Letter # 106: "Lunacy"

Luna Lovegood is a slightly “loony” but loveable character in the magical Harry Potter novels of J.K. Rowling.
Lovegood's first name is born from affection, but calling someone a lunatic nowadays is derogatory. It wasn’t always so. Wikipedia tells of the Lunacy Act (1845) of England, which act improved the status of the mentally ill from prisoners to patients.
Have you ever wondered why the word lunar, which pertains to the moon, became associated with mind? Lunar comes from the 2,000 year old Latin word luna, meaning moon. Luna was name of the Roman goddess of the moon. By 1290, the word lunatic came to mean "affected with periodic insanity, dependent on the changes of the moon." Other associated terms are "moon-struck" and "moon-sick" which are are to do with temper, humor, moods, whims, and fancies.
The phrase "lunatic person" was first recorded 1377, according to the Online Dictionary.
The ancient Greek word seleniazomai meant to be "be epileptic," from the word selene, the moon.
The Bible speaks of the moon in conjunction with festivities, not mind: “Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed feasts and New Moon festivals—you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the LORD your God." [Numbers 10:10].
Likewise, the Holy Koran speaks of the moon in many verses but none in relation to mind, to my knowledge. “He makes … the sun and moon for the reckoning (of time).” [6:96].
But Latin, Greek, the Bible or the Koran still offer no clues of the connection between mind and moon. By contrast, the 5,000 year old Vedas do. These latter texts are the most ancient sources of the connection between moon and mind: “O Lord, … the god of the moon is your mind …” SB 8.7.27.
When it comes to mental illness, we generally become overwhelmed with embarrassment, shame and stigma. Even the best of our philosophers have expressed contrary views on the lunatic asylum, an outdated term for a psychiatric hospital. The German philosopher, Neitszche (1844 - 1900), said “A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.” The English psychologist, Havelock Ellis(1859 - 1939), saw more hope: “The place where optimism flourishes the most is the lunatic asylum.”
Serious mental disorders aside, the greatest part of our “modern day lunacy” comes from stress. Stress makes us “loony” and brings many ills. What is the cure?
Guru Nanak sings of the supreme remedy: “Anik upavai rog(u) na jae; Rog(u) mitai Har(i) avkhadh(u) lae”, which means “The malady which cannot be cured by many remedies can be cured by the medicine of God’s name.” [SS Asht 19. P 193].
You can click also here for more tips on relieving stress.

God Bless; Allah Hu Akbar; May The Forces Of The Universe Bring You Harmony; Hare Krishna; Radha-Swami; and Nanak Naam Chardi Kala Tere Bhane Sarbat Dha Bhalla.


I wish to express my gratitude for your comments, which inspire me to carry on writing. Please forgive my fallibilities in presenting this material. Also, feel free to send this message on to someone that you might think would like to receive it. If you do send it on, my only request of you is that you send it as it is, in its entirety, and to not alter or modify any of the text, references or authorship information. Thus you will help to give credit or liability to where they are properly due.
Jas Bhopal
Copyright© 2008
References: "The Holy Bible" Online version; "The Koran" as translated by SV Mir Ahmed Ali 2005 ISBN 0-9761870-0-0); "The Bhagavad Gita As it Is" as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN 0-89213-268-X; The Srimad Bhagavatum as translated by Srila Prabhupada ISBN0-89213-259-0; "I Am That. Talks With Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj” ISBN 0-89386-022-0; The Dhammapada ISBN-10:1-84483-344-5; The Sacred Sukhmani ISBN 81-7205-098-4; Wikipedia.