essential nature”: draÓsÓtuÓh svar ̄upe’vasthanam ̄ [YS 1.3]. The highest pur-
pose of yoga, says Swami Ramakrishnananda, “is to secure the necessary
discipline for the purpose of awakening the spiritual consciousness of
man.”^25 Non-establishment in Self-nature is a consequence of the Seer’s
assimilation with the activities of the mind. This non-discrimination of
Self from one’s mental processes results from ‘afflictions’ or kle ́sas(√klis,
‘to distress, ‘to torment’). With the concept of the kle ́sas, the idea of Yoga
as a religious therapeutic comes into sharp focus, for Yoga’s soteriology is
directed to removal of these afflictions, which cause suffering and prevent
liberative Self-realization. Dasgupta tells us that Yoga’s goal, the trans-
formation of the buddhiinto its purest state, where it steadily reflects the
true nature of puruÓsa, requires more than knowledge: “a graduated
course of practice is necessary.”
This graduated practice should be so arranged that by generating the
practice of living higher and better modes of life, and steadying the mind
on its subtler states, the habits of ordinary life may be removed.^26As in other Indian traditions, liberation in Yoga depends on cultiva-
tion of higher knowledge, but Yoga is distinguished by its systematic
means of subduing, purifying, and vitalizing the body and body/mind to
help bring about attainment of higher stages of consciousness, discrimi-
native wisdom, and liberation. Yoga does not concern itself with the sa-
cred in terms of sacred forces, objects, or rites. Yoga is a theistic tradition.
God, known as Î ́svara, is free from the influences of karmaand free of all
afflictions or kle ́sas[YS 1.24]. In Î ́svara “the seed of omniscience is unsur-
passed” [YS 1.25]. He is regarded as the great Teacher, the teacher of the
ancient teachers [YS 1.26], who by compassion wishes to teach knowl-
edge and virtue for the liberation of puruÓsas[YBh 1.25]. Î ́svara inspires
the aspirant in the effort of self-cultivation. The efficacy of Î ́svara-
praÓnidhana ̄ , resignation or devotion to God, is clear from the Yoga-
sutras’ ̄ declaration that samadhi ̄ may be directly attained by this means
[YS 1.23]. For some yogins, surrender to God—devotion to God of all
one’s actions of mind, speech, and body [YBh 1.23]—is sufficient for at-
tainment of sam ̄adhi, and the yogin need not begin with the preliminary
limbs of Yoga. However, most practitioners need to start at a more ele-
mentary level, so Yoga provides a course of disciplines whereby the kle ́sas
may be attenuated and liberative knowledge achieved.
The kle ́sasrepresent varieties of metaphysical illness, afflictions of
mistaken attachment to physical and psychophysical aspects of prakÓrti.
There are five kle ́sas:
100 religious therapeutics