84 chapter
allopathic-style psychotherapy. Th e counselors at Vettucaud explored the per-
sonal, psychological concerns of individuals suff ering illness, emphasizing to a
signifi cant degree the interior, private realm as the locus of the authentic self.
After relating a Biblical story in which Jesus leads a Samaritan woman to
discover her sins, Father Hyacinth, the priest at Vettucaud who provides thera-
peutic counseling, explained:
Th is [ Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman] is also a therapy: when we
begin to talk to the person, we accept whatever they say. If you are going to argue
with them, and they know that what they are saying is not correct, you spoil the
situation. So rather, when I begin to accept you, you feel that you are happy.When I told Father Hyacinth that his emphasis on refraining from giving
advice and his avoidance of judging the patient reminded me of psychothera-
peutic encounters, he concurred but explained that he also intervenes more
directly and advises the patient later in his therapy sessions:
Accept the story, and from the story, guide them where they have gone wrong or
where they have been cheated. Place the blame on somebody else, and then bring
them to a position where they begin to accept their situation. After that, you can
correct them. Before that, if you correct them they will not get corrected.Father Hyacinth’s emphasis on allowing the patient to fi rst develop his own
insights calls to mind Kirschner’s (1996) assertion that there is a continu-
ity between classical Christian and contemporary psychotherapeutic ways of
knowing the self.^29 Although Father Hyacinth explained his willingness to
“correct” the patient, ayurvedic therapists appeared more assertive and less
equivocal about judging and advising their patients.
Other Therapies
While the institutions and medical practices just described do constitute dis-
tinct healing approaches to a certain degree, these centers and systems often
have contiguous relations with other healing practices. Meanwhile, people who
might be considered mentally ill or distressed pursue relief from their prob-
lems at institutions that are not solely or explicitly therapeutic. For example,
half a mile from Vettucaud church lies the Divy Shanti Ashram, a charitable
institution for the poor that is run by the Vettucaud church organization. Divy
Shanti off ers food, lodging and prayer services for indigent and ill people and is
not an explicitly therapeutic institution. Yet people with a variety of problems