Why are we always getting into difficulties in life? Have you ever stopped to wonder if it is our perception that causes these difficulties? Our perceptions have a profound effect on how we experience life, they mold, shape and influence our personal realities. Perception is a lens or mindset from which we view others, situations and things. Often the perceptions that we have about ourselves and others are based on false beliefs, shrouded by thoughts of doubt, confusion and fear. These thoughts create obstacles to our spiritual progress, and are at the heart of destructive behavior.
Image by Brendan Church
The Yoga Sutras, an ancient Indian text complied by Patanjali, gives us an insight into understanding the qualities of the mind, and how we perceive things. We gather, organize, identify and interpret sensory information to create perception. The way we interpret or understand something may not always be correct, creating a false perception. Believing to be correct, we act, many times bringing pain to ourselves and others even though our intentions were good. Just as equally challenging is the opposite, we interpret and understand a situation correctly, but we allow doubt to override our awareness, so we take no action. This also creates suffering, for our actions may have been most beneficial. The Yoga Sutras use both of these examples as opposite ends of a spectrum, the whole spectrum is known as Avidya. Avidya translated means “incorrect comprehension”. This idea of incorrect comprehension or ignorance describes both false perception of reality, and a false perception of Self. (The Heart of Yoga)
Avidya is also described as a veil that covers the knowledge of who we really are. Our true essential nature is clouded by the activity of the mind. Avidya may manifest as four different faces, or aspects that don’t always appear on the surface, and yet they are constantly swimming around in our unconscious minds, accumulated from our many unconscious actions. They all stem from ignorance.
Asmita: Living from the ego…we mistake physical, emotional and mental aspects of the mind as the true Self. This is the face that we erroneously attach ourselves to; believing self-image, positions, roles and possession we attain in this life identify us, but this is a false identity. Yes, a healthy ego serves us in this world to some degree, but don’t mistake it for who you really are. Learn to recognize that everything is impermanent, except for the unchanging Self.
Raga: The face of desire…attaching to and chasing that which is pleasurable, seems like the thing that will bring us happiness. This is the illusion of raga, we become trapped in an endless cycle of seeking pleasure, and attaching to the impermanent. When raga is present, we might find ourselves being selfish, hoarding or clinging to transient things believing they contribute to our identity. This perception that our worth is connected to the material world only serves to feed our egos further blinding us to our true eternal nature. This veil of illusion is universal. We are always wanting, or never satisfied. If it were possible to see through this veil, we would see that the material world with its transient nature, presents obstacles for our growth and self-study, but is not meant to define us. True contentment begins with an awareness of the impermanent parts of our lives, then learning to practice non-attachment from our desires in all their forms.
Dvesa: The face of aversion…running away from and rejecting things. When we have difficult experiences in life, we generally don’t have the desire to repeat them. We may assume that people, places and things that relate to these experiences will bring us pain again, so we avoid them. I remember a personal experience like it was yesterday. I have an aversion to hospitals. When I was six years old my little sister got hit by a car while crossing the street with my parents. I was not with them at the time, but out of town with a friend. I got the news of the accident, and was taken to the hospital. I still remember walking through the parking garage, staring down at the zipper of my gray striped jumper, wondering if my sister Heidi was going to make it. My little heart was racing, I was so scared.Me and my sister HeidiFast forward fourteen years and I am about to deliver my first son. When we arrive at the hospital, I refused to get out of the car, as if staying in there was magically going to stop the baby from coming. My husband finally convinced me to go inside. Most of what happened next was a blur, except I remember that I could barely breathe. In this state, I felt like I was going to die. We could go into the psyche, and the effects of PTSD, but that is not the point here. The point is, if we are always running away from and avoiding our dislikes, or constantly chasing pleasure, we are unable to see our problems clearly. Thankfully my husband was able to intervene, but it took some time for me to find a calm enough mind to see things clearly. When I did, I was so grateful for the wise decision to go inside to have my baby. Although it might have been a more exciting story to tell If my son was born in the car. It is a calm and unagitated mind that can discern and make wise decisions. When our mind is clouded with aversion it is difficult to see that the things we are avoiding may be just what is needed for growth and healing. Dvesa also shows its face as rejecting things that are not familiar, even though we have no prior history of pain.
Abhinivesa: The face of fear… the fear of death. This is a universal fear remaining with us until we die. “We know that one day we will indeed die, yet our fear of death is deeply buried in our unconsciousness.” (gobodhiyoga.com) In its less primal form, abhinivesa show its face as the fear of aging or getting old, which is so prevalent in our Western culture. This fear of aging keeps us from living a full and happy life. No matter the money, time and energy we spend on the fountain of youth, aging will come to us all. When we can change the perception around aging and embrace it as a rite of passage, joy in the aging process can return. Wisdom comes from life experiences; this takes time for experiences to ripen into wisdom. It is not just the fear of death, fear is also expressed in everyday life. From having doubts about ourselves and abilities, to being judged, unaccepted and criticized. Our fears keep us playing it safe, at the expense of having a fuller life. When we can come to an understanding that death is part of life, our perspectives can be widened. Understanding that the only permeance is the Spirit, and that you are eternal can help reduce the impact this fear can hold over you.
These four faces of avidya, either working together or alone cloud our perceptions and create suffering. Collectively they are known as the “Five Kleshas” or five causes of suffering (avidya, asmita, raga, dvesa, abhinivesa). At any given time, the five kleshas can be inconsequential in their influence, to causing complete blindness of our true Self. The Yoga Sutras say we suffer, because of the illusion of separation between our individual consciousness and our connection to God consciousness. God is always within us, but we don’t always know who we are. We confuse the physical reality as the only reality, losing sight of the true, eternal and imperishable reality. We can work with the five causes of suffering by first understanding them, acknowledging them, and reflecting on how their seeds grow into suffering. When we can see something clearly with “correct knowledge” the veil of avidya is lifted and a profound peace is found inside. From this place we come to know who we really are.
