Patanjali's five kleshas (afflictions) reveal the foundational misconceptions that fragment consciousness and drive the creation of protective and exiled parts.
The kleshas are Patanjali's description of five fundamental afflictions or distortions that cloud consciousness: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego-attachment), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death/dissolution). These are not sins but misunderstandings about the nature of self and reality that create suffering and fragmentation. In parts work terms, the kleshas describe the fundamental wounds and beliefs that cause the original system split. A child exposed to overwhelm develops avidya (doesn't understand what's happening), creates asmita (an exaggerated self-protective identity), and develops raga and dvesha (desperate attachment to safety, aversion to threat), leading to abhinivesha (existential fear). These afflictions create and perpetuate the protective-exiled pattern. Patanjali's framework shows that healing requires addressing not just symptoms but these root misunderstandings. In IFS, we do this by helping parts understand what actually happened, updating their protective beliefs, and releasing the existential terror that binds them. The kleshas framework validates that fragmentation has deep roots while offering a systematic understanding of them.
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