief passed his hands, held together with palms

downward, horizontally over the patient. His hands were held about

six inches over the patient's body and passed with a rhythmic movement

from the eyes to the toes. The technique thus resembled that of the

Mesmerists. An integral part of the proceedings was that the chief

practitioner rhythmically blew upon the patient at a rate of about two

breaths a second. It is this aspect of the procedure which is responsible

for its name, "Chuff" (Breathing). The hypnogenic effect of this

technique is probably facilitated by the relaxation of the body, the warmth

of the room, the patient's concentration upon the diagram, and the

occasional interruption of the light when the palms are passed across the

face.

The subjects appeared to enter a hypnotic state in about six minutes.

The induction, however, continued for an average of about 12 minutes

with younger patients; in the case of patients over about 40, up to 20

minutes was usual. Not all of the patients closed their eyes. Rather,

a sharp intake of breath and cessation of minor bodily movement generally

signalled the onset of hypnosis for these patients. However, no attempt

was made to test for the presence or depth of hypnosis.

After the long period needed to deal thus with each of the 18 patients,

the party of practitioners sat down on a- bench in the middle of the

room while more lights were brought. Tea was now served to the

operators, and for half an hour, conversation in low tones with me was

permitted. I was assured that the patients were now unconscious,

although no verbal suggestions of sleep had been given. The practitioners

also informed me that the patients had not known what the nature of

the treatment would be before coming to the clinic because all patients

who had ever been treated here were cautioned when first interviewed

that they should not repeat to anyone, on pain of a recurrence of their

malady, the form which the therapy took.

At the end of this half-hour period, the practitioners again visited

each case in turn. A small gong was beaten once near the patient's head.

If he did not stir, the chief, reading the symptoms from a piece of paper,

informed him that the curative powers of "Baraka" were entering him,

would continue to work in him, were curing him, in every possible way,

and would complete the cure before he woke up. This was repeated

five times. During this phase of the procedure, the chief made two

occult references. The first was that the clinic was "Haykal-i-Khaab"

(The Temple of Sleep), and the other was that the healing took place

by virtue of curative power transmitted through the santity of the founder

of the Order of Sufis, Sheikh Bahauddin Nakshband.(1)

If, however, the patient did stir or move when the gong sounded,

he was told that at the end of the proceedings he should rouse himself

and return the following Thursday evening for further treatment; he was

instructed to lie still meanwhile until the proceedings were finished.

Of the total, two patients were evidently not in hypnosis.

All were eventually awakened by being shaken by the shoulder and

by being told to arouse themselves. They then kissed the hand of the

chief and were sent to another building where they were fed and allowed

to stay until morning.

The mandate to teach the technique is still held by the Hashemite

family (of which Mohammed was a member), and the present chiefs who

maintain this mandate are the three senior male members of the family:

the Princes Ikbal Ali Shah, Idries Shah, and Omar Ali Shah. Their

hypnotic knowledge and power thus can be seen as deriving from three

sources: that they are Sufi practitioners which gives them the curative

power of Bahauddin, that they are tribal chiefs, and that they are Sayeds,

descendants of Mohammed.

The following day the patients were again examined for symptoms,

and 15 claimed that they were cured. The 16th, the case of impotence,

withheld judgement as to his state of health until his return to his village.

According to an informant, the two unsuccessful cases were subsequently

hypnotized. It is stated that their maladies-insomnia and

migraine-were at that time banished.

The Sufi method of treatment seems to differ from most other

religious healing methods in certain respects. Despite the fact that the

practitioners are viewed as holy men, I observed no Sufi propaganda

being offered to the patients. The practitioners themselves maintained

that their method of cure differs from techniques of faith-healing, such

as the orthodox Islamic, in the sense that the patients are not expected

to have faith that they will be cured by the treatment. Further, although

one might expect that the practitioners would receive some kind of

payment for their services, they accepted no gifts beyond the amount

of food which could be held in the palm of one hand.(2)

According to the chief practitioner, cases of cancer, tuberculosis

and poisoning had been successfully treated by Sufi methods, though it

was sometimes necessary to hypnotize a patient as many as 300 times

before effecting a cure. It was also claimed that numerous referrals

to the Sufi method had been cases which defied treatment by physicians

trained in the West.

As far as could be ascertained, there was no knowledge of hypnosis

as used in the West and no member of the community had any knowledge

of any foreign language other than Persian. The books in their library

were exclusively classical ones or poetry. The chief practitioner claimed

that the Sufi method of treatment originated in the 12th century but

had been used for many centuries prior to that by certain Sufi "masters".

