The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are a sacred grouping of texts that provide the guiding light for, in my terms, how to be a good human being. It’s well known that the text was written in 500BCE and is one of the oldest texts in the world of yoga. The Yoga Sutras outline several obstacles that would get in one’s way to enlightenment. This is about The Kleshas.
To be very concise, the kleshas can be defined as afflictions or defects that would prevent someone from going towards their spiritual path.
The five kleshas are associated with the somatic body (physical), psychosomatic (brain-body connection), psychic (mind) and somatopsychic (body-mind connection). The difference between psychosomatic and somatopsychic are that psychosomatic would be seeing someone yawn and then yawning yourself. You aren’t tired, but you saw it happen and it triggered the physical response in your body. Somatopsychic can be defined as thinking of something hypothetical, for instance, witnessing someone getting hit by a car, and the physical response to this imagery. Your heart rate would increase, maybe your face would become flushed, you might even start to cry at the thought, however, it’s not real. It’s imagined. It didn’t happen.
Here are the five kleshas and their descriptions:
Avidya: Known as ignorance or incorrect seeing, this is noted as the first of the five kleshas or the root. This could be known as a misperception of reality or really, not accepting things for what they are at face value. The ignorance that is mentioned here in avidya is ignorance that can be cured by a dedicated introspective yoga practice and meditation.
Asmita: Asmita means ego at it’s core, the suffering or obstacle comes when the the ego is overvalued. There is a distorted vision or outward appearance than what The [true] Self is, and this gets in the way of reality. To be very clear, this can be a misidentification of The Self. You are you, you are not your job, your partner’s spouse, your years of education or any of these other adjectives. They may be what you actively pursue daily, but they are not your personality or Self.
Raga: Another name for attachment, raga is the hurdle or frustration we experience when the outcome didn’t match what we thought was going to happen. It’s the root of the phrase “Keep expectations reasonable,” as long as there are little to no expectation, there will be no let down. The let down is the obstacle here since it’s not pleasing or we were hoping for a different/better outcome.
Dvesa: This is the direct opposite of raga. If raga is attachment, dvesa is rejection or avoidance. Someone who is trying to avoid raga could maybe act aloof and uninterested or even reject success thinking that not attaining it would cause suffering. The lack of action and rejection is the obstacle here.
Abhinivesa: This final kleshas is denying that death is inevitable. Fearing death creates an unnecessary suffering - this will cause us to grip on to moments, or perhaps miss out on opportunities because of fear. Not experiencing life fully would be the obstacle here.
Fortunately, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali explain that to overcome these obstacles, a thrive and zest for life and action is necessary. Full throttle ahead, take in everything for what it is, or what it has to offer at first glance. Death is inevitable, make the ride bumpy and keep expectations reasonable.
A great way to facilitate this mindset is through your daily meditation practice. Just 15 minutes devoted to self care and reflection can bring you closer to your true intentions and true self.
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