VISITING HOLY SHRINES

A SURVEY TO ASSESS THE COMMON REASONS BY DEVOTEES IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background: There are frequent visits of the devotees to the holy shrines mainly for the purpose of mental healing. The people with various beliefs and religions attribute divine powers to the graves of their saints. This study surveyed the purpose of the visits to shrines, their beneficial effects, and also the sanctity violated by drug addicts and others. Objectives: 1) To assess the common reasons of visiting holy shrines. 2) To determine the use / misuse of these visits. Methodology: Study Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: One most commonly visited shrine in Karachi. Duration of Study: 01-06-2008 to 30-07-2008. Sample size: 120 visitors. Inclusion Criteria: Visitors of 20 years age or older, who consented to participate. Exclusion Criteria: Visitors of less than 20 years age and who did not agree to participate. Results: Total number of study subjects was 120, with male to female ratio of 58:42. Their age varied from 20 to 80 years. They belonged to various socioeconomic and ethnic groups with varying educational level. Majority of the visitors come frequently. The purpose of visits included reward (swab), poverty, domestic problems, infertility, ill health, in addition to see lovers to have an access to commercial sex workers and narcotics Some devotees had a mishap during the visit. Conclusion: Most of the visitors come for mental healing and relaxation with the hope of getting
solutions for their problems, and a few use these sacred places for their wrong doings.