Klesha: The Five Afflictions Blocking Parts Cooperation

Patanjali identifies five kleshas (afflictions or distortions) that obscure clear seeing: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego-identification), raga (attachment/craving), dvesha (aversion/rejection), and abhinivesha (fear of death). These are not moral failings but fundamental patterns that cloud consciousness and drive all suffering. In Internal Family Systems, the kleshas explain why parts remain trapped in their protective strategies. A firefighter part stuck in addiction operates from raga—craving and attachment to the numbing sensation. A protector part driven by perfectionism is caught in asmita—identification with a particular superior identity. Exiled parts often embody avidya—they remain ignorant of their own truth because the system has forbidden them consciousness. Patanjali's teaching reveals that parts aren't broken; they're operating from fundamental perceptual distortions. When you understand this, your compassion deepens. The work becomes helping each part see more clearly, release false identifications, and access the wisdom that lies beneath these afflictions. By naming and working with the kleshas, you address not just symptoms but the root patterns that keep your internal family in conflict.