Download Abbe de Faria - Father of Hypnotism

Abbe de Faria - Father of Hypnotism
---------------------------------------by Nandkumar Kamat
Sometime during 16th century, the family of Antu Sinai of the scenic and historic village of Colvale converted to
Christianity. They took the name of Faria. A grand house and a chapel existed at Colvale in the
Faria's ancestral property. With time, both crumbled to dust. In 1754
Cajetan Vitorino de Faria, who had taken the vows of priesthood,
after completing his theological education, left the religious duties,
married Rosemary, daughter of a landlord in Candolim, and became
their son-in law.
Strange twists and turns took place in the lives of Cajetan and Rosemary.
They separated after the birth of Jose Custodio on May 30, 1756 just
a year before the famous battle of Plassy, which gave the British East
India Company hold over Bengal. At that time, Hyder Ali was gaining
strength in South India. The Marathas were also in full command. Events
were happening at lightening speed. Cajetan became a priest again.
Rosemary became a nun and entered the convent of 'Santa Monica'.
Jose Custodio spent 15 years in Goa in the verdant surroundings of
Colvale village. He never saw his mother again.
The father and son left for Portugal on the ship 'Sao Jose' on February 22,
1771 for Lisbon, Portugal, where they arrived on November 23. At that
time, they would not know what history had reserved for them. For one
they were destined never to see their motherland again. They had entered
Europe via Lisbon during one of the most turbulent periods in international
history - the period of the American war of independence and the epochal
French revolution.
Father Faria received the support of the King of Portugal for the education
of his son in Rome. Jose Custodio aimed to become a priest and completed
his doctorate in theology and philosophy from the college' Propaganda fide'
in 1780. The Europeans would know him as Abbe de Faria. He would be
the first Goan to receive both bouquets and brickbats from the local press
during his active and controversial life in France and even after his death.
His magnificent statue - a remarkable piece of sculpture from the master
sculptor, Ramchandra Kamat stands on the pedestal near the old secretariat
in Panaji. A small plaque commemorates his birthplace at Candolim. However,
there are no special programmes to celebrate the 250th birth anniversary of
this great son of Goa - Father Jose Custodio alias Abbe de Faria. The French
novelist, Alexander der Duma immortalized him in his novel-'The Count of
Monte Cristo' (1844). Those who have seen the film produced in 2002
would remember the character of Padre Faria imprisoned in the castle of
If with Edmond Dantes - the protagonist. Duma has given a different
background of the imprisoned priest but there is no doubt in anyone's mind
that the character is based on Abbe de Faria.
Until 1792, Abbe de Faria had no introduction to hypnosis (from the Greek
word Hypnos for sleep). However, when he became curious about the claims
of 'animal magnetism' and Mesmer's mesmerism, he devoted himself to its
study. This interest continued and transformed his life. Ultimately, he was
successful in rejecting Mesmer's claims and provided a somewhat scientific
and rational basis for hypnosis. His followers called his technique - `Fariaism',
but experts later renamed to 'hypnotism'. Before his death under utterly
impoverished circumstances in 1819, his first volume explaining the principles
of hypnosis was in the press. To counter his critics he had planned four volumes,
but he could complete only a single tome. The world took notice of this work
but it was only in the 20th century that he was acknowledged as the
'father of hypnotism'.
Most of the books on his life and work are in French or Portuguese. Recently
a book in English - `Jose Custodio de Faria: Hypnotist, Priest and Revolutionary',
by Dr Laurent Carrer - translator and practicing hypnotherapist has been
published. I am tempted to quote Faria's contributions to the field of hypnosis
from the abstract of this book available to the readers.
Faria experimented with hypnosis, a state he called "lucid sleep," on more than
five thousand individuals. He took a bold stand against Mesmer's theory of
magnetic fluid and believed that "magnetic fits" were not only unnecessary to
healing, but potentially harmful. Faria's approach was different from Mesmer.
He used to keep his subjects in a state of calm, and he believed the
magnetic fit to be "a state contrary to the normal development of nature."
Faria had faced tremendous opposition from religious authorities who believed
that commanding people to sleep was something accomplished through the
power of the 'devil'. Faria forcefully argued that hypnotic phenomena were
not due to magnetism, trickery or the devil but to the expectation and
co-operation of the patient. He has shown that it is impossible to hypnotize
people who are not willing.
