Khomeini developed a strong attachment to his brother, which was closer than that of two typical Iranian brothers. Khomeini had a lot of respect for him and in their older ages was very concerned about his health. During the time that Khomeini was in exile, whenever he had a correspondence with his younger son, he would urge him to look after Ayatollah Pasandideh. *6 Apparently, the teacher of his first years was the brother. Ayatollah Pasandideh reports that he taught Khomeini the art of good penmanship. Looking at their handwritings, one notices the resemblance in their writing style. One should keep in mind that in our culture, especially at that time, poor handwriting was equivalent to a poor education. If one examines Khomeini's writings one can easily see that even at his very old ages, he had a very good command of Persian writing. Also, his writings rarely have any scratching on them. In other words, he would not cross out what he had written. The same phenomenon is easily detected in his speech and behavior. Obviously, he was a thoughtful man and he would think about what he wanted to say or write in advance. Therefore, there was very little modification in his writings.
During his childhood Khomeini liked to play a game that we call Shah-Vazir (king& the Prime minister). He loved to become the king and order the punishment of the other kid who had become the thief. In his childhood pictures he stands up very straight and looks cocky. Khomeini moved to the city of Qum in his teenage years. The city of Qum is a religious city and currently is the Shiite equivalent of the Vatican. In those days, if one decided to study theology he would do so in the Iraqi city of Najaf or Iranian city of Qum. It is widely reported that Khomeini was an intelligent and dedicated student. He was disciplined and regimented. There are many references to his high IQ. Considering his educated family background and his rich theological writings, one can estimate his IQ to be at superior levels.
Khomeini was far too poor to be able to marry like other men of his time. They generally would marry in their late teens or early twenties. Instead, he got married at the age of 27. As the result of this marriage, he had two sons and three daughters. He was mostly a student of a famous Ayatollah by the name of Ayatollah Borojerdi. The Ayatollah Borojerdi was quite powerful, wealthy, influential, and had the ability to keep Khomeini in check. *8
Broujerdi's orders and words carried a lot of weight. He was also able to maintain a cordial relationship with the royal family. He had noticed that Khomeini was hardheaded and had a sharp tongue with political issues. Therefore, he forbade him from getting involved in politics. I personally had met clergymen in Iran who told me that they had seen occasions in which Ayatollah Borojerdi would yell at Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him to shut up. This kind of public humiliation is quite unusual among the high-level clergymen. These stories are a manifestation of Broujerdi's power and Khomeini's respect for him, which was there as long as Borojerdi was alive. In time, Khomeini was able to finish his studies and became a Mujtahid(highest level before having enough of a following to be called an Ayatollah).
Khomeini's Condition:
Ayatollah Pasandideh (Khomeini's brother) admits that he was told that he suffered from "Vasvas.The term " Vasvas is an Arabic word, which used to explain compulsive cleaning. However, currently, mental health professionals use it as an equivalent of different varieties of obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). Since Ayatollah Pasandideh admits to his Vasvas and the fact that he was Khomeini's substitute father, one can postulate that this condition was pervasive in Khomeini's family, and that his identification with his older brother might have contributed to it. The statistical correlation on this topic is quite strong. There is 45-60% higher probability of developing OCD for the members of same family than control groups. *7
Ayatollah Khomeini's life story is a long array of different obsessions and compulsions, which affected him and all those around him. Since Khomeini was the founding father of Islamic Republic, we can see the effects of his illness on every aspect of Iranian politics today.
What is OCD&OCPD?
While OCD is an incapacitating mental condition, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a milder version of OCD, which causes a lot of problems in the person's life, but does not lead into hospitalization.
When reading the Ayatollah's life stories, which were reported by his family members and students, one is surprised by the unanimous manner in which friend and foe have explained his regimented and routine behaviors.
The primary symptoms of OCPD, are a preoccupation with details, rules, lists, order, organization, and schedules; being very rigid and inflexible in one's beliefs; showing perfectionism that interferes with completing a task; excessive focus on being productive with their time; being very conscientious; having inflexible morality, ethics, or values , hoarding items that may no longer have value, and a reluctance to trust a work assignment or task to someone else for fear that one's standards will not be met.
Some people with OCPD, though not all of them, show an obsessive need for cleanliness. Those that do not show this tendency are sometimes good at setting up systems to maintain cleanliness, but may not follow through with the need to clean because of other "more important" priorities. For example, the need to get a good grade or finish a project at work might cause the OCPD person to have a quite messy and unorganized home. But if that same person was suddenly unemployed or finished with other activities, he or she could very well start becoming obsessed with cleanliness as other activities take up less time.
There are few moral gray areas for a person with fully developed OCPD. Actions and beliefs are either completely right or absolutely wrong, with the OCPD individual always being in the right side.
Diagnostic criteria for OCPD or Anal-Retentive Personality:
In 1908, Freud named what is now known as obsessive-compulsive personality disorder an "anal retentive character. "In case of Khomeini due to his perpetual hidden high levels of aggression we can call him Anal Sadistic as well.
According to the DSMIV-TR the diagnostic criteria for anal-retentive personality or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are as follows:
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