The Kleshas: The Root Cause of Pain and Suffering

The Kleshas are obstacles to self-realization. By understanding them and learning how to reduce their intensity we can reduce pain and suffering

Life teaches us that pain and suffering are an essential part of existence. They are just as important as the positive and joyful experiences that we have. For without pain or suffering, we would make very little progress. How would we think of solutions if we didn’t have problems?

Even though most of us are aware of this process, we often fail to identify the origin of pain and suffering. By knowing the origin, we can work on how external happenings affect us. This practice would help us become more resilient, and have more control over the life we create for ourselves.

Some 2000 years ago, Sage Patanjali – the father of modern yoga – identified the five causes of pain and suffering, which he named the Kleshas. Like the muddy water that prevents one from seeing the ground at the bottom of the pond, the Kleshas hide our true self from us.

The Kleshas are obstacles to self-realization. By understanding them and learning how to reduce their intensity we can reduce pain and suffering. By destroying them, we achieve self-realization.

The five Kleshas are ignorance (avidya), selfishness (asmita), attachment (raga), aversion (dvesha) and fear (abhinivesha).

The First Klesha: Ignorance (Avidya)

Avidya is a Sanskrit word that can be translated to ignorance. In this sense, the term ‘ignorance’ doesn’t mean lack of knowledge, but the unawareness of reality.

We perceive the world through our senses. We see places, hear sounds, and touch objects. We learn languages, mathematics, sciences and various other subjects. All these are a part of worldly knowledge. Not knowing any of these is not considered ignorance in yoga.

Avidya is internal ignorance; not understanding the self. For ages, we have been so focused on understanding the external that we have failed to introspect, observe, and understand our true self.

Avidya is ignorance to the absolute truth; that our higher self and what we consider as divine are one and the same. The truth that everything which exists – the entire universe – is completely connected, and is one unique, intelligent and conscious system. Ignorance is living our entire lives under the impression that our personalities and egos are the absolute truth. That there remains nothing outside than what is rational.

The Second Klesha: Selfishness (Asmita)

Asmita means selfishness or egoism, but the modern definition of ego is quite different from the one put forward by Patanjali.

The general notion on being selfish is putting oneself ahead of others. Always considering our own benefit in every transaction and every interaction. But Patanjali defined selfishness as something greater.

Selfishness is assuming the temporary aspect of life is our real nature. Yogis believe the body and mind to be temporary; their understanding of reality is that the soul never changes. The soul moves, it evolves and travels through many journeys. It is the only aspect that remains constant, and is therefore the true-self.

When we deny our true nature, the ego dominates life. We think only as individuals, concerning ourselves only and exclusively with mundane matters, such as appearance and status.

Feeling shame or pride in our appearance or status is a sign of selfishness. Contentment or joy are positive emotions, as they are emotional states which do not depend on other people. But shame and pride are directly related to other people. Shame is inferiority and pride is superiority. As long as our emotions are directly related to others, we live in duality. The more we feel these kind of emotions, the more we develop sentiments such as hate and attachment, which further leads to pain and suffering.

The Third Klesha: Attachment (Raga)

The third klesha is known as Attachment. Patanjali explained attachment as the act of identifying ourselves with what we like. Letting our personal preferences dictate the way we look, perceive, and deal with the world.

Attachment is an intrinsic part of human nature. It leads to happiness, which in turn encourages further attachment. Suppose, we are deeply attached to a person, object, or idea. We will naturally let our actions promote such attachment by being with that person, possessing the object, or pursuing the idea. This gives rise to happiness.

Our brain is programmed to seek happiness and undertake activities that increase the chance of attaining happiness. So, in the pursuit of happiness, our mundane attachments increase. We have never-ending goals.

But with time we realize that no matter how much we achieve, we do not find the constant happiness that we thought we would find. We start to think there may be something more to life. But if we live constantly trying to increase our possessions and maintain our attachments, we will continue to suffer.

The Fourth Klesha: Aversion (Dvesha)

Aversion and attachment are two sides of the same coin. Most of us feel aversion regularly. We have mental registers of things we like and dislike, people we like and dislike, ideas we like or dislike, etc.

We let our strong emotions – particularly our attachments and aversions – control our interaction with the world. Evidently, we would want to carry on doing things that give us pleasure and avoid those that we perceive to be bad, wrong, harmful or deterring to happiness.

Aversion too promotes dualistic thinking and acts as a veil, preventing us from seeing the true self. The third and fourth kleshas influence our thinking process and force us to see everything as positive or negative. By assigning labels to situations, circumstances, and outcomes, we unnecessarily give space to fear, tension, and anxiety, leading to further pain and suffering. Aversion clouds our judgment, further reducing the chance of knowing the true self.

It’s easy to recognise and manage aversion, since it is a strong emotion. The less aversion we have, the more mastery we have over life.

The Fifth Klesha: Fear (Abhinivesha)

Fear is the fifth and final klesha and encompasses all the other kleshas within it. The most common fears are uncertainty and change; but the ultimate fear, which lies at the core of every fear is the fear of death. Our attachment to survival and the way we perceive death, acts as another rope that drags us down and blocks our progress.

In a way it is an extension of attachment and aversion. We are attached to life and hostile to death. These feelings apply to every day life too. Our attachment to an object invariably gives rise to the fear of not possessing it, or if we have it, the fear of losing it. Similarly, if we deeply hate an outcome, we fear it may happen to us.

In most cases, fear manifests as the fear of losing someone or something that’s dear to us. Such situations cause the most pain. One way of handling these circumstances is to reconcile yourself with the thought of the non-permanence of human life. At some point, we need to accept the idea that every beginning has an end. We need to rise above the fear and realise the non-dual nature of the true self.

Freeing Oneself from the effects of the Kleshas

The Kleshas cling on to us at all times, at every stage of life and in every situation. Even when we are happy and content in life, there is some part of us fearing that the happy phase will eventually come to an end.

Some argue that the five Kleshas (ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and fear) are the seeds that develop into emotions such as desire, motivation, caution, love, pride, etc. These emotions and the kleshas that give rise to them are not bad per se. They are part of human existence.

The problem arises when the kleshas dominate our actions. Patanjali and many other eminent yogis have agreed the five kleshas are the root cause of all pain and suffering.

The only way to free ourselves from the shackles of the kleshas is to realise we all form part of the ultimate. That life is only temporary, and so is our personality, dreams, thoughts, talents and goals. That everything we have every wanted or done, will one day be nothing more than a minuscule sparkle in spacetime. Yet we will continue to be. This thought becomes a realization through practices such as meditation (dhyana), self-study (swadhyaya) and austerity (tapas).

Through austerity and self-discipline, we can learn to control our senses. Instead of letting the senses become our masters, controlling our actions and dictating every move; we gain mastery over them. Austerity will help us realise that there is more to us than just the physical reality.

When we realise there is more than just the physical realm, we begin to seek truth. By practicing self-study and introspection, we can understand ‘who we really are.’ But to truly destroy the grip the kleshas have over us, we can practice meditation.