Role of Clergy and Manager of Pilgrimage Caravan in Spiritual and Mental Health of Pilgrims
In the joint meeting of the professors of psychology with the representative of the Supreme Leader in matters of Hajj and pilgrimage, it was stated that the spiritual and psychological health of the pilgrims is the responsibility of the cleric and the caravan manager.
According to the Hajj Information Base, a joint meeting of psychology professors and the representative of the Supreme Leader in Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs was held with the topic of examining the fields of benefiting from this specialized field in order to increase the role-playing of the servants of Hajj in the Hajj and Pilgrimage Research Institute of Qom.
At the beginning of this meeting, Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Abdolfattah Navvab, head of Iranian pilgrims, stated that familiarity and the use of applied methods of psychological science are very useful for clerics and caravan managers, and said, "Each cleric accompanies more than a hundred pilgrims for about a month. They have been waiting for the trip and have paid a significant amount for it. Clergymen must have high behavioral and managerial ability to be able to lead this group from a spiritual and psychological point of view."
"There are pilgrims with different moods in every caravan, some of them may disturb the peace of a caravan due to behavioral problems. The cleric and caravan manager must have the ability to manage and control any possible abnormality," he added.
The Supreme Leader's representative in matters of Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs announced the presence of a character expert in the interview sessions for the selection of caravan clerics, and said, "We have tried to use character experts in the selection of clerics so that the least possible problems in the clerics can be identified and resolved. Because these clerics are supposed to be the focus of Hajj and Umrah caravans with the presence of different spiritual and intellectual tastes."
He called it necessary to hold specialized workshops on the principles of pilgrims' behavior for the clergy of the caravan and pointed to prioritizing the needs of the clergy in this regard.
In the continuation of this meeting, several psychology professors expressed their views on the use of this field in the general interactions of Hajj and pilgrimage.
One of the professors present in the meeting pointed to the inducing of anxiety and stress to pilgrims as one of the causes of behavioral problems, and said, "This issue requires behavioral correction from a scientific point of view, and the leaders and clergy of the caravan should analyze their behaviors in this regard and correct them."
He requested the representative of the Supreme Leader in matters of Hajj and Pilgrimage to include some committed psychotherapists in the medical group of Hajj and Pilgrimage during Hajj trips.
Spiritual familiarity with the pilgrims before the journey, familiarity with methods of comforting the pilgrims while performing rituals, and mastery of the spiritual and caravan manager in crisis management methods were among the other issues raised by the members present in the meeting.
Also, teaching stress management, resilience and anger control for clerics and pilgrims, selecting clerics with high social intelligence and emotional intelligence were other points raised in this meeting.
