The kleshas—ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear of loss—are the five root afflictions that Patanjali identifies as the source of all suffering, including relational dysfunction.
Patanjali's framework of the five kleshas (afflictions or obstacles) provides a diagnosis for attachment dysfunction. Avidya (ignorance) is the root: not seeing your partner clearly but projecting past wounds onto them. Asmita (ego) creates rigidity: "I'm right, you're wrong," preventing genuine dialogue. Raga (attachment/craving) manifests as anxious clinging and enmeshment. Dvesha (aversion) appears as avoidant withdrawal and contempt. Abhinivesha (fear of loss) generates possessive control and catastrophizing. These five operate simultaneously in troubled relationships, each reinforcing the others. An anxiously attached person experiences all five: ignorance about their partner's actual nature, ego defending their narrative, craving for reassurance, aversion to abandonment feelings, and terror of loss. Patanjali teaches that recognizing these afflictions without judgment is the first step to freedom. In couples work, identifying which kleshas dominate each partner's psychology opens possibilities for compassion and targeted transformation, moving from unconscious reactivity toward conscious relating grounded in clear seeing.
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