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The power to charm and cure

"Abbe Faria, The Master Hypnotist who Charmed Napoleon" commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Father of Hypnotism

HYPNOTISED! The statue of Abbe Faria in Panaji as seen on the book cover

The title is sure to arouse interest. You don't come across "The Master Hypnotist Who Charmed Napoleon", every other day. Diogo Mesana Fernandes's book (published by Ritana) on Abbe Faria is a complete biography of a fascinating man.

In India the only tribute to him is a statue in his home state of Goa. The statue depicts a man with penetrating gaze and authoritative hands standing over a woman frozen in a reclining position. The statue is a tribute to the man credited with discovering a scientific explanation for hypnotism.

But as the author writes, "All over Europe, Abbe Faria is being acknowledged as the `Father of Hypnotism' but in the land of his birth, India, he remains virtually unknown."

In the 250th year of Faria's birth, this book attempts to remind the world of his contribution.

The book is divided into three parts. The first deals with the life of Abbe Faria in a readable and interesting style. Part two, `The Contemporary World' details the associations of other historical figures with Faria. Part three, `Reincarnation and the Human Soul' uses a single's man story to ask the larger religious and spiritual questions.

Long labour

In the Capital recently, from Macau, for the release, author Fernandes spoke about his book. Straining to hear after a long air flight, he said he took 26 years to compile this book. He found it very difficult to collect material from French and Portuguese sources.

Explaining the nature of hypnotism, Fernandes said, "It's putting a person to sleep and accessing his subconscious, while keeping his logical mind away."

"Could it be curative?" He replied, "When you access the mind through the higher self, the higher self tells you what prescription is required for your illness." Asked if there is a contradiction between Christian beliefs and a belief in reincarnation, he replied simply, "Read the book to find out!"

He writes, "Reincarnation is the evolution of spirit. The evolution of the spirit of man, through many successive lifetimes finally reaches to perfection like that of Christ."

The book is interesting in its serendipitous appearances of historical figures. Faria's gift to Napoleon, a French translation of a Chinese manuscript, "The Art of War" fell into the hands of Dwight Eisenhower, the American President. Later, Richard Nixon asked Premier of the People's Republic of China Zhou Enlai about the same manuscript.

Alexander Dumas cast Faria as the monk in "The Count of Monte Cristo".

Figures from history make causal and fascinating appearances in the book.

Fernandes draws upon a variety of sources. He reproduces a speech of theosophist Krishnamurthi given in 1948 about Faria.

He even accesses articles written by Abbe Faria and other unpublished manuscripts found in his house.

NANDINI NAIR

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