This hypnotic technique of treatment is claimed to have been brought

to Afghanistan by a family of descendants of the prophet Mohammed.(3)

This claim may be somewhat substantiated by the historical incident in

620 A.D., in which Mohammed placed his son-in-law and companion,

AH (subsequently the Fourth Caliph), into a trance and was able to

withdraw without pain a fragment of a lance which was embedded in

his thigh.

1: lt may be mentioned here (a) that the idea of the Sleep Temple

could have been transmitted through the Greek culture which once had

a strong-hold in Afghanistan, and (b) that Bahauddin is a historical

figure who is widely reputed to have had curative powers.

2: The community's economy centres around agriculture, sheep-raising,

and some cropping of fruit and nuts.

3: The tribal chiefs of this area of Afghanistan are descendants of this

family, and the right to the title of tribal chief is hereditary.

*Copyright © 1961, 1962

See: Shor, R.E., and Orne, M.T.,

The Nature of Hypnosis (Basic Readings), New York 1965, 475ff.

The Path of the Sufi

A SUFI ORGANISATION IN BRITAIN

Arkon Daraul

Sufi organisations exist in England, Europe and America as well

as in the East. They are referred to as The People of the Path; and

this passage gives an account of beliefs and practises, as well as an

initiation into Sufism held in a country house in Sussex, England.

People in Britain enter Sufism for a variety of reasons and in a

number of different ways. They seem to be mainly of the middle class.

Their beliefs are that "a certain nobility of mind and purpose resides

within every human being . . . this it is the task of the Sufi teacher to

discover and develop in the individual". The Sufis believe that "if a

person were to take their principles alone or piecemeal and applied

them, this would result in an unbalanced personality. Sufism, they

maintain, must be followed as a training system in its entirety".

There is a supernatural element in Sufism. "Members believe (and

literature abounds with supposed examples of it) that the members of

the higher degrees of initiation are capable of influencing the minds of

men and even events in a totally inexplicable manner".

"Is Sufism a religion; a way of life; something like Yoga—just a

ramp ? It is none of these things, and yet it is a secret cult whose members

believe that it gives them something which they have unconsciously

sought for years. In this respect, at least, it resembles a religion".

Sufis carry out healing processes, and concentration sessions designed

to help further various objectives of the Order. "The disciplines of

the order are six in number; and it depends upon his teacher as to which

one is to be used by which Sufi. First comes traditional ritual worship;

then recitation of the Koran; after that the repetition of certain formulas;

now 'Striving' or effort for a goal; then physical exercises, breath-control

and the like; and finally contemplation on individual themes, then on

complicated ones".

But there seems to be no standard training: "There are many paths

within the Order which the initiate may take; all will depend upon what

his natural bent is: what are his inner capabilities, which will be 'developed'

by the training which he is to receive".

In order to enter Sufism, the candidate must somehow make contact

with a Sufi, probably on some ordinary basis, not, that is to say, because

he specially wants to be a Sufi. He is then prepared and tested (the

latter "for patience, tact, moral probity and sheer endurance")—though

there is no standard procedure for this, either. "One goes by intuition".

In the initiation ceremony, the Circle (Halka—the operative unit)

is convened in a traditional manner. Members have 'functions' corresponding

to a household, or a ruler's court, or a family. Hence the

Groom, the Cupbearer, the Soldier, Emir, the Brother, Nephew, and

so on.

The candidate is brought from the antechamber by his sponsor,

immediately after having been taught an identification gesture. He

removes his shoes and is taken to the Master. His arrival is formally

announced, and he is told that he is welcome. His novitiate and sponsor

are mentioned.

Now he is asked to speak for himself. He advances, bows and

kisses the hand of the Murshid (Director or Master), and, when asked,

recites the Rules for Initiates. Having, after repeating each Rule, sworn

that he will obey them, the newcomer is invested with a terra-cotta

coloured robe, staff and bowl. These latter symbolise uniformity in

outward appearance (the robe); work and authority (the staff); and inner

and bodily nutriment (the bowl). He may now take his place in the

Circle.

Sufi dogma includes:

Mankind has certain capabilities, certain ideas, certain

capacities for experience. These things are all related.

The goal is the Ideal Man, who shall use every aspect

of his experience to be "In the world and yet not Of

the World". These teachings have been passed down

to the elect since the beginning of time.

