5. DISCUSION
5.3. CARACTERISTICAS DE LA POBLACION INFECTADA EN NUESTRO
‘Self-actualisation’ is a mental process causing a psychological change in the participant. This allows the participant to feel fulfilled or enriched when he/she achieved something, either in terms of being satisfied or accomplishing his/her personal religious goal(s) through his/her involvement in the Festival. This theme emerged from the analyses of six out of eight interviews as part of three components of the Festival, specifically for the journey to and from Ganga Talao, the visit to Ganga Talao and the Char Pahar ki Pooja. The views of the RAs relating to this theme are given in Box 4.8.
Box 4.8: Quotations from the RAs representing the theme ‘self-actualisation’ sacrifice he is doing. But if someone is doing everything good, he is going to and fro in his transport, it has no effect. But when he goes walking, it’s something else. It depends on the physique of the person. But this does not have an effect on someone going by any means of transport…at the material side of things, the roads may be congested for 7 hours. When the roads are congested for 7 hours, he says he should have gone by walking. The one in the car may think that there are so many people walking and here I am in the car. He has that feeling. But the more he sees people walking, the more he is interested, even if he is in the car, he is interested to reach his goal.”
ORO3
“…we are satisfied religiously, with all the sacrifice we made and all the sacrifice participants who walk made. We are doing ours. The participants walk as a sign of sacrifice from Cap-Malheureux. This sacrifice is important. Religiously satisfied is where…they made their sacrifice, they attained their religious and spiritual goals.”
ORO5
“The pleasure and the satisfaction that they feel may be difficult to relate because everyone does not see spirituality or religiousness from the same angle…they have sacrificed to and from Grand Bassin…It’s like when I go there, I got rid of my shortcomings and when I return, it is like a rebirth for the good of the family, a rebirth for the good of the society, a rebirth for the whole world…this renewal of ourselves for the benefit of the family, society, country, the whole world…it is a formidable experience, an extraordinary experience.”
The visit to Ganga Talao
ORA3
“…the vibration at Ganga Talao from day 1 when people start walking for at least a week…it also contributes to the individual’s enrichment, and to his benefit. When he has walked for 2 days to reach there [at Ganga Talao] in 1 ½ day or 2 days, he reaches halfway in his journey before his return.”
ORO5
“But once there [Ganga Talao], we forget this sacrifice…We feel our desire being fulfilled by leaving the village and reaching Pari Talao [Ganga Talao]. It is a formidable experience.”
The Char Pahar ki Pooja
ORA2 “…the core experience they have…very often they see miracles happening in this temple, people do have lots of vibrations… they feel achieved…”
ORA3
“…especially at night, we dedicate ourselves to the prayers of Lord Shiva…This is the achievement of all this preparation since 15 days, since 1 month…But the material part cleansing also means you are, at the same time, in your mind, doing some cleaning…this is the achievement, the participation through the 4 stages of 3 hrs [referring to the Char Pahar ki Pooja] and it brings us closer and brings us to do what we have to do vis-à-vis Shiva for what he did for humanity.”
ORO5
“They want to discover this force through the Pooja [prayers]. In the scriptures, it is said that a Hindu has 4 courses of life: Dharma [Righteousness], Aarth, Kaam, Moksha [liberation]. So the first pahar…confers to Dharma, the second confers to material happiness and prosperity, the third pahar…confers to happiness in the married couple’s life, the fourth pahar…is the last stage of life. So anyone who participates in these four poojas [prayers], enjoys the 4 courses of life…a life of a Hindu inspires the moksha [liberation].”
For the journey to and from Ganga Talao, the participants who walk may achieve self-actualisation firstly by being satisfied when they complete the walk and prayers (ORO1), secondly by being satisfied to have attained their religious and spiritual goals (ORO3) and thirdly by having satisfaction and pleasure through the sacrifices undertaken during the journey to and from Ganga Talao (ORO5). For those who go to the sacred site by other means of transport, self-actualisation
occurs on one’s accomplishment of reaching their destination, for instance ORO2 pointed out that these participants focus on reaching their goals. The goal here is to collect the sacred water, pray with it at Ganga Talao and bring it home. This demonstrates that the participants are able to feel accomplished once they reach their goal. ORO5 elaborated on it by saying that by going through it is like a rebirth or renewal for the participants who walk as they get rid of their shortcomings thereby benefitting themselves and everyone around them. The constituent self-actualisation was seen to be same for those travelling to and from the sacred site by foot and those travelling by other means to and from the site.
While at Ganga Talao, self-actualisation can also arise (ORO5 and ORA3). After the participants who walk have left their homes, carried out a sacrifice through the walk and finally reached the sacred site, they feel that their desires are fulfilled (ORO5). Once at the site, these participants undergo feelings of self-actualisation as they feel enriched by, and having benefited from, the positive feelings associated with the sacred site. Being at the site also means that they have accomplished the first half of their journey.
For the Char Pahar ki Pooja, the participants who walk feel vibrations in the temple and they feel a fulfilment in themselves, or more specifically they feel achieved (ORA2). ORO5 added that a participant is able to feel complete after the prayers end as these prayers inspire the four courses of a Hindu life: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (material happiness), Kama (family life) and Moksha (liberation from the life and death cycle). Also, the participants feel a sense of achievement at the end of these prayers, after having gone through all the previous components of the Festival which may have taken up to a month (ORA3). ORA3 also identified that there is a sense of achievement after the participants had attended the four prayers of the Char Pahar ki Pooja, which occurs over 12 hours at night. The prayers are a means for them to cleanse their body and mind.
Therefore the self-actualisation experiences, at each component of the Festival, can evoke ecstatic feelings which are part of the existential core religious experiences. Additionally, the deep and intense involvement and sense of accomplishment of participants for the Festival, starting from the preparation component through to the conclusion of the Char Pahar ki Pooja component, can also evoke flow and subjective experiences. By being involved in these prayers within the religious settings, the participants are able to feel immersed within the Hindu religious system and to experience self-renewal. These potentially influence their identity, disposition and belief and instigate transcendence and meaningful experiences.