davidji's Blog

davidji's Blog

Soul Light Guided Meditation

The third śloka (line or song) of Patañjali‘s Yoga Sutras explicitly identifies Five Obstacles – pancha (five) kleshas (obstacles). Kleśa – pronounced klay-sha – is a term from Indian philosophy and yoga, meaning a “poison,” affliction, or obstacle.

These are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. Kleshas include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, depression, etc.

Contemporary translators use a variety of English words to translate the term kleshas, such as: afflictions, defilements, destructive emotions, disturbing emotions, negative emotions, mind poisons – but we will use the word OBSTACLE for our purposes.

This week, let’s focus on one klesha and really explore how it applies to our life. Enjoy! Peace. -davidji

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