KLESHAS

 

In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali we find an invaluable description of the five Kleshas or poisons. The sanskrit word Klesha means Suffering. 

These kleshas are avidya (ignorance) , asmita (egoism) , raga (attachment) , dvesa (repulsion) and abhinivesha (clinging to life or fear of death).

Suffering is part of Human Nature. 

There is no human being in the world who is free from suffering.

In every home, someone has lost a loved one through death, or has faced an illness, for example.

So, ANANDA is happiness with just existence. Ananda is bliss. A state of fullness and blessing. It is the joy of being you.

Being happy is a state, and it is within you. Even with external admonitions and conflicts, you know that sadness is temporary and will pass. Do not cling to the problem, if you cling too much you get used to suffering, and then you become a victim of your problems.

Suffering is inevitable, just like mourning, illness, and death. Understanding that death is part of life. One does not exist without the other. Knowing how to accept death is accepting life as it is. This suffering is meant to be felt, it is normal. But know that it will pass too. We learn to go through these moments, which are neither easy nor good, but we have to go through them.

Life is this cycle of being born and dying, the wheel of life, where pleasures and sufferings move like a dance through existence. Everything is in flux. Knowing how to accept the end of a cycle and then start another one.

Yoga philosophies help me a lot to understand life, to become a more evolved and conscious Being. Self-knowledge is one of the ways to get out of ignorance, the first klesha mentioned above. Wisdom and intelligence about ourselves is the first step towards all healing. It starts with ourselves. Suffering cannot be avoided, but we learn from it.

I hope you enjoyed this topic, and soon, with more interesting content about the valuable philosophies of Yoga.

Namaste