Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 3
अविद्यास्मितारागद्वेषाभिनिवेशः क्लेशाः ॥३॥
avidyā-asmitā-rāga-dveṣa-abhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ ||3||
The afflictions are illusion, the sense of ‘I’ am-ness, attraction,
aversion and the will to stay alive.
Commentaries and Reflections
Commentary by T Krishnamacharya:
“These five Kleśa surround the heart of every individual.
They are related to the three Guṇa known as Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
As long as one chooses not to inquire into the true nature of one’s self and acts mechanically,
they will unknowingly contribute to the dominance of the Kleśa.”
Commentary by TKV Desikachar:
“They are called Kleśa because they cause difficulty.
If not now then some other time.”
“Our action has two foundations.
One, Vidyā never leads us into trouble.
Two, Avidyā leads us into trouble
because of something we did in the past
influencing our present action.”
“Avidyā is anything else other than Vidyā.”
“We may have intellectual Vidyā,
but in reality we follow some deeper force of Avidyā.”
Commentary by Paul Harvey:
“Anguish arises from the illusion feeding
the conflation of I-ness and Am-ness,
the consequences of pleasure and suffering,
and underpins the fear of not feeling alive.”
“In Sūtra 1.17 Patañjali presents Asmitā, or the
sense of oneness, as the culmination of four
successively subtle forms of a meditational
process, collectively described as Saṃprajñāta.
How do we compare Asmitā in this verse
with the Asmitā described as one of the
five Kleśa listed in Chapter Two verse 3?”