Moved to such a point that we can’t help but get our eyes wet. Feeling your skin crawl as you notice a pleasant chill as you feel proud and loved. Noticing warmth in the chest when we attend a social event with other people…
All these situations that can hardly be described with words in our language They have their expression in Sanskrit: kama muta This emotion is universal, transcends cultures and manifests equally everywhere, being the physiological manifestation of being moved.
Below we will try to understand the meaning of such a curious expression, in what situations we could say that we feel kama muta and what its characteristics are.
What is kama muta?
Defining what kama muta is is not an easy task since there is no word in any other language that accurately translates what expression means in Sanskrit. In its original language it comes to mean something like “feeling moved” or “being moved by love”, although this definition is rather brief given that this idea of “love” connects with something much deeper, positive and pleasant in the human being.
Kama muta is a vital, international emotion that transcends cultures, genders and ways of thinking Those who have begun to study it assure that it is the most intense universal emotion, a feeling that defines that moment in which we feel full of affection, surprise or admiration towards something or someone. It can appear in multiple contexts and can move us, touch our hearts, feel group pride, feel connected to others, feel patriotism, nostalgia…
We could describe kama muta as that moment in which something makes us feel good inside, makes us emanate a warmth deep in our chest. It feels like we are being embraced emotionally. It is a brief but very intense sensation, so much so that it remains marked in our memory. Although it is related to love, it does not mean “falling in love”, in fact, it transcends emotional relationships but it is of social origin.
This emotion It does not arise in solitude but occurs when there is an event in which several people are involved, whether they are just two or a group, and it can even occur in the company of animals. These individuals suddenly inspire us and move us to such a point that we feel a kind of pleasant chill, our skin gets goosebumps and we feel our eyes begin to water as a small tear escapes.
Characteristics of this emotion
Although this emotion has only recently begun to be addressed scientifically, studies have agreed that it is a universal emotion since has the same physiological manifestation throughout the world, regardless of what culture we were raised in. The physical sensations that we can feel when kama muta is given are:
It is an emotion that appears in social contexts and It is usually related to positive and pleasant moments Its appearance helps us connect with other people and seems to be key in the development of a sense of belonging in groups and, also, in social phenomena such as a peaceful demonstration or protest. It encourages us to start new things by feeling this exciting mix of admiration, hope, affection and joy.
Experts such as Alan Fiske, professor of anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles, consider that kama muta is an emotion that could motivate people to unite with each other, to help those who are disadvantaged and to join together in transcendental social projects It is an emotion that moves us to something more than love, rather to compassion, to the concept of humanity with all its letters.
Among the characteristics that define kama muta we can highlight that it is a prosocial emotion, which occurs due to the sudden intensification of social exchange, especially due to the appearance of sudden love and kindness. This appearance is brief, at most two minutes, although it can be repeated throughout the same “loving” event and is always experienced in a positive way, although it can also arise in negative situations, suspecting that it could be behind group membership in harmful situations such as a sect.
In what contexts does it occur?
As we have seen, kama muta is closely related to love, although it is not exactly the same While love is a lasting and more or less constant feeling, kama muta is a momentary emotion, which barely lasts a moment, but occurs when love is experienced. It doesn’t matter whether the love that creates it is romantic, religious or platonic and can be towards a person, a family, a group of people or even humanity at its maximum extent. Taking this into account we can understand that there are countless situations in which this emotion can occur.
Let’s see a list of situations in which it may appear being both situations related to the emergence of a new love and the manifestation of one that already has its history:
The emotion of human connection
Due to its recent scientific approach, kama muta is not yet fully known, although it is worth highlighting the work of the reference body in its study: the kama muta lab. This organization is responsible for compiling worldwide research that addresses this emotion that, despite being inherently human, has gone unnoticed by Western psychologists for so long.
As with the rest of the emotions, kama muta helps us adapt socially In the same way that happiness, sadness or anger motivate us to behave in a certain way, which is supposed to help us overcome the situation in which we find ourselves adequately, kama muta causes us a reaction which is that of helping us connect with other human beings and, it can also happen, with pets or the idea of Mother Earth.
What moves us, be it our partner, child, neighbor, dog, or even a person who until recently was our enemy, leaves us with an important emotional imprint. This imprint is not metaphorical, there really is a change in our way of perceiving what we feel compassion and affection for, creating a bond or strengthening the one that already existed, something fundamental in contexts as crude as a marital breakup, a war or being a victim of a crime. There is no forgiveness if there is no compassion, and kama muta could help in the process.
So the kama muta could be the key to psychological well-being in difficult situations, seemingly unsolvable situations in which those involved are so at odds that it seems there will never be a happy ending. But, fortunately, human beings are still a wonderful being and the discovery of kama muta proves it. A connection so intense and pleasant that, however brief it may be, fixes what seems to be condemned to be broken.
