Samvega

20. Enlightenment Milestones
1

Namaste All :grin:
I did a site search for the word “samvega” and nothing came up. So I figured I would start a thread on what Samvega is and see if anyone is interested in dicussing it.
Samvega is a Buddhist concept (I believe)…here is the definition:
“The oppressive sense of shock, dismay and alienation that come with realizing the futility and meaningless of life as it’s normally lived; a chastening sense of our own complacency and foolishness in having let ourselves live so blindly; and an anxious sense of urgency in trying to find a way out of the meaningless cycle”.
All 3 clusters of these feelings are felt at the same time during a Samvega experience. Here are a few symptoms that come along with experiencing Samvega:

  1. A puzzling failure of previous sources of satisfaction
  2. A heightened concern with authenticity
  3. A deeply felt internal imperative to stop business as usual
  4. A sense of urgency about realizing deeply hidden talents and gifts
  5. A call to explore a path that might give transcendent meaning to the enigmas of life.
    I know that I personally had a “samvega” experience in February 2005. It was a defining moment (actually 3 days) in my life. It started with me trying to commit suicide and continued (once I was unsuccessful) with a solid three days of crying (no eating no sleeping) while locked in the psych ward of a hospital, ending with the most profound silence I had ever felt (at that point in my life). During that time of Silence I realized that this state of Being was where I wanted to live from for the rest of my life and that I would do whatever was necessary to stay in/get back to that point. This was the beginning of my search for “enlightenment.” I believe that a lot of people have “samvega” experiences but that usually (in this society) they are called “mid-life crisis’”. I can’t know this (as my “mid-life crisis” came long before “mid life” [I was only 24]) but I have a suspicion that this is essentially what people who are going through what is often termed as a “mid life crisis” are experiencing. Anyone gone through a mid-life crisis and is willing to comment on whether the definition of samvega fits with your experience?
    Love!
    :+1:
2

Hi Carson:
It is interesting to see what age demographic has the greatest viewership of AYP Youtube videos – mid-life:
http://www.aypsite.org/images/AYP-YouTube.jpg
Sooner is obviously preferred, but it is never too late! :slight_smile:
The guru is in you.

3

HI Yogani,
61000 views seems like a very impressive number?!

4

Hi Anthem:
That was for 2009. It is over 90,000 views now, with similar age and gender distribution.
The 2009 Youtube demographics link was pulled from here: http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4975
The guru is in you.

5

Thank you for the open heart sharing brother Carson, it made my heart melt.

6

Hey Carson,
I’ve never heard the term “samvega” before. Sounds like a Street Fighter character to me.
But the description matches an experience I had in 2002. Funny, I was also 24 at the time. I called it a “spiritual awakening” at the time, and that just confused people. It was a moment of deep silence and beauty, during a very dark and desperate point in my life.
I believe this was samvega because it was the major turning point in my life. It was also sandwiched between a very desperate prayer to God (last resort - I was an atheist) and my discovery of yoga. Two years into yoga, I discovered AYP and the rest is history :wink:
Also, reading your description of samvega, the thought occurred to me that the world/society seems to be going through it right now. It looks like humanity is having a collective samvega experience. At least I hope that’s what it is. Because I don’t see a way out of this except through a massive awakening.
With Love
cosmic

7

I’m in a permanent samvega! :grin: