Obstacles and Antidotes
The afflictions that bind and the qualities that liberate. Three texts, one diagnosis.
Why do we fail?
The texts don't idealize the path. They know most people give up. They describe precisely what stops us, what moves us forward.
The afflictions are: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear of death.
avidyāsmitārāgadveṣābhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ
Five roots. Ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, fear of death. All suffering sprouts from here.
These aren't moral defects. They're mental patterns. Ignorance isn't lack of information — it's seeing reality distorted.
Ignorance is the field where the other afflictions grow, whether dormant, attenuated, interrupted, or active.
avidyā kṣetram uttareṣāṃ prasupta-tanu-vicchinna-udārāṇām
Ignorance is the field where the other four germinate. They can be dormant, weakened, interrupted, or active. But as long as that field exists, they can return.
The work isn't just with obvious afflictions.
The Gītā shows the cascade in action. How an innocent thought becomes destruction.
When one contemplates sense objects, attachment to them arises. From attachment, desire is born; from desire, anger arises.
dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ saṅgas teṣūpajāyate | saṅgāt sañjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate
You contemplate an object. Attachment arises. From attachment, desire. From frustrated desire, anger.
The chain starts earlier than you think. The first link is where you look.
From anger arises confusion; from confusion, loss of memory; from loss of memory, destruction of discernment; and when discernment is destroyed, one perishes.
krodhād bhavati saṃmohaḥ saṃmohāt smṛti-vibhramaḥ | smṛti-bhraṃśād buddhi-nāśo buddhi-nāśāt praṇaśyati
From anger, confusion. From confusion, you forget who you are. Without discernment, you perish.
Not physical death. Death as a conscious being. You become trapped in automatic reactions.
Haṭha Yoga is more concrete. Less philosophy, more practice.
Yoga is destroyed by these six causes: overeating, excessive effort, talking too much, rigid adherence to rules, company of worldly people, and inconstancy.
atyāhāraḥ prayāsaśca prajalpo niyamāgrahaḥ | jana-saṅgaśca laulyaṃ ca ṣaḍbhir yogo vinaśyati
Six destroyers: overeating, overexertion, talking too much, rigid rules, wrong company, inconsistency.
Simple list. Easy to verify in your own life.
Yoga is perfected by these six qualities: enthusiasm, audacity, perseverance, discriminative knowledge, firm faith, and withdrawal from worldly company.
utsāhāt sāhasād dhairyāt tattva-jñānāc ca niścayāt | jana-saṅga-parityāgāt ṣaḍbhir yogaḥ prasiddhyati
Six builders: enthusiasm, courage, patience, knowledge, firm faith, distancing from what scatters.
The last point appears in both lists. Who you spend time with matters more than you think.