Why We Suffer - According To Yoga

No state of our being is ever permanent, we experience joy, excitement, curiousity but we also experience pain, anger and sadness. We experience suffering in one form or another.

Described in the Yoga Sutras all causes of suffering point to 5 main patterns of the mind. Working with the Kleśas reminds us that yoga is not about avoiding difficulty, but noticing these patterns and allowing us to meet life with more clarity.

What are the Kleśas?

The Kleśas are described in the Yoga Sutras as the five inner patterns that cause us suffering and prevent us from reaching a state of inner peace (Samādhi). They are not moral failings or personal flaws, but habits of perception that shape how we experience the world.

The word kleśa loosely translates as “impurity” or “poison”. They are obstacles to our mental state that cloud the mind, cause suffering and hinder our spiritual progress. They are often referred to as the five causes of suffering and are the inner forces that disturb our clarity and keep us cycling through dissatisfaction, anxiety, attachment, and fear.

1. Avidyā

Avidyā is ignorance, delusion or misperception. Avidyā is the Kleśa from which the others grow. It  literally translates to “not-knowledge” and is the opposite of Vidya which means “knowledge”. It signifies a fundamental misperception of reality, especially the true nature of the Self or the world, leading to suffering.

2. Asmitā

Asmitā is egoism or false identification of the Self as something it is inherently not (“I-am-ness”). Asmitā is the mistaken belief that we are our mind/body. It is the over attachment to the concept of individual as separate from the whole one consciousness. It occurs when we identify with roles, thoughts, and possessions rather than our deeper state of being.

3. Rāga

Rāga is attachment to pleasure, comfort, and familiar experiences. It is the voice that says, “If I can just have more of this, I’ll be happy.” It is the quiet belief that fulfilment lives somewhere else. It isn’t enjoyment that binds us. It’s clinging to an endless cycle of desire and dissatisfaction.

We cling to people, experiences, achievements, and even versions of ourselves. When life inevitably changes, attachment turns sweetness into strain. Attachment itself is not wrong. Love, joy, and pleasure are part of being alive. Suffering arises when we demand that pleasant experiences stay forever. Yoga teaches us to enjoy fully, without clinging.

4. Dveṣa

Dveṣa is aversion, dislike, or repulsion. Dveṣa is the tendency to push away from discomfort. Avoidance, resistance, hardening. What we refuse to meet often gains the most power over us.

We resist discomfort, pain, inconvenience, and emotional difficulty. We label experiences as “bad” and tighten against them. Ironically, resistance often amplifies suffering. Pain becomes layered with tension, fear, and story. Yoga does not ask us to like everything. It asks us to meet experience with less hostility. When we stop fighting reality, something softens.

5. Abhiniveśa

Abhiniveśa is the fear of death or clinging to life. Abhiniveśa often arises due to a fear of

change or fearing that which we cannot control. It is sometimes described as fear of death, and takes form as the deep instinct to preserve what feels familiar. It shows up as fear of ageing, fear of endings, fear of the unknown. It is the quiet background hum that drives many of our choices. Yoga acknowledges this fear with compassion. It is not something to conquer, but something to recognise. When we see it clearly, it loosens its hold.

What can we learn from the Kleśas?

The practices of yoga (such as asana, meditation and pranayama) are designed to cultivate inner wisdom, mindfulness and compassion to help us recognise and overcome patterns of suffering in ourselves.

The kleśas are not enemies to defeat. They are some of our wisest teachers. The kleśas explain that suffering doesn’t come from life itself, but from how we relate to experience. Yoga practices help us notice these patterns as they arise, so they hold less power over us.

Through movement, breath, meditation, and self-inquiry, yoga helps us notice when these patterns are active. Not to judge them, but to understand them. Suffering begins when we are unconscious of these forces. Freedom begins when we recognise that a kleśa is at work. In that moment, we are no longer trapped inside the apattern. We are witnessing it.

And sometimes, that is enough to change everything.