Urban mysticism: Alienation, existential mediation, and the appeal of Sufism-based self-help programs in contemporary Sofia, Bulgaria

George Konstantinov Hristovitch, Purdue University

Abstract

Over the last several decades, the practices and philosophy of Sufi mystics from former Soviet Republics Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have spread into Russian society, and from there to much of Eastern Europe. Through the efforts of individuals such as Mirzakarim Sanakulovich Norbekov, Sufism-based self-help programs have become one of the most popular forms of alternative healing and self-development in the region. The teachings of this group have blended with Western-based alternative healing and self-help literature and groups, entering the region after the fall of Communism, forming a new cultural scene. I investigate the Sofia, Bulgaria, branch of Norbekov's network of clubs, themselves spanning all over Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Specifically, I explore what these mysticism-based self-improvement groups offer their members that allows such organizations to prosper regardless of the general marginalization of mysticism in popular discourse, and their relatively limited resources, prestige, and other forms of influence. My findings indicate that mysticism-based groups seem to provide potent tools for existential mediation, allowing members to manage feelings of alienation generated by the exigencies of contemporary life. In particular, the phenomenologically and existentially concerned aspects of mysticism could be fostering the creation of individual identities that combine a discursive self, a self as an existentially committed and self-aware observer, and a phenomenologically grounded self, leading to an approach to life that may function satisfactorily in a contemporary urban environment. Some consequences of this appear to be: an improved ability to manage general anxiety and existential dilemmas; an increased appreciation of various lived experiences; a greater emphasis on intrinsic motivation and a reduction in the perceived authority of large-scale impersonal culture, institutions, and bureaucracies; improved social interactions, and increased assertiveness in particular; and a moderation of behaviors such as compulsive consumerism, and other often anxiety-driven aspects of present-day life that tend to fuel alienation and globalization.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Buckser, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Cultural anthropology

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