Kleshas

Patanjali identifies five kleshas (afflictions or obstructions): avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death/resistance). These aren't moral failings but psychological mechanisms that distort perception and generate emotional reactivity. Avidya, fundamental ignorance about reality, leads to all other emotional disturbances. From avidya flows asmita, the ego's false belief in separation, which triggers raga (grasping) and dvesha (rejecting). This framework reveals that emotional dysregulation typically stems from one or more kleshas operating unconsciously. Your anxiety might reveal abhinivesha (resistance to change), your anger might expose dvesha toward a person, your depression might indicate raga (excessive attachment to an outcome). By identifying which kleshas drive your emotional patterns, you address root causes rather than managing surface symptoms. This diagnostic precision allows targeted practice: working with specific mental afflictions through appropriate yogic and psychological techniques for genuine transformation.