Klesha and Karma in Yoga Sutras of Patanjali; theory of why we suffer

1. Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Kleshas (Afflictions) and Karma
(Chapter 2)
Subhash Mittal
Integral Yoga Studio
www.integralyogastudio.com 919-926-9717 subhashmittal@gmail.com
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2. Recap Chapter 1
Definition of Yoga: ability to control the

fluctuations of the mind-field
Five types of vrittis (fluctuations): right

knowledge, wrong knowledge, imaginary
knowledge, deep sleep and memory
Means to control the vrittis: abhyasa (practice)

and vairagya (detachment)
Two kinds of vairagya – lower (of the senses)

and higher (of the three gunas)
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3. Kriya Yoga (Yoga of Action)
Austerity, self-study and resignation to Ishwara
constitute ‘Kriya Yoga’ (2.1)
 Austerity: related to will (karma yoga) – sturdy
self-discipline – mental, moral and physical
 Self-study: related to intellect (jnana yoga) –
study of sacred literature and repetition of
mantras
 Resignation to Ishwara: related to emotions
(bhakti yoga) – doing all action as offering to
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God and renouncing the fruits of action

4. Why Kriya Yoga?
For attenuating kleshas and
bringing about ‘samadhi’
(2.2)
Wisdom is disconnected

from ‘kleshas’ and
awareness becomes
subtle and refined
Discriminating wisdom

arises and awareness of
separation between Self
and Ego is gained 4

5. What are kleshas (afflictions)?
Five kleshas are: Ignorance (Avidya), I-am-ness
(Asmita), Strong likes/attraction (Raaga),
Strong dislikes/repulsion (Dvesha), Fear of
death (Abhinivesha) (2.3)
Philosophy of klesha is an analysis of

underlying cause of human suffering and the
means to remove it effectively
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6. Ignorance (Avidya)
‘Ignorance’ is the cause of the other four which can
be dormant, attenuated, alternating or expanded
(2.4)
Definition: taking non-eternal as eternal, impure as
pure, evil as good and non-Self as Self (2.5)
non-self for self – instead of “I have a headache”, say

“my head hurts” – will provide a paradigm shift
Non-eternal – the material universe is impermanent

but we attach to it dearly thinking otherwise
Impure: the body is impure – ever look at the inside of

the body? Excretions, blood, sweat, urine/feces etc
Rope vs snake example – how we need the light (of

knowledge/wisdom) to realize the truth
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7. I-am-ness (Asmita)
I-am-ness (asmita): Blending together of the
power of consciousness with the power of
intellect (2.6)
difference between capital I and small „i‟; the

difference is the dot – a little blemish/ignorance;
remove the dot and we are the original „I‟
The power of seeing/ hearing etc comes

because of the power of Purusha, but we
mistakenly identify it with the sense objects/mind
etc 7

8. Likes and Dislikes (Raga and Dvesha)
Likes (raaga): Attraction/attachment/liking,
which accompanies pleasure, is Raga (2.7)
Dislikes (dvesha): Repulsion/hatred/dislike,
which accompanies pain, is dvesha. (2.8)
musk deer which has fragrance on its forehead

but keeps running around in search of it
Unfulfilled desires cause anger which can lead

to total destruction
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9. Fear of death (abhinivesha)
Strong desire for life (fear of death) which
dominates even the most learned (or the wise).
(2.9)
 Security alarm system – it is our fear of
loss/death that we put the alarm in.
 Fear of death is inborn – must have come from
a previous birth
 BG – just as we discard old clothes and get
new ones, our soul discards the old body and
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gets a new one

10. Theory of Karma
The storehouse of karmas which are rooted in
kleshas result in all experiences in the present
and future lives (2.12)
As long as the roots (kleshas) are there, they
must ripen and result in rebirth, a given span
of life and life’s experiences (2.13)
Each birth brings its own joys and sorrows
(2.14)
Three types of karma: prarabdha (fructifying),

sanchita (accumulated – like the bank balance),
agami (current actions resulting in future karma)10

11. Why destroy kleshas?
The wise, however, know that all is misery due to
the conflict between the gunas and mental
fluctuations (2.15)
Constant conflict among the three gunas

controls our mind and we act according to the
dominant guna at any given moment
All pleasure is short-lived and must

accompany pain and suffering
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12. How to destroy kleshas?
The active kleshas can be diminished through
meditation (2.11)
The subtle ones can be diminished by resolving
them back to the source. (2.10)
Ex: strong smell of garlic – no matter how

much you wash the pot in which it was
cooked, the smell stays for a long time
ego has to be purified over a long period of

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time

13. What causes misery?
The misery that has not yet come can and should be

avoided (2.16)
The cause of this misery is the ignorance which

makes us believe that the seer and the seen are the
same (2.17)
The ‘seen’ consists of the elements, and the sense

organs and represents the play of the three gunas
(2.18)
The seer is pure consciousness, but though pure

appears to see through the mind (2.20)
Dispersion of this ignorance is the remedy to realize

the disassociation of the ‘purusha’ (seer) and
‘prakriti’ (seen). (2.25) 13

14. How to destroy ignorance
Developing an uninterrupted awareness of the

Real is the means to destroy ignorance (2.26)
This can be done by following the eight limbs

of yoga – yama, niyama, asana (postures),
pranayama (breathing techniques), pratyahara
(sense withdrawal), dharana (concentration),
dhyana (meditation), samadhi (total
absorption) (2.28, 2.29)
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