Patanjali's five kleshas (afflictions) reveal the underlying psychological mechanisms—ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear—that perpetuate addictive behavior.
Patanjali identifies five fundamental kleshas (afflictions): avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death). These form the psychological substrate of addiction. Avidya manifests as not understanding addiction's true consequences; asmita as identifying with addict identity; raga as clinging to the pleasure of substances; dvesha as using substances to avoid pain; and abhinivesha as using addiction to deny mortality. By understanding addiction through the lens of the kleshas, treatment becomes multi-layered. One addresses not just the substance but the underlying ignorance, ego-investment, fear, and avoidance patterns sustaining it. A comprehensive recovery approach following Patanjali's framework would target all five afflictions: gaining knowledge about addiction (avidya), disidentifying from addict identity (asmita), examining attachment to substance rewards (raga), directly facing avoided emotions (dvesha), and contemplating mortality and meaning (abhinivesha).
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