Kleśas and Life

Kleśas naturally result from our existential misunderstanding which in turn is unavoidable. How then can anybody be escape kleśas? 

If we can see early in life, how can we not consider ourselves as being individual bodies? In early life we cannot see underlying causes; we can only see what is visible on the surface. We are unable to think of causes, when we cannot think at all.

Can we imagine life without any likes? All of us would agree that it will not be livable. 

Can we imagine life without dislikes? Most of us would agree that it is not possible. If there are likes, there have to be dislikes as well.

How about fears? If there are likes, and there are dislikes, how can fear be non-exxistent?

No one then can totally escape the onslaught of feelings resulting from our being individual bodies apart from the rest of existence. While these feelings are unavoidable, the ancient wisdom of yoga assures us that we can avoid or minimize the pain they cause by being injurious to our health and wellness.

How can we totally avoid pain? According to yogic wisdom, we can avoid future pain and suffering once and for all by totally correcting our misunderstanding and developing a worldview based on the truth of the oneness of all existence to base our life.

Developing the correct worldview of oneness to underlie our behaviour in practice is hard and not within the reach of most of us; how then can we minimize pain so inextricably connected with our feelings of individual existence? The answer to this question is by taking systematic steps to reach towards the worldview of oneness; the more we try to develop the correct worldview, the more we can succeed in minimizing suffering and pain of ill health and lack of wellness. 

Yogic wisdom presents the achievement of correct worldview as an ideal to achieve. The closer we get to this ideal, the more we can minimize the pain that life brings.

Not only the truth is therapeutic, the search for it also is so, though to a lesser degree. The former cures the condition once for all, while the latter only manages it. We must continue managing as long as the condition endures.