We have discussed in our earlier article some of the fundamental principles of the psychology of Raja Yoga. We have indicated that the central thrust of Rajayogic sadhana is to stop the modification of the mind “Chitta Vritti Nirodha,” by eliminating the root causes of these modification, Vrittis. In the terminology of Rajayoga, the factors which cause the modifications of the mind are called as klesas which means “afflictions”. One of the unique features of Raja yogic psychology is the masterly analysis of these klesas which keep the mind in bondage. The Yoga-suthra classifies these klesas into five categories: Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dvesha and Abhinivesha. Like many other sanskrit terminology used in the Indian Yogic and spiritual literature, these terms are difficult to translate into the English language. But fortunately in Yoga-suthra itself we find a fairly clear, though brief, definitions of these terms. The only problem is the right interpretation of these definition. But it is necessary to understand clearly the meaning and significance of this classification of Klesas in Yoga-suthra to penetrate into the heart of Rajayogic sadhana. For, as we have indicated earlier, weakening and attenuation of these klesa is one of the aims of sadhana in Rajayoga. It is only by destroying these klesas, the aim of yoga, Chitta Vritti Nirodha, is achieved.
Avidya -The Darkness of Ignorance
The first among the five klesas is Avidya. This is a well-known term in Indian philosophic and spiritual thought, translated in English as “Ignorance”. But, in Indian spiritual thought, Ignorance means not lack of mental knowledge but lack of spiritual knowledge by identity and loss of knowledge of our true and highest self.
But the yogi, as a practical psychologist is not interested in philosophical explanations of Avidya. He is more interested in the psychological impact of Avidya on human consciousness. Yoga-suthra’s definition of Avidya is based on such a psychological and not a philosophical approach to the problem of Ignorance. So Pantanjali defines Avidya as ” (wrong) identification of permanence in the impermanance, purity in the impure, happiness in the painful and self in the not-self.” What exactly does this suthra signify? It describes the effect of Ignorance on the human psyche. Loss of right discrimination in the intelligence because of which the human mind, as if enchanted by magic, mistakenly sees truth, permanence, purity and happiness in the fleeting and transient forms and appearances which float and pass-away at the surface, foams of the ocean of energy of Nature, Prakrithi, and forgets the deeper, abiding reality of the Purusha who remains untouched and involved behind the dance of Nature. This means lack of knowledge of the true nature of things. The result of this wrong perception is that human mind gets identified with the impermanent and fleeting objects, beings, and experiences of life offered by Nature and finds a much greater joy in these false appearances than in the deeper and eternal truth of the Being Purusha.
But this is the practical result of Avidya. This knowledge may be sufficient for a practicing seeker in the path. But we are not here examining not only the practical aspects of Yoga but also the deeper psychological roots of bondage. So from this point of view of yogic psychology we must try to understand not only the practical consequences of Avidya but also the essential nature of Avidya. As we have said, according to Yoga-suthra, the practical consequences of Avidya is lack of discrimination. But what is exactly the content or nature of this Avidya which cause this lack of discrimination? In a psychological perspective, the answer to this question is Unconsciousness, of the true and total nature of our self and the world . The true and essential nature of the Soul, Purusha, is pure, absolute, self-luminous Consciousness. The nature of Avidya is the exact opposite of the true nature of the Purusha. For consciousness is the source of all knowledge, understanding and insight. The soul in its true nature possesses all these qualities of consciousness in their absolute measure because it is absolute consciousness. But somehow the soul has forgotten its true nature and plummetted down into state of unconsciousness, Avidya.
From this state of total unconsciousness, the soul awakens through various stages of evolution, through sensation, perception, desire, pain, pleasure, thought etc. to a ray of self-conscious egoism, sense “I” ness called as Asmita in the Yoga-suthra. This ego-centric awareness is only a small point of light, aware only of the superficial surface of its own self and the life around it; it is still surrounded on all sides by the vast, dark, heavy and massive unconsciousness, tamas, of Avidya, which forcefully prevents the ego from looking within and beyond itself into its own depth and know the truth of his own self and that of the life around. So Avidya is the subconscious or the inconscient matrix from which soul awakens to the state of mental self-consciousness which is only a tiny ray of consciousness floating in the surface of a vast sea of the unconsciousness of Avidya.
But we would like to distinguish here between the unconsciousness of the Avidya of Yoga-suthra and that of modern psychology. Modern psychology clubs together all that is beyond, below or behind the ego or in other words everything which the ego is not conscious into a single omnibus term “Unconscious”. But Indian yogic psychology admits states of consciousness behind or above the egoic consciousness which are infinitely more conscious and luminous and vaster than the egoic consciousness; they are “unconscious” only to the ego but not in their intrinsic nature. But in the case of Avidya, unconsciousness is intrinsic to the nature of the Avidya; it is a state of darkness and negativity which veils, clouds, and distorts the perception of the ego and forcefully prevents it from knowing the truth.
