Monday, September 19, 2011

Kle$ha

The five afflictions which disturb the equilibrium of consciousness are: ignorance or lack of wisdom, ego, pride of the ego or the sense of 'I', attachment to pleasure, aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life. 2.03
 Finding examples of the Kleshas in How Yoga Works is not at all a difficult task. I would like however to discuss my favorite episode of the book thus far and how it relates. Way back in chapter 23 there is this incident with a pig. The pig has made its way onto the front porch of the police station and neither the corporal nor the sergeant has the strength or wit to lure the pig away. In a frenzy they approach the Captain and say "PIG!" Being the boss he went out and took care of business. He bent down, picked up the sizable beast and placed it somewhere else. Beaming with pride he slapped the dust off his hands, threw his foot up the railing and tied his shoe. I did it, I did what no one else could do his body language must have elicited. From here Ms. Friday chastises him for his actions. His pride has taken a good action and tainted it. I couldn't help but think how often we might do this in our own lives. What proverbial pig have we moved lately and how have we acted afterwards? Did we complete the action as a service to others or mainly for ourselves?

The connection between the Keshas is made quite evident further along in the story. Early in the story it is evident that the Sergeant is an alcoholic. We later learn that the Captain at some point had been too. Each man began drinking as a way to avoid their pain. The Captain had lost his wife, his daughter, and his will to move forward. To him alcohol became an escape from reality but at some point that escape turned into an attachment to pleasure. This path also led the Captain to a life outside of any type of healthy community. With the loss of his wife and daughter his actions had no direction but himself. He habitually planted the seeds of his ego, of his aversion to pain, and his attachment to pleasure. In the latest section we read he finds just how difficult it can be to dig out the bad seeds and begin planting new ones. As yoga is continually passed on to the individuals in the community of the jail and their families a definite reduction of these Kleshas is seen. 

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