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Peace For Those Immersed
Joshua Biber

The therapeutic value of visitation to holy or sacred places often dismisses healing through faith as a psychological trick the believer invokes upon self as an alternative to fear and uncertainty. To entertain such thought is a trivialization that lacks respect for something visibly substantial, but also misses out on the benefits of shared experience. Pilgrimage displays a willingness to give oneself over to practice or participation in the pursuit of healing. The pursuit of healing by way of seeking out a place is often marked by journey to a peaceful location. The pursuit of internal peace can be sought by observing nature. Using nature itself as a reminder of homeostasis and using the memory of traveling there as a landmark for future stability is a very intriguing metaphysical consideration. Places of healing, take root in spirituality often by carrying an overwhelming positive vibration to be passed down through stories of the passed, but they also offer a true literal interaction with the unseen, for there is no void in the universe where space is empty, meaning even the air carries a different energy. And lastly, but quite possibly most important of all is the influence of healing waters and springs at sacred locations. Humanity seems to have a certain magnetism towards water much like an internal tide pulled by the moon. Not only do we drink to survive, but we survive on a planet of two thirds water, with personal bodies made up of two thirds water. It is the majority of what we are.

Quite simply the immensity of the Islamic hajj to Mecca in and of itself speaks to discredit any trivialization of pilgrimage as a self played psychological mind game. It would prove difficult to make that argument to such a big crowd. Furthermore, The hajj in the eyes of many had a monumental impact on the later stages of the Civil Rights Movement, which still resonates in America. Prior to the hajj, civil rights activist Malcolm X responded to the racism of white America with equal resent and therefore divided the minority population in large part across the country by offering an appeal of self-defense that was not present in Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach of non-violence. During his time in Mecca, Malcolm X was exposed to vast aray of people from cultures of every color. He came in contact with a multitude of Turkish Villagers who only acknowledged him as a brother of faith. It is no small matter that in this instance the Pilgrimage itself stripped hatred of a man’s heart. After his experience he wrote, “I have just visited the Holy City of Mecca and witnessed pilgrims of all colors, from every part of this earth, displaying a spirit and unity and brotherhood like I’ve never witnessed during my entire life in America. It is truly a wonderful gift to behold” (Coleman Elsner 1995 :67). One connection worth consideration, however, is that throughout human history religion is used to justify war and even Mecca itself was taken by force. So, while often the men who bring religions to power through force misuse such power, they cannot escape death, and then perhaps the tradition lives on and men realize the unifying qualities of the Most High such as Malcolm X did some thirteen hundred years later. Furthermore, the manipulation of religion and the power struggle involving politics does not necessarily expose the religion as a fraud and in fact the enduring faith of those who understand a true relationship with God and come to have faith in their own sincerity and merit their own connections maybe be those worth examining more closely.

To expound upon the previous concept, a place of healing can be a solid landmark grounded in reality upon which to manifest thought as a means of fortified prayer even when away. Again here, Mecca offers testament to such a transcendent and far reaching connection this time in that Islam requires a practicing Muslim to engage in prayer 5 times a day. Referring back to Coleman and Elsner one Turkish villager relayed, “the call is inescapable...one begins to adjust one’s own rhythm to the call and not the clock, adjusting also to the intervals between calls” and described preying towards Mecca as, “that point on the horizon that speaks so eloquently of things unseen and organized orientation in space as well as time” (Coleman Elsner 1995: 65). Initially, it may seem extreme to a Western audience to hear someone reference replacing time by the clock with prayer however it is worth at least a pause to contemplate. Considering time as measure formulated by men so as to organize collections of people, it would seem that time itself isn’t concerned with anything other than carrying the moment. It then becomes much more understandable how one could come to regulate their own  rhythm based on a repeated spiritual connection to the present moment throughout the day. In reflection on this, it is not difficult to understand how the concept of Most High works as a sincere personal connection across many religions. In the foreword to a translation of the Tao Te Ching I acquired, Toinette Lippe wrote the following, “study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it” and “beyond words and seeing the ineffible... I delighted in creating photographs that teetered on the boundary between being and not being--tree branches that delicately merge with the sky and fog obscuring a mountain... almost unrecognizable” (Feng, English, Lippe 1997: ix, xi). These two excerpts resonate with a certain undeniable relatability. While both echo with personal spirituality, there is present a vibration of similar guidance.What begins to develop in any attempt to understand the relationship between immersed bodies in sacred places is something very difficult to discuss in any academic forum, but perhaps could best be described as a deep meditative or trance state. It seems that sacred locations of healing, for those well practiced in the understanding of nature and self, do often attain tranquility by a sort of unification with natural principle and order. Any description of such a unification is seemingly distorted, but perhaps has to do with removing all expectation and replacing it with deep appreciation. A quote from anthropologist Carol Delaney lends a similar description, “Life itself can be construed as pilgrimage, the Muslim notion embodies an image of return, a return to a place of origin” (Coleman Elsner 1995: 64). I’m over generalizing here obviously, but I find notion the notion of actively pursuing origin as something very different from the manner in which the Western world often just asks, half-heartedly indulges, and then abandons such mysteries. It is extremely rewarding to read of the relationship one can develop by making the abstract connection of all things into their life journey. This relates well with two lines from chapter 10 of the Tao, “Can you be as a newborn babe? Washing and cleansing the primal vision” (Feng, English, Lippe 1997: 12). Both of these beliefs focus on a type of subtraction, and purification/enlightenment, that draws some parallels to baptism, yet completely differs in that baptism is a single act and enlightenment is a forged pathway. This is perhaps a good segway into covering the importance of holy springs and well waters.
In coming back to the Foley reading on holy water after doing some further research a few sentences about half way through stuck out to me, “the capacity of the visitor to seek and often find solace and peace marks an effective dimension to the role of the holy well as a site of health. While that peace may be momentary and ephemeral, it is an emotional response that can be profoundly affecting and becomes a lingering ripple as with many memorial sites which resonate beyond the space and into everyday lives beyond” (R.Foley 2011: 475). This both goes with my earlier premise that pilgrimage may offer a future landmark of metaphysical stability for the the visitor and somewhat steps back from the depth I was discussing with meditative trance states. I think this portion of his argument makes a pretty broadly acceptable assertion that does well by laying out a pretty solid points. Most importantly though hinting that there is a quite literal and metaphorical depth to these waters. It seems that once an individual forms a connection to one of these places they may come realize it less as a memory but more as an ongoing dialogue. Holy waters often
exist seemingly as portals into the abyss as we discussed in class, however equally interesting is that many have quite rare mineral compositions and hold miraculous origin stories.

