The article discusses the psychological aspects of the forms of organizing and conducting the canonical pilgrimage in Islam and deduces some of its psychological and psychotherapeutic functions, considered as a kind of set of psychotechnics in terms of the logic of satisfying religious needs. This allows not only to supplement knowledge about the nature of the sacred in general, to draw a line of demarcation between the sacred and the profane, but also to clarify some aspects of the proselytizing potential of Islam, which is expressed in the development of psycho-techniques associated with the ideological metamorphosis of the individual and emotional unloading, leveling existential fears of death, dangers, demonic entities, and so on. Pilgrimage in Islam not only contributes to the accumulation of a large number of people in a limited space and time to perform a ritual, but gives this action an orgiastic character that reinforces a sense of religious belonging and social solidarity. At the forefront of the psychological reduction of the pilgrimage is the degree or level of readiness for the conscious / unconscious transformation of the personal “self” by the pilgrim. This is supported by a number of functions that the pilgrimage carries in itself: the formation of an “image of the world” through the perception of the external environment (natural and social), the presence of elements of novelty that enrich the inner world of the pilgrim, self-denial through asceticism, soteriological hope for approving indulgence and contentment from the Almighty, the influence of the aesthetics of religious buildings and natural sacred objects on the pilgrims, the strengthening of their religious beliefs. The psychotherapeutic nature of the pilgrimage is connected with the fact that, interacting with the environment, the believer corrects his behavior at the individual-specific level in accordance with the change in his attitude to life, the ranking of motivating factors and the formation of a special system of behavioral activity.
Keywords: phenomenology of pilgrimage, Islam, sacred, profane, psychotechnics, religious outlook, intention, “images of the world”
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2022_2_119
About the authors
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Djamilya A. Gusenova – PhD (Philosophy), Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences of Dagestan State University; 43-a Magomeda Gadzhieva str., Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, 367000, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
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Mukhtar Ya. Yakhyaev – DSc (Philosophy), Professor, Head of the Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences Department of Dagestan State University; 43-a Magomeda Gadzhieva str., Makhachkala, Republic of Dagestan, 367000, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |