Kleshas

Patanjali identifies five kleshas—fundamental psychological afflictions—as the root causes of emotional suffering and dysregulation: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego/false identification), raga (attachment/craving), dvesha (aversion/rejection), and abhinivesha (fear of death/existential anxiety). Understanding these five patterns provides a diagnostic framework for emotional difficulties. Most emotional dysregulation stems from ignorance about the true nature of self and reality, amplified by egoic identification that treats passing emotions as core identity. Attachment to pleasant experiences and aversion to unpleasant ones create the emotional turbulence we experience as anxiety, depression, and conflict. Rather than addressing symptoms, the yogic psychology of kleshas targets root causes through systematic cultivation of discriminative awareness. By recognizing how kleshas operate in our emotional lives—how ignorance distorts perception, how ego defends against vulnerability, how attachment breeds desperation—practitioners develop precise interventions. This framework transforms emotion regulation from symptom management into genuine psychological transformation by addressing fundamental misperceptions about self and reality.