Patanjali's five kleshas (ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, fear of death) form the root psychological structure that trauma exploits and perpetuates.
The kleshas are five fundamental mental afflictions that Patanjali identifies as the source of all suffering: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death). Trauma doesn't create these patterns but intensifies and weaponizes them. A person with PTSD experiences profound ignorance about their own resilience, ego fragmentation, desperate attachments to safety, intense aversion to triggers, and heightened death anxiety. Healing trauma requires systematically addressing each klesha. Ignorance is dispelled through understanding the mind's nature; ego is released through self-inquiry; attachments are examined and loosened; aversions are processed through somatic practices; death fear is contextualized through philosophical inquiry. This comprehensive model prevents superficial trauma treatment that addresses symptoms without touching root causes. By working with the kleshas, individuals access liberation rather than mere symptom management, creating lasting transformation.
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