Patanjali's five fundamental mental afflictions—avidya, asmita, raga, dvesha, abhinivesha—that generate all cognitive biases and emotional distortions.
The kleshas are Patanjali's precise map of how biases contaminate perception and generate suffering. Avidya creates false perception; asmita (ego-bias) distorts through self-importance; raga (attachment-bias) blinds toward liked objects; dvesha (aversion-bias) distorts away from disliked objects; abhinivesha (self-preservation bias) automatically protects the ego. These five root biases interact and cascade into the complete reference of cognitive distortions. Confirmation bias, availability bias, and anchoring all express one or more kleshas. In-group bias and out-group bias emerge from asmita and dvesha combined. The beauty of Patanjali's model is its parsimony—understand the five kleshas and you understand the entire machinery of bias. His yoga system directly targets the kleshas through sustained practice, not by attacking them but by developing counter-states. As the kleshas weaken through yoga, the entire cascade of cognitive biases naturally diminishes, revealing clearer perception.
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