The Secrecy of Sufism:

"How secret is Sufism? This is something which is very difficult to

answer. In the first place, the Orders require initiation, passwords

and signs. Secondly, some of their esoteric literature is hard to understand,

and has its own technical terminology. Yet on the other hand,

it is a canon of belief that a Sufi does not progress merely by passing

through degrees and initiations; the 'blessing' (baraka, sometimes called

Power) must come upon him. If this is so, and the baraka is passed on

from another Sufi, the conclusion is that there should be no need for

secrecy; because no outsider could experience what the Sufis are undergoing

in their raptures.

The answer to this, given by Sufis themselves, is that atmosphere

plays a part in the cultivation of enlightenment. Strangers are a barrier

and also a superfluity. Sufism is not for an audience. Again, the word

'secret' is used in a special sense. It refers to one or more of the inner

experiences of the mind, and not to the mere possession of formal

knowledge. In this way Sufism differs from those schools of initiation

which used to hold actual secrets, such as those of philosophy or how to

work metals, or even how one could supposedly control spirits".

The Effect of Sufism upon Society:

"On the whole, the effect of Sufism upon society has been creative

and wholesome. Sufis do not suffer from fanaticism, are not connected

with magic (though they are thought to have special, extra-normal powers)

and hold to the principal of honour and effort to an astonishing extent...

the phrase 'the word of a Sufi' is proverbial . . . Attempts have been

made to popularize Sufism in the West in a similar manner to that which

is used with odd cults of personality. But, with the exception of the

schools which have been set up on an experimental basis, this 'Society

Sufism' has never caught on ...

"But the Path of the Sufi is likely to exercise a fascination over

men's minds for many a year yet; and its influence in the West is undoubtedly

increasing".

*Copyright © 1961, 1966.

Sufism in a Changing World

DERVISH ASSEMBLY IN THE WEST

Selim Brook-White

... What is this form of Sufism, and why does it attract the people of the West?

 In the first place, the Western or technological mind places

much importance upon work and the linking of the body and the mind. Sufism of the Naqshbandi branch stresses the fact that, if it has any meaning at all, mystical experience must improve the individual. It must make him a better man. The "Perfected Man" (Insan-i-Kamil) is the man who is in the world but not of it. He does not have to grow mattered hair and live in a cave. His perceptions, his value to the community have been improved. And he has found an answer to the nagging unfulfilment which is the curse of humanity.

In the West generally, the Naqshbandi principles have been adopted

under the general term of the "Tariqa" (The Path). The Sufis are

organised in Halqas (Circles) under a teacher, and the Halqas are combined

in the complete organisation, the Tariqa. The striking thing about the

Western members of the Tariqa is that among them you will not find

the long-haired semi-intellectual, the neurotic who joins every new

"craze" the weakling who seeks guidance. They are straightforward,

active, interesting people.

Sufism means to the Westerner in the earlier stages that he is

practising something which has brought obvious benifits to others.

He can see in the company of Sufis to which he is attached something

which he would like to participate in. This is the first principle : that a

man wants to become a Sufi because he likes those whom he knows,

and that he believes that they are the best advertisement for the goods

which they are purveying.

Secondly, again in the early stages, he finds that there are undeniable

benefits in the exercises (Wazifa) which he is expected to carry out.

He can actually feel the benefit of the mental and physical exercises,

working upon himself. Sufism is not offering him some undefined and

vaguely hinted at eventual satisfaction.

Thirdly, when he has actually tasted the effects of Sufism upon

himself, he enters into an understanding of the basis of Sufism. How

did it develop? Upon what is it based? How can he enter the wider

field which lies within the mysticism on whose periphery he now stands? He may be introduced to the works of AI-Ghazzali and to the Mashaf and Sunnat, in order to make it clear to him that here is the root of the teaching.

Thus Sufism in its practical expression in the West cuts right across

the mental dilemma in which modern man finds himself. It shuns the

sensation-seekers, for they congregate around the charlatans and the

miracle-mongers who run societies for commercial purposes. There are

isolated and static so-called Sufi cults in the West, it is true, modelled

upon the occult societies which are known to provide a good living for

the Guru if he can only keep his disciples in a state of mystification.

Some of these pantheistic societies try to show that Sufism is nothing

but a teaching designed to unite all religions and they study all the holy

books of all time. But the Tariqa Sufis ignore these material aims,

and concentrate upon leading people to Sufism through personal

experience of happiness and fulfilment.

