Patanjali Yoga Sutra — 2.3॥avidyāsmitā rāga dveṣābhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ॥

अविद्यास्मिता राग द्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः ॥

Five impediments of sādhaka that destroy his Yoga sādhana are: ignorance, ego, attachment to sensory pleasure, animosity, hankering for life and its pleasures.

The five afflictions listed by Patañjali in this sūtra are like weeds; the main crop grows fine only if the weeds are removed periodically. All the great masters have shown that eternal bliss is possible only when we have unity with Paramātma. It is true that finite things bring us finite happiness whereas infinite can bring in infinite bliss. If sādhaka’s practice of yoga is comparable to a ship sailing on an ocean, these five obstacles are analogous to a typhoon, erratically pushing the ship hither and thither. They bind the sādhaka to his karmas and their phalas. Patañjali Maharṣi explains, so long as these obstacles are there, sādhaka is never fit to get samādhi — complete communion with Brahman. All these obstacles are explained one by one in the following aphorisms, very logically. When I say “Logically”, it is very relevant here to mention what that systematic presentation is about:

In Gītā (10.32) Bhagavān says, ‘vādaḥ pravadatāmaham’ that means, ‘Among arguments, I am vāda.’ There are three kinds of arguments according to tarkaśāstra :

1. Vāda: A logical presentation of an argument by collecting all relevant data with a view to conclusively establish the truth.

2. Jalpa: A fabricated argument with an intention to destroy the opposition at any cost even by deception and falsehood.

3. Vitaṇḍa: A rubbish argument to condemn and destabilize the opposition without ever establishing one’s position or stand logically.

Patañjali Maharṣi has made such a logical presentation (vāda) hereunder with a view to conclusively establish time-honored truth.

The sequential degradation of a sādhaka, according to Bhagavān, is also explained in the following aphorisms.