PANAJI: The group of men and women gathered around Abbe Faria’s statue in Panaji, shouting the strange phrase “Kator re baji, hi sogli baji” (They are all vegetables, cut the vegetables) raised quite a few eyebrows . The average passer-by may not be aware of the words Faria’s father whispered to him more than 200 years ago, to help him shake-off his stage fright, but fans of this iconic Goan know that this phrase was what sparked the journey that would lead to Faria being hailed the ‘father of hypnotism’ .
With the light fading on September 20, the small group stood below Faria on the pedestal with his hands outstretched, for a photo session - to begin the lone tribute in his homeland on his 200th death anniversary.
While successive governments have largely ignored Jose Custodio de Faria, better known as Abade Faria, Friday was no different.
Third Millenium Foundation(TMF), a voluntary organisation, seemed to rekindle his memory in hosting a commemorative event to celebrate Faria’s life. On his 250th birth anniversary on May 31, 2006, a citizens group had held a similar celebration.
As the group later trooped into a small hall at the venue nearby, various speakers lamented Faria’s neglect in his native land.
“He was a national icon, but he has not been duly honoured. This function itself could have been in a bigger space and with more participation,” noted writer Damodar Mauzo said.
The statue’s location is in a very historic square of Panaji, between the Adil Shah palace, Mhamai Kamat ancestral house and the Clube Nacionale, once the city’s cultural hub, Edith Melo Furtado, former associate professor at Goa University said.
Melo who recounted the significant landmarks in Faria’s life said, “If there was no Abade Faria, there would be no Count of Monte Cristo.”
Abbe figures as an important character along with the main one in the Alexandre Dumas novel, a world classic.
Faria’s bravery in facing life’s adversities and his scientific temperament despite being a priest, came in for praise from well-known psychiatrist, Dr Rajendra Hegde. “Inspite of adversities—and this should inspire our youth— he managed to reach his goal,” he said.
Hegde said that the government should set up an institute of hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and counseling in Abbe’s maternal home in Candolim, which the government has converted into an orphanage.
Fr Mousinho Athaide, an expert in canon law said that psychiatry as a medical science had not developed enough during Faria’s time and he faced harsh criticism for his revolutionary ideas. “When he offered hypnotism as a third option to devotion and superstitious practices, he was attacked by practitioners of both sections,” he said. Faria was the first to publish that hypnotherapy worked through the ‘power of suggestion’, rather than the unscientific ‘animal magnetism’ theory.
“Despite his discovery of hypnotism, Faria has not been duly credited. An encycopaedia brought out by Goa University fails to mention him,” he said.
Speaking about the TMF agenda, managing trustee Oscar de Noronha, said developing civic awareness among our people is a priority. “Remembering the dead is a civic duty. One cannot fast forward into the future without revisiting the past,” he said.
With the light fading on September 20, the small group stood below Faria on the pedestal with his hands outstretched, for a photo session - to begin the lone tribute in his homeland on his 200th death anniversary.
While successive governments have largely ignored Jose Custodio de Faria, better known as Abade Faria, Friday was no different.
Third Millenium Foundation(TMF), a voluntary organisation, seemed to rekindle his memory in hosting a commemorative event to celebrate Faria’s life. On his 250th birth anniversary on May 31, 2006, a citizens group had held a similar celebration.
As the group later trooped into a small hall at the venue nearby, various speakers lamented Faria’s neglect in his native land.
“He was a national icon, but he has not been duly honoured. This function itself could have been in a bigger space and with more participation,” noted writer Damodar Mauzo said.
The statue’s location is in a very historic square of Panaji, between the Adil Shah palace, Mhamai Kamat ancestral house and the Clube Nacionale, once the city’s cultural hub, Edith Melo Furtado, former associate professor at Goa University said.
Melo who recounted the significant landmarks in Faria’s life said, “If there was no Abade Faria, there would be no Count of Monte Cristo.”
Abbe figures as an important character along with the main one in the Alexandre Dumas novel, a world classic.
Faria’s bravery in facing life’s adversities and his scientific temperament despite being a priest, came in for praise from well-known psychiatrist, Dr Rajendra Hegde. “Inspite of adversities—and this should inspire our youth— he managed to reach his goal,” he said.
Hegde said that the government should set up an institute of hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and counseling in Abbe’s maternal home in Candolim, which the government has converted into an orphanage.
Fr Mousinho Athaide, an expert in canon law said that psychiatry as a medical science had not developed enough during Faria’s time and he faced harsh criticism for his revolutionary ideas. “When he offered hypnotism as a third option to devotion and superstitious practices, he was attacked by practitioners of both sections,” he said. Faria was the first to publish that hypnotherapy worked through the ‘power of suggestion’, rather than the unscientific ‘animal magnetism’ theory.
“Despite his discovery of hypnotism, Faria has not been duly credited. An encycopaedia brought out by Goa University fails to mention him,” he said.
Speaking about the TMF agenda, managing trustee Oscar de Noronha, said developing civic awareness among our people is a priority. “Remembering the dead is a civic duty. One cannot fast forward into the future without revisiting the past,” he said.
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