Klesha

The kleshas are the five afflictions or root causes of suffering identified in the Yoga Sutras. They are: avidya (ignorance of our true nature), asmita (ego or false identification), raga (attachment to pleasure), dvesha (aversion to pain), and abhinivesha (fear of death/clinging to life).

Avidya is the root klesha from which the others grow. When we don’t know our true nature as pure consciousness, we identify with the body-mind (asmita), which leads to chasing what we like (raga), avoiding what we dislike (dvesha), and fearing dissolution (abhinivesha).

The kleshas operate at different levels: dormant (prasupta), attenuated (tanu), interrupted (vichchhinna), and fully active (udara). Yoga practice progressively weakens the kleshas until they are reduced to seeds (dagdha bija) that cannot sprout.