A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF PIRI-MURIDI

Piri-Muridi is a socio-psychological phenomenon that is deeply rooted in our region. The current study is an endeavor to explore the various reasons that compel people to visit Pirs (holy men) with special socio-psychological perspective within Pakistani society. To accomplish this objective, 431 participants were recruited from various areas of the country. Individuals belonged to different educational backgrounds and had diverse professional statuses. The participation of men was (n = 218) and that of women was (n = 195). Age of participants ranged from 18 to 73 years (M = 30.38, SD = 10.74). It was found by the study that participants visit Pirs for learning and acquiring guidance (33.41%), also for the clarification of everyday life problems (29.78%). In the category of learning and guidance, 42.13% participants stated that it is the attainment of religious education that people acquire from Pirs. 38.74% reported that people visit Pirs for getting spiritual education. While 14.77% participants reported that it is the need to gain worldly education and less than 2% people reported that it is not the attainment of education or guidance that people seek from Pirs, rather it is black magic that people learn to harm others. Among the category of clarification of problems, the highest frequency was reported for curing of spiritual problems (54.47%) followed by social problems (33.65%), economic problems (32.44%), psychological problems (29.78%) and health related problems (28.08%) respectively. Interview reporting by Murids (n =5), strong believers (n =5), situational believers (n = 5), and non-believers of Piri-Muridi (n =5) were also given. The present study is useful for making the theoretical foundations for future studies. Moreover, future researchers should utilize both qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore the widespread roots of Piri-Muridi.