Suffering is Optional

To Klesha is To Human

The Five kleshas (Yoga Sutra 2.3) are mental afflictions or obstacles that cloud the lens through which we are currently viewing a situation, person, or thing, and keep us stuck in cycles of suffering. 

We are all born with these kleshas.

This sutra outlines the five mental afflictions, or obstacles, that prevent spiritual progress and cause suffering. We’ll break down each of the kleshas into a single post within this series.

BECAUSE CONTEXT REALLLLLY MATTERS

It’s worth noting that there are varying degrees of suffering experienced in the world. The mystery behind the drive of the human spirit is one of the more curious landscapes for us to explore. Cultural veils, convenient distractions, and benign, day-to-day living can detract us from this grand expedition. And then comes along Viktor Frankl and Nelson Mandela, giving us a glimmer of understanding about the depth of our capacity as humans and revealing courage as a magnanimous sidekick. 

This is simply one yoga Sutra that offers insights into what it means to be human. But I digress… 

Let’s get back to the suffering that a large majority of us experience on a daily basis, through misunderstandings, avoidance, and attachment. It’s not the typical physical discomfort we associate with yoga of holding a pose for 45 seconds—it’s the mental gymnastics of trying to keep our mind from spiraling into a sea of existential sweat. Which, by the way, is the real workout.

One simple practice of perspective is to view our suffering through the lens of nature – we are, afterall, human-nature. We can find solidarity in reminding ourselves that storms pass and clouds do eventually clear; we are reminded that seasons come and go when we look at the flower beds in our yard or the floor of a forest; we are reminded of death and rebirth as a cycle all around us – if not simply noticing how it feels when it comes time for the last chapter of that fantastic spy novel to end or that all-inclusive vacation with endless mai-tais on the sandy beach to end.

Here Rumi is acknowledging the nature of being human is to both overcome AND embrace suffering. Because resiliency is just as innate as fear. Case in point, there’s a bookstore around the corner or that online travel site to start booking walking tours for next year’s vacation.

These minor inconveniences and pinpricks of discomfort help us gain perspective on the bigger challenges in life. This is the sort of practice that sets us up for victory on game day. They help build a solid foundation of an unshakeable mindset in the face of all sorts of adversity.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t graciously nod at the Buddha as the inspiration behind this sutra. Buddhism, while astutely debated as a philosophy rather than a religion, is known as having influenced the yoga sutras – similar to the Vedas and Upanishads of Hinduism, in that day. We can see a clear tether to the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism in the ideas around suffering and the yoga sutras elaborate further into the kleshas.