The fifth affliction is Abhinivesa; which is defined as “self-taste swarasa flowing and carried on by its own inclination vahi, in that way established even in the wise” What is the meaning of this suthra? To put it in a simpler language, Abhinivesha is the attachment to the taste of the limited, personal life of the ego-self. As we have said elsewhere the vital being in man has a taste and relish for life, not for this or that form or mood of life, but for the very throb and flow of life, not for the greater, unconditioned, blissful and eternal life of the higher self but for the conditioned transient, conflict-ridden and personal life of the lower self Abhinivesha is this attachment to the savour and relish of the personal ego-centric life swarasa; it is what Budha termed as Tanha, the primal and essential thirst for life; it is established in the subconscious roots of life-force, Prana; it is established even in the wise because even the wise live by the life-force Prana. They are considered as wise because they have an enlightened mind, Sat, in most cases, this illumination in the mind does not have sufficient power to penetrate into the subconscious roots of life and root-out the source of vital ego and desire.
We may say that if Asmita is the source of ego-sense in the mind, Abhinivesha is the source of ego-sense in the life force or the vital being in man. In fact raga-dvesha is the outer conscious manifestations or forms of this deeper subconscious thirst for life. The Fear of death, which is the fear of annihilation of the life of the personal self, is the other diverse form of Abhinivesha.
These are the five afflictions Klesha which are the source of Citta Vritti, the modifications of the mind and also the source of karma, endless births, bondage and pain. The first aim of the sadhana of rajayoga is to weaken the klesas through a system of inner and outer discipline called as kriya yoga and yamas and niyamas. But these are preliminary purificatory disciplines which can only weaker but cannot eliminate the klesha. According to Rajayoga total elimination of Kleshas is possible only by tracing them to their subtle seed in the subconscious roots of our Citta and dissolving them the light of deep meditative understanding dhyan.
