Kleshas: The Five Afflictions and Emotional Patterns

The five kleshas—avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego/false identity), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death/change)—represent Patanjali's map of human psychological suffering. These are not character flaws but natural patterns of an untrained mind, yet they generate all psychological distress. Asmita reflects CBT's work with rigid self-concepts; raga and dvesha underlie approach-avoidance patterns in anxiety and addiction; abhinivesha manifests in resistance to change and intolerance of uncertainty. Understanding the kleshas provides a coherent framework for recognizing how different diagnoses share common roots. A client with social anxiety, depression, and perfectionism may be dominated by different combinations of these five patterns. By studying Patanjali's kleshas, CBT practitioners gain philosophical sophistication about the universal human patterns they're addressing. The framework normalizes suffering as a natural consequence of how minds function without training, reducing pathologization. Patanjali teaches that these patterns can be identified, observed, and gradually loosened through systematic practice—exactly what CBT accomplishes through thought monitoring, behavioral experiments, and values clarification.