The 5 Obstacles that prevent us from seeing things clearly.

YS II.3  Avidya asmita raga dvesha abhinivesaha

The 5 "obstacles" that cause us suffering are: Misapprehension, false identity, excessive attachments, unreasonable dislikes and insecurity. Misapprehension being the source, or 'root' of all the other obstacles.  More specifically, Avidya is the experiencing of something permanent as impermanent, something pure as impure, something that causes suffering as something that will make you happy, and vice versa for all of these. And lastly, something unconscious as conscious.  It is a fundamental misunderstanding and again, it is the root of the other 4 obstacles.  Patanjali says that if we can remove the roots so to speak, we will be free from the other obstacles.  The klesas are often compared to a tree: roots being Avidya, the trunk being asmita and the 3 branches being raga, dvesaha, & abhinivesaha. When I walked past this beautiful tree the other day, the klesas immediately came to mind. 

Patanjali goes on to say that born from avidya is asmita: a misidentification regarding who you are and how you act/what you do.  Asmita is a form of avidya. Raga is pursuing or following happiness.  After having a pleasurable experience, we want to repeat it again and again. But,  just b/c it's pleasurable one time doesn't mean it will be the next time.  Also, if we're chasing after something that makes us happy, it means we're not connected to that place inside of us that is always happy.  Dvesaha is the opposite of raga.  You have a negative experience and now you want to avoid it at all costs.  Also, it refers to excessive dislike.  Abinivesaha we've talked about in an earlier blog; it is fear. This fear has it's own flow and can come up at any time unexpectedly and even without a trigger. Patanjali goes on to say that it affects even the wise & learned.  This klesha is very deeply rooted in us.   Raga, dvesaha, & abhinivesaha are all forms of asmita.   I took a picture of the whole tree as a symbol of the klesas.  

So you ask "how do i nip these klesas in the bud?" Patanjali says 1. be diligent; especially when things are going well you must continue to do your practice, stay aware, and take your time.  2. when you see klesa's arising, take steps towards nipping them while they are small, don't wait!  

And how do we know if our actions are based in klesa?  Patanjali says you DON'T know at the time of action... you only know based upon the actions taken and more importantly the results of those actions.  When klesa is there at the root of our actions, the quality, duration, & experience of our actions will be affected. The consequences will be painful if klesa is at the root. 

Klesas are inherently causing suffering. They are within us and they represent a lack of clarity which causes suffering.   Again, we must try and catch them when they are small and nip them at the bud stage before they (very quickly) shoot up like weeds!  

Will you ever look at a tree the same again?!  ;)