But how, you may ask, can a sceptical Westerner stomach the

practice of something which he cannot understand with his intellect?

In the first place, it is nowadays more easily explained than even before

that the intellect arrives at nothing final enough. This is admitted

by all Western thinkers. Secondly-and this is vital-you merely say

to your candidate that, providing that he practises the preliminary

exercises which he is given, he will have clear proof that he is on the

"right Path". And this is the amazing thing about Sufism. There is

something which is known as "Barakat"; the power which, when contacted,

will give the man more than the insight which he needs to know

that he is at last on the way to fulfilment.

Sufism is neither a Western nor an Oriental cult. It is an eternal

one. It has produced some of the world's greatest literature, some of

the East's greatest thinkers and sages, as well as giving a stiffening to

the moral and material progress of man.

I recently had the honour to attend a meeting of thirty-one Halqa delegates from Europe, addressed by the Tariqa Grand Sheikh Idries Shah Saheb, who is of course a lineal descendant of the Prophet (Peace

and blessings of Allah upon him!) and an Afghan nobleman as well as being the grandson of H. H. of Sardhana. It was here that every single speaker gave the Kalima and stressed that the Tariqa was leading people to the truth through the methods of truth, and not through propaganda or intellectual sophistries.

There is no doubt that this work of the Tariqa will grow and will produce individuals who will carry on the work which provides humanity with the link which is needed in a materialistic world to the ultimate Truth as we already know it.

"Copyright © 1961 Sufism in a Changing World.

Sufi Technical Terms

THE DERVISHES

The Persian word dervish is generally considered to be derived

from the verb der-vekhtan, to wait at a door. The reference is to waiting

before the door of enlightenment.

It is one of the few Persian terms to be accepted into Arabic (plural

daravish), in which language it has the connotation of a good man, one

who patiently endures hardship.

In Western languages and literature, Dervish has had a less easy

passage. The Sudanese dervishes, members of a messianic cult, the

performing fakirs of the Rifai (Howling), the semi-theatrical Mevleyi

(Whirling), and the fighting Janissaries are among the most familiar in

this cultural area.

In Central Asia the dervishes were, and to a great extent still are,

respected as men of science, literature, culture and philosophy.

The communities and groupings whose activities and beliefs are

collected here follow the traditional patterns of dervishism. It was from

their ranks that men like Rumi the poet, Ghazzali the philosopher,

Khayyam the scientist, and numerous emperors, mystics, artists and

musicians sprang.

Dervish ideas, as much recent historical research has shown, have

for centuries exercised an influence upon communities and individuals

far beyond the confines of their Eastern homeland.

In Western countries, in addition to several imitative groups following

imported dervish ceremonial and practice, attempts are being made here

and there to apply dervish ideas to institutions and situations which

belong to the present day.

The purpose of this collection of contemporary first-hand reportages

on dervishes is to show, through the eyes of travellers, newspapermen

and others, something of the existence and scope of dervishism in

countries of the East and West.

Aabshar, Aubshaur:

Persian, 'Waterfall'.

Akhund:

Wise man, cleric.

Ali:

son-in-law of Mohammed and one of his successors in the leadership of the Moslem community.

Ami:

see Ilm.

Ashrafi:

gold coin.

Baba:

Father, head of the family or community, teacher—term of respect.

Badakhshan:

geographical area of Afghanistan.

Baraka(t):

'blessing, inner power of a thing, transmitted force of a

teacher'.

Chuff:

Breathing.

Chungari:

'Herb of enlightenment' Literally 'Howness'. An aromatic

but non-narcotic herb consumed by dervishes at special times.

Dargah (Dargauh &c.):

Court.

Daur

(Turkish usage = Devr); from Arabic: 'Turn', a movement made by

dervishes. One form of it is in the whirling of Maulavi dervishes.

Dervish:

Persian, 'one who waits at the door'.

Dhikr:

see Zikr.

Durbar:

assembly.

Ghazzali, al-:


Great Sufi teacher of the llth and 12 centuries A.D.

Hadi, Haadi:

'Guide'.

Hal

(state): The special condition of mind into which dervishes may

throw themselves.

Hakim:

Sage, wise man, physician. Hakim Sanai of Khorasan is often

meant by Central Asian dervishes when they use this term He

wrote the Garden of Reality.

Halka, Halqa:

'circle', basic unit of Sufi operation.

