Klesas: Identifying Root Patterns of Mental Suffering

Patanjali identifies five klesas (afflictions or obstacles) as the root sources of all psychological suffering: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego or false identity), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death or fundamental insecurity). This ancient diagnostic framework provides remarkable precision for understanding mental distress in African contexts. Colonial ignorance about African humanity, imposed false identities separating individuals from cultural wholeness, attachments to survival strategies that no longer serve, aversions to trauma reminders, and deep existential fears about ancestral disconnection—all map onto the klesas. African healing traditions address these through cultural reconnection, ritual restoration, and communal witness; Patanjali's framework provides a psychological vocabulary for identifying which specific afflictions require targeted attention. By recognizing klesas as temporary mental patterns rather than inherent truth, practitioners access the possibility of liberation through systematic practice and wisdom.