The answer is sourced from the book "Pearls of Vedic Wisdom to Succeed"
Pancha means five. Klesha means poison. Pancha Klesha means Five Poisons that afflict the mind and they are mentioned in the “Yoga Sutras” of Maharshi Patanjali. The five hindrances or obstacles that afflict the mind are Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga (attractions), Dwesha (aversions) and Abhinivesha (fear of the unknown). These inherent defects combine with the Arishadvarga (band of six enemies) and strongly influence the mind.
Avidya – Ignorance
Avidya, ignorance, means lack of Vidya (Knowledge). Generally, Avidya means illiteracy or lack of knowledge. According to Vedanta, Avidya means the ignorance of our true nature, the veil which needs to be removed so that the knowledge of our true nature could dawn which is calmness, peace, love and compassion. Avidya makes it difficult to separate the real from the unreal, makes us mistake impure for the pure and confuses us to consider something that could cause pain to be the source of pleasure.
Avidya is the mother of all kleshas and it immediately strengthens Asmita (egoism). Then Avidya and Asmita together empower all the other three remaining kleshas. According to the American civil rights activist Martin Luther King, “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”.
Asmita – Egoism
Asmita is an offshoot of Avidya and it more accurately means I-ness because of which we start over-identifying with I, me and mine. Asmita is internal whereas Ego is external. That means even if one outwardly wears a mask of humbleness, internally the feeling of I might reign supreme.
The feeling of superiority makes one blind, lose wisdom, act in haste, hurt people around and eventually would end up in the inflated ego getting bruised, resulting in pain, suffering and self-deprecating thoughts. British philosopher John Ruskin says, “Pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes”.
Raga – Attractions
Raga refers to the likes, attractions and attachments. Due to Avidya (ignorance) and Asmita (I-ness), we develop certain strong biases and start getting attracted towards what we tend to like. There may not be valid or logical reasons for our likes, and the likings need not be always moral and legitimate. Raga can delude and cloud the thinking so much so that one might pursue the likes even if they endanger one’s own safety, health, and wealth, jeopardise the family wellbeing, stake name and reputation, and disturb peace causing unrest.
Raga is subtle and eventually gives rise to desires. Once the desires strengthen they force us to act to satisfy them. The 13th century Italian philosopher Saint Thomas Aquinas says, “Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do”.
Dwesha – Aversions
Dwesha refers to the dislikes, aversions and hatred. Dwesha is something that we want to stay away from or love to get rid of. Aversions and hatred destroy the peace of mind. It is better to practice forgiveness than to harbor Dwesha. Raga and Dwesha are two sides of the same coin. According to Socrates, “From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate”.
Abhinivesha – Fear of the Unknown
Abhinivesha is the fear of the unknown. Most common greatest fear is the fear of death since what happens after death is unknown to us. Most of the times the thought of fear can be much greater than the actual fear itself. Most of the things which we fear might never happen or even if they do they may not be as bad as we feared.
Though we all know that in this world change is constant, there is a tendency to be always in the comfort zone fearing change. We need to be aware that too many irrational fears can make a permanent nest resulting in permanent stress.
By dropping the ego, clearly identifying ourselves with the Sentient Life Energy and enjoy being in the Silent Awareness then we become fearless thus overcoming Abhinivesha. Swami Vivekananda says, “If there is one word that you find coming out like a bomb from the Upanishads bursting like a bombshell upon masses of ignorance, it is the word ‘Fearlessness’, and the only religion that ought to be taught is the religion of fearlessness”.
We need to be aware of these obstacles called Pancha Klesha and try to discover our true nature that we are a “Conscious Entity”, “Thinking Ability”, “nameless, formless, Life Energy called Atman”. This is called Self-Realisation.
See Also
How can I attain self-realization according to Ramana Maharshi?
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