Fakirs are Muslim or Hindu mendicants who recite scriptures and perform physical feats. They were originally Muslim mystics who took a vow of poverty and engaged in physical deprivation. The term has also been applied to Hindu mystics. Fakirs perform physical feats to demonstrate holiness, but critics suggest they use tricks. Despite this, many people are fascinated by the fakir community.
A fakir is a Muslim or Hindu mendicant who travels between villages reciting scriptures and performing various physical feats. In some regions, fakirs are a controversial topic, as some people consider them to be mystics with sacred powers, while others suggest they are simply magicians, using a variety of tricks to deceive people. Whether fakirs are spirit messengers or simply wizards, they have quite a mystical air to them and many people have become fascinated by the fakir community.
The term “fakir” is Arabic for “poor” and the fakirs were originally born into the Muslim Sufi community. These Muslim mystics took a vow of poverty to get closer to God by studying various Islamic texts and Sufi literature. As part of their ascetic practice, have fakirs also engage in physical deprivation and other physical ordeals such as walking on coals or being buried alive. Some fakirs also danced, sang and engaged in performances to express their religious devotion.
In India, the term has also been applied to Hindu mystics, as they too engage in various physical challenges and recite scriptures. Consequently, the term has been used to refer to practitioners in both the Muslim and Hindu traditions, although these fakirs obviously believe very different things, and their practices are consequently different. Whether Muslim or Hindu, many fakirs are capable of demonstrating amazing physical feats that have made their mendicant lifestyle famous.
There are all kinds of reasons to incorporate physical hardships and challenges into religious practice. Many religions have a tradition of asceticism that is meant to bring people closer to God, for example, while some traditions believe that physical feats are a demonstration of holiness. In these traditions, the feats of a fakir are held up as proof that God exists and that by applying oneself one can become a holy man, potentially communicating directly with God and endowed with the ability to do things that would otherwise be extremely painful, impossible or downright deadly, such as lie down on a bed of nails.
Critics of the fakir tradition have demonstrated that many of the feats performed by fakirs can be performed by anyone, with a little training. In some parts of India, groups of skeptics actually travel to the countryside in an attempt to debunk the fakirs by showing people how they perform their tricks. However, some people prefer not to know the secrets of the fakirs, much like many Westerners suspend their disbelief during magic shows, because the physical feats and sleight of hand can be simply amusing and amazing to watch.
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