CAUSES OF HYSTERIA

Acetana. Cit + lyut́ = cetana. By adding the negation a it becomes acetana. The root cit means “to perceive”, “to discriminate”, “to cogitate”, “to contemplate”. (By adding the suffix kta after the root cit we get the word citta.) The word cetana is used in different senses. It means one “who has awakened”, “who is alive”, “who has developed intellect”, “who is spiritually awakened”, “who is discriminating”, “whose power of judgement is developed”, and so forth. Although the word cetana has many meanings, normally we use it in three ways. Needless to say, we also use acetana primarily in three ways.

If for any reason, in the world of physicality, the nerve fibres are injured and due to this the nerve cells lose their normal ability to function, then that temporary loss of function we refer to in colloquial Bengali as ajiṋána haye yaoyá [becoming unconscious], or jiṋána háráno (becoming senseless), for which the word acetana is also used. In many cases the nerve cells, rather than the nerve fibres, receive a blow. If the mind is agitated by some extremely pleasurable or extremely painful event, it can cause a psychic stupor which prevents the nerve fibres from functioning normally. As a result, the person becomes senseless. For this reason, one should not break any very painful or very pleasurable news to a person suddenly. It should be done slowly, step by step. The nerve fibres also⁽¹⁾ should not be given any sudden, heavy blow. One should be socially considerate in this regard.

If an unmarried woman suffers humiliation by relatives and neighbours over a long period of time, then that suppressed mental suffering can one day affect her nerve cells and render her senseless or take the form of a disease. This is commonly called hysteria. If the cause of suffering is removed then the disease also disappears. In those societies where the remarriage of widows is forbidden hysteria is common for this very reason. In colloquial Bengali we call this phit́ haoyá [fainting].

One should keep in mind that spirit possession and fainting are not the same thing. In possession a person mumbles incoherently. In this case he or she does not or cannot control his or her mental pabula and expresses his or her mind without any awareness of time, place or person. Hysteria is different.

Anyway, hysteria is a form of acetanatá [senselessness]. Epilepsy is also transmitted from the psychic level, that is, from the nerve cells to the nerve fibres. But this disease, hysteria, first occurs in the nerve fibres and then agitates the nerve cells. After this, it remains imprinted in the nerve cells as a psychic disease and expresses itself in a particular place and time. These are the different kinds of senselessness that we observe or find in the mundane world.

Epilepsy arises when a person comes in sudden contact with some thing or some event completely outside the realm of his or her experience. Through proper counselling, attacks of this disease can be checked and through psychic treatment along with the use of small amounts of medicine the disease can be treated. Anyhow, in all the above cases we use the word acetana.

Footnotes

(1) They, like the nerve cells, are susceptible to a psychic blow. –Trans.