The ZamZam Well at Mecca is just East of the Ka’Baa fits some of those characteristics. The origin story is that Angel Gabriel struck the ground with his wing and from the spot water started flowing to save Ebrahim’ wife Hajrah and son Ismail from dying of thirst in the desert. The location was lost once thereafter, but the Jurham tribe from Yemen uncovered it again upon their arrival and it has been in existence since. The well is said to be on around 90 feet and never dry up. However, quite interesting is the last 40 years or so of this holy well. The Saudi Arabian authorities built a large hotel nearby and expanded the Masque along with other construction projects in the nearby area (http://www.islamicpluralism.org/1786/contamination-of-the-sacred-well-of-zam-zam-in). Fast Forward to the Spring of 2011 and BBC reporter Guy Lynn published a series of articles about an investigation that uncovered the carcinogen arsenic in the well at levels illegal in the UK. Further, he found out that this water was being illegally exported and distributed to small vendors in the UK who had reportedly been drinking it regularly  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13267205). Interestingly, I found another article from as recent as 2008 still praising the well for its purity and high levels of calcium and zinc claiming to have taken samples. If this is true then the prominent theory that it was contaminated by the old construction may not make much sense. However, this well sadly seems to lost a lot of what made it pristine for so long. The water is pumped to a filtration plant and filtered now before distribution according to the website for Islamic Pluralism. Still, despite seeming sadly neglected and and slightly exploited, the ZamZam well is rich with legend from nearby Meccans coming on a sleepless night to say a prayer to full on miraclous healings of affliction(Coleman Elsner 1995: 60). One would hope that this well survives and is taken care for given

Healing is perhaps that which most profoundly reveals balance and purpose among living things in existence. Healing seems to solidify value much like a return to comfort, which requires preference. The desire to alleviate suffering first has to deem such pain as an altered state and could only do so through belief or previous experience of a positive alternative. If there is a great qualitative diversity visible between lifestyles across living things then bodily existence provides a basic opportunity for the recognition of good and bad. A human for example gains form based on laws of nature, yet can only explain those laws in fragmentation. The study of genetics goes to great length to investigate and understand reproduction, but still ultimately concedes that the passing of traits is largely random. Furthermore, the realization that there is no universal record or text of how things came to be is conceivably representational of the fact that complete understanding is not intellectual. Intelect by definition represents the ability to acquire knowledge independent of sensual perception. As such, the pursuit of intellect may then be an ego based misinterpretation of existence rather than adherence to natural law. From a logical standpoint the universe seems to operate quite peacefully and provide in abundance beneath and look up and feel what’s there, capable of all angles, and collectively bound. It is then one world beyond to depart this model. The pursuit of existence beyond existence seems ignorant towards that which was given.  And if one regarded the body as a vessel completely submerged in existence, then passage of energy inside might simply offer balance and perspective.

“Know that God Most High has built an outward

Ka’ba out of mud and stone,

And fashioned an inward Ka’ba out of heart and soul

The outward Ka’ba, Abraham did built,

The inward Ka’ba was as the lord almighty willed.”

-Abdallah al-Ansari

(Coleman, Elsner 1995: 72)

Bibliography
Cole, Simon, Elsner, John; 1995. Pilgrimage Past and Present in the World Religions. British Museum Press.
Williams, John A. 1962. Islam. George Braziller Inc.
Bos, Gerrit. 1992. Medical Regime For The Pilgrims To Mecca. E.J. Brill
----Used the Foley reading(Performing Health in Place), but the pdf didn’t go back to the publishing info.
Websites
http://www.islamiclandmarks.com/saudi/makkah/haram_sharief/zamzam.html
http://www.helium.com/items/1054674-the-miracle-of-zam-zam-water
http://www.islamicpluralism.org/1786/contamination-of-the-sacred-well-of-zam-zam-in
http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/05/holy-water-unsafe/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-13267205