Kleshas are the Hindrance

There are five Kleshas and they have to be removed in order to attain Samadhi From a Parisamvada by Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

- Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra

Yoga Sutra Chapter II Sadhana Pada is the title of the chapter, Sadhana means techniques. Under these techniques comes practically all that we do, but there are details mentioned in over 50 Sutras. We can’t go through all of them just now, but I will just touch upon them and give a little explanation. We start with the three important techniques of Tapa, Swadhyaya and Ishvarapranidhan for removing the Kleshas. The Kleshas, as you know, are five in number: Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dvesha and Abhinivesha. So the target is – remove the Kleshas and then Samadhi is possible. The Kleshas are the hindrances.

We talk of this technical idea of the seer and the seen, Drg and Drshya. When there is a confusion here, the problem starts. So long as the seer is clear, the seen does not disturb us. If the seer gets confused, then the entanglement happens. So, for this purpose, the culprits - the Kleshas have to be reduced in strength. We have to get clarity and get away from the influence of ignorance. Believing that the material world is real and not understanding the non-material world is ignorance.