It was Abbe de Faria who discovered the suggestive method of inducing
and interrupting trance verbally. He observed and described a number
of ill-understood hypnotic phenomena and provided their psychological
explanations. He postulated that ordinary sleep and the hypnotic state are
of similar nature (a theory that was later adopted by the School of Nancy,
but has now been proven wrong)."
This book is not available in Goa but the state government needs to procure
many copies of this authentic and well-researched work and get the
translation rights in Konkani and Marathi so that the modern generation is
introduced to this great Goan personality.
The Farias had supported and were sympathetic to the Pintos' revolt in 1787
against the repressive Portuguese rule in Goa. They were most certainly trying
to secure the French support for Tipu Sultan for the liberation of Goa by
establishing an Indo-French front. We have to also see the knee-jerk reaction
of the British after they got a hint of such a possibility and sent their garrison to
Goa to thwart an invasion. The Goans have no details of Abbe De Faria's role
during the French revolution and the violent, turbulent period that followed.
The end of the father of hypnotism was in abject misery. He is still remembered
in France and Portugal. Efforts were made by his Portuguese biographers to
trace his tomb in Paris without any success.
It is shameful that at government level there is no public function to commemorate
his 250th birth anniversary. Some individuals and institutions in Goa and abroad
are trying to keep his memory alive. There is a demand to release a postal stamp
in his honour. But this is not sufficient. Goans from all walks of life and especially
the villagers of Colvale and Candolim need to rise to the occasion to pay tributes
and keep his memory alive by organising yearlong activities.
---------------------------------------The Navhind Times 29/05/06 page 10
----------------------------------------
Dear Fr. Loiola:
Greetings! May I have your permission to post on the 'Abbe Faria'
website, your
insightful response to Nandkumar's piece on Abbe? Facts, where
ascertained, must be
highlighted against historical conjectures and detours. Am not
certain if the text copied
below is the same that appeared in NT. If not, would appreciate the
one that appeared in
NT.
Regards,
Dom Martin
Message: 13
Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2006 17:52:01 -0400
From: Joaquim Loiola Pereira <[email protected]>
Subject: [Goanet] N. Kamat and Abbe Faria
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
With due consideration for the vast and multi-faceted erudition of
Prof. Nandkumar Kamat, I must point out to a serious misrepresentation
in the otherwise scholarly article of Prof. Kamat on Abbe Faria,
appearing in The Navhind Times of 29th May last and in Goanet Digest,
III, 547.
The extensive article refers to the father of the Abbe as one who,
rather strangely, "had taken the vows of priesthood" and "left the
Religious duties" in order to get married to the one who, two years
later, would become the mother of the great Father of Hypnotism.
Stranger still, Prof. Kamat says a little later that "they separated
after the birth of Jose Custodio" (the Abbe) and the father "became a
priest again," thus implying that a Catholic priest took leave of his
priesthood for the sake of a trial marriage and was all too easily
re-admitted by the Church into the priesthood within a couple of
years, after the marriage failed.
Well aware of
Professor may
eventually to
Priesthood, I
the confusion that the above statements of the learned
create in the minds of his readers, leading them
a derogation of the Church's teaching on the Order of
would like to set the record straight:
Caetano Vitorino de Faria was indeed studying to be a priest. But he
left the seminary, admittedly even "after completing his theological
education," as Kamat states, but certainly before he could receive the
Sacred Orders, that is, before he could become a priest. His marriage
with Rosa Maria de Sousa lasted for at least six years, but ended in
both of them agreeing to seek church dispensation in order to pursue a
religious vocation. Thus Caetano became a priest and Rosa, a nun, with
the father taking over the custody of the son, who in turn would also
become a (very famous) priest.
It is a lesser-known fact that both
father and son were among the first priests from Goa to earn a
doctorate in Theology, in Rome, the son going ahead to take yet
another doctorate in Philosophy. It is even less known that the son
– who would later be known as Abbe Faria – was personally invited by
Pope Pius VI to preach on the Feast Day of the Holy Spirit, in St.
Peter's Basilica in Rome, in the presence of the Pope. The year was
1780, the sermon was in Latin and brown-skinned Fr. Jose Custodio de
Faria was only twenty four years of age!
Of course, he would later
preach also to the Queen of Portugal, teach Philosophy in the
University of Paris and end up being acclaimed as the creator of
hypnotism.
Fr. J. Loiola Pereira