The five kleshas (afflictions) identify fundamental cognitive-emotional distortions: ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear—the source of all psychological suffering.
Patanjali identifies five kleshas (afflictions or obstacles): avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego-identification), raga (attachment/craving), dvesha (aversion/hatred), and abhinivesha (fear of death/existential anxiety). These five constitute the root level of all psychological distortion and suffering. Every specific cognitive distortion—catastrophizing, personalization, black-and-white thinking—branches from these fundamental kleshas. Avidya, fundamental ignorance about reality's true nature, generates misperceptions about yourself and the world. Asmita creates identity-based distortions. Raga perpetuates distortions that justify seeking desired outcomes. Dvesha maintains distortions that justify avoiding feared outcomes. Abhinivesha generates existential anxiety-based distortions. Understanding the kleshas shifts cognitive work from simply changing individual distorted thoughts to addressing their root causes. Rather than endlessly patching individual distortions, you work upstream, dissolving the fundamental misperceptions that generate them all. This systemic understanding explains why some people change one distortion only to develop another: without addressing root kleshas, new distortions naturally arise. Patanjali's framework provides a diagnostic map for comprehensive cognitive transformation.
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