Friday, August 23, 2013

August Monthly Theme: Klesas


The April theme of the month highlights the Klesas, or the obstacles that get in the way of us reaching Samadhi, or enlightenment.  The idea is to minimize the five Klesas.  They are with us always but we want to weaken them.

The Five Klesas are:

avidya: ignorance or better yet… lack of awareness

asmita: the feeling of individuality which limits a person and distinguishes him from a group and which may be physical, mental, intellectual or emotional; EGO

raga: attachment or passion

dvesa: aversion or repulsion

abhinivesa: love or thirst for life, the instinctive clinging to life and bodily enjoyment and fear that one may be cut off from all by death.