lives and problems 117
system that is considered “spiritual” and involves the manipulation of energy
channels.
At the end of this segment, Biju inquires about the role of God/the divine
in Okiyama, using the word daivam, and Abdul-Rahman responds refer-
ring to the divinity as daivam and iśvara, both of which are often used as
non-denominational terms for “God” in India. However, these terms, being
Sanskritic, are also associated with Hinduism. Th is mixing of religious terms
recalls the Hindus suff ering illness at Beemapalli mosque who referred to
the divine as “Allah” and “Amma,” invoking both Islamic and South Indian
Hindu names for “God.” Abdul-Rahman’s sampling of homeopathy and
Okiyama and the Hindus who visit Beemapalli testify to the pragmatism
in people’s therapy-seeking habits. People in Kerala shop around for their
therapeutic options, and while some such as Mary’s family will only engage
with secular therapies (such as ayurveda and allopathy) and religious healers
of their own faith, many cross conventional religious boundaries in search of
relief from their affl ictions.
After Abdul-Rahman described his Okiyama treatment, Biju asked him to
elaborate on his illness experience:
Biju: When your illness is intense, what is your problem? Do you get angry?Abdul-Rahman: Not angry, nothing. When I say I have illness, people at home
will say... I will say, I don’t have an illness. But people at home are terribly
“worried” about me. Since I do everything at home, they cannot bear it if I get
some problem. I cannot tolerate those sorrows. Usually when I get vishamam, I
am very restless. Sometimes I will want to lie down, and then when lying on the
bed, I will feel the urge to get up... no, not to lie down, but to sit down. I want
to sit down. When thinking about sitting down, I decide no, I want to walk.
When walking, I change my mind and want to come and sit again. When lying
on the “left side” normally one turns and lies on the “right side.” But when I am
lying on my “left side,” I will get up and lie on my “right side.”Th ese themes of indecision, restlessness and vishamam recur throughout our
discussion with Abdul-Rahman. He later explained that when he thought he
should sleep, he would be unable to and would just continue turning over in bed.
We then asked Abdul-Rahman to further explain his experience with allopa-
thy and Okiyama. When asked about his allopathic treatment, Abdul-Rahman
launched into a narrative oriented around medication, naming the diff erent
pills he took and the diff erent dosages he was given at diff erent times:
Biju: How do you “feel” when you are taking “allopathic medicine”?