Hoo:

see Hu.

Haq:

Truth, objective reality, God.

Haykal:

Temple.

Hu:

(In Arabic = 'He!'; Dervish liturgical word.

Hukk:

see Haq.

Ilm:

knowledge, information, as distinct from ami (work) and Man =

inner, immediate knowledge, 'gnosis'.

Imam:

Arabic, 'leader'. Varied uses, from prayer-leader in a mosque

to chief of the Moslem community and successor of Mohammed.

Insan-i-Kamil:

'Perfected Man', the result of Sufi development.

Irfan:

see Ilm.

Ishk, Ishq:

Love. Technical term of the Sufis; as in the dictum "Ordinary

love is a variety of Special Love".

Islam:

('submission to the will of God'), religion identified with the

followers of Mohammed.

Kafiristan:

('land of the Unbelievers') area in Afghanistan, renamed in

the 19th century Nuristan ('land of light').

Kalima:

'The Word'; Persian/Urdu/Pushtu usage of the Arabic term

Shahada = the Negative and Positive affirmation of Divinity.

Karacul, Karakul:

central Asian sheep.

Khab, Khaub, Khaab (&c.):

Sleep.

Khan:

chief of a clan or a locality; Turkic title.

Khanqa, Khanka:

Lodge, Dervish centre, place of hospitality and refreshment.

Koh-i-Daman:

foothills.

Kunj-i-Zagh:

'Raven's Corner'.

Mashaf:


'The Book'; the Koran (Qur'an).

Mevlana:

Turkish pronounciation of Maulana ('Our Master') applied

to all Sufi teachers. Best known in the West by its application

to Jalaluddin Rumi, q.v.

Mevlevi:

(lit. 'of the Master'), 'whirling' dervishes.

Mir:

Persian form of Emir (Amir), 'commander'. In some usages =

Prince.

Mirza:

Nobly Born.

Mishla:

Arab Beduin cloak.

Muhadira:

Arabic, 'an assembly; being present'.

Murshid:

Arabic, teacher, guide (of the Sufis).

Musa Kazim:

(Musa the Patient) one of the descendants of Mohammed,

Ali and Hussein.

Nu-Kunja (No-koonja, &c):

'Nine-sided: Enneagon'.

Naqsch (Naqsh):

Impress, diagram, design.

Naqshbandi, Nakshbandi:

Sometimes incorrectly and in Turkish usage styled

Nakshibendi: Order of Dervishes associated with the name of Bahauddin Naqshband ('The Designer') of Bokhara, surnamed El-Shah.

Paghman:

locality in Afghanistan.

Pathan:

(Pukhtun, Pashtun and variants) member of the Afghan tribeswho speak Pushtu.

Pilao, pilau:

spiced rice served with meat.

Pir:

'Elder'. In Sufi usage the mentor of a Sufi.

Quiff (Qif(f)-'

Pause, halt, stop. Name of a Sufi exercise.

Rifai:

'howling' dervishes.

Rumi:

Afghan-born poet and Sufi teacher (A.D. 1205-1273) who taught in Konia, Asiatic Turkey.

Sardar:

chief, 'he who holds heads'.

Sarkar:

Persian, 'Work-Chief.

Sarmoun(i):

Community named after the bees.

Shaikh, Sheikh, Sheik (&c.):

Elder, chief of a village; chief of a tribe.

In Sufi usage the head of a community or Order.

Shalwar:

baggy trousers

Sirdar:

(1) Turkish usage for Sardar, sometimes military chief; (2) From Sirr-dar, 'he who holds secrets').

Sunnat:

traditions of the Prophet.

Surkaur:

see Sarkar.

Sunni:

traditionalist, one of the chief legal schools of Islam.

Tariqa:

The Path'; either a special 'order' in Sufism, or sometimes

Sufism itself, as distinct from following a general religion.

Tekkie, Takia, Takiya (&c.):

Dervish centre, generally a building, sometimes

with special characteristics in its building or arrangement

inside.

Wazifa:

(lit. 'Duty') the observances given to Sufi students to perform.

Ya:

Invocatory O . . . .

Yabou:

pony.

Yakina:

'Certitude'. The state which develops through the application

or action of the baraka, q.v.

Zarf:

lit. 'container': a platter.

Zawiya, Zavia (&c.):

Literally 'corner'. Used for Dervish centres and

'monasteries'.

Zikr (zikker, dhikr &c.): a litany. Lit. 'Repetition'.