Kleshas- The impurities of mind

Have you ever paused to contemplate why the experience of pain varies from person to person?
Why some people find it arduous to go through the same pain whereas some people sail through
that pain quite easily? Is it possible to identify the pain and its root cause and get rid of it once for
and all? These questions keep on surfacing in my mind throughout my lifetime, prompt me to
explore the roots of pain and comprehend the strategies to manage and conquer it. Eventually, I
realized that one should learn to embrace the pain as the part of life because it can show up anytime
and intrude your happy or joyous moments. Do you have also experienced the same thing? If yes,
lets dig into deeper and understand in a very simple language what is it and what are the root causes
of the pain and how one can learn to conquer it.

It’s quite intriguing to know that a human mind undergoes approximately 60,000 staggering thoughts
in a day? Have you ever wondered the origin of these thoughts? Eventually, I realized that with every
sensory experience our mind dives into similar kind of memory related to it in past and soon our
mind starts wandering with those memories, the feelings/emotions attached to that memory and it
keeps on wandering unless it gets bumped into some other sensory experience. Interestingly, our
five senses played a pivotal role in affecting our mind and hence our body and breath. For instance,
everyone could remember the cover page of Shrimad Bhagwad Gita, a charioteer with the horses.
Here, also our senses our like the horses if not controlled by the mind(charioteer), it keeps us pulling
in different directions and diverting our focus from our life’s objectives.

The Charioteer and the Wandering Horses:

The metaphor of the charioteer and horses serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of mind
control. Much like the charioteer directs the horses, our minds must exert control over our senses.
Failure to do so allows our senses to wander aimlessly, distracting us from our life goals.

Here, it is crucial to comprehend and analyse that whether the thought that has sowed in our mind
has its roots based on the Kleshas/afflictions or is based on our true consciousness.

Let’s begin by understanding what are the Kleshas. These are the afflictions because they cause pain
and ultimately bring about painful sufferings in the life. Maharishi Patanjali has beautifully
elaborated about the five kleshas/afflictions in Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.3 “Avidya-Asmita-Raga-
Dvesha-Abhinivesa-Klesha” responsible for all our suffering we experience in life.

Avidya

It is Ignorance which comes from false knowledge or you may say it comes from the knowledge that
seems to be true for you however is actually untrue. In simpler terms, considering unreal as real,
untrue as true, impure as pure, impermanent as permanent and painful as pleasurable is Avidya.

For instance, consider a mosquito living in human society. From the mosquito's perspective, human
life appears eternal because, despite multiple rebirths, it witnesses humans growing and evolving.
This illustrates Avidya caused by – perceiving the impermanent as permanent.

Asmita

is I-ness. Some I-ness or Ego is essential to live in this world, however, if its excessively gets
accumulated with desire and egoism, our thoughts become clouded and hence, liable to make
decisions based on distorted knowledge. The ego finds it difficult to accept any weaknesses and its
faults.

Raga

is attachment. It may be attachment to the cherished memories, to your favourite belongings or

relationships. At times, we are so attached to the specific outcome of the situation that we lose
clarity in our thoughts and attempt to reason or logic that supports our desired outcome, blurring
our objectivity.

Dvesha

is hatred that arises from intense Raga. When attachment becomes so intense that it gives rise to
hatred and non-acceptance towards person, place, thing or to any other situation or experience. It
remains deep down within us and restricts our thinking. These further feeds the flames of this hatred
and keeps on intensifying it.

Abhinivesha

is fear of change or resistance to loss. Fear of death of identity, desire for continuity, clinging to life
are its various aspects. This Klesha stems from persistent influence of above two Kleshas namely
Raga and Dvesha. The reluctance to embrace change and the fear of losing one's sense of self can
limit personal growth.

Among all five Kleshas, Avidya is mother of all Klesha and prime reason for our pain and sufferings in
life. Avidya is at the root of the four-fold manifestations (egoism, attachment, aversion, and love of
life). Avidya is difficult to overcome. It takes a long time to train the mind to see a thing as it is.

To overcome these Kleshas, what we have to understand that the Kleshas are like the hooligans that
keeps on knocking at our door(mind) all the time. Sometimes they knock really very hard that their
insistent presence can be overwhelming and can make you miserable to control the flow of thoughts
which are influenced by the five afflictions. The key lies in recognizing and identifying Kleshas,
enabling us to regain control and make wise, discriminative decisions based on which is true not
affected by above afflictions.