Rāga - Desire - The Third Kleśa
Rāga - Desire
Sūtra 2.7 Sukhānuśayī rāgah
The third kleśa (affliction) discussed in Kriya Yoga is rāga. Rāga means desire.
As defined in sūtra 2.7 Sukhānuśayī rāgah, rāga translates to “the consequence of a pleasurable experience.”
The word sukha, which appears in the beginning of this sūtra, means comfort, ease, happy, and pleasant. As this sūtra explains, when we experience a moment of sukha, we don’t want it to end. We want it to continue, repeat, and ”be like that again” — we desire it (rāga).
Many times, when we want to repeat a pleasurable experience, we will take actions or make decisions that are not right, appropriate, or correct. In other words, we want things in our life to feel comforting and easy, but when we take actions to repeat a desirable experience (and those actions are not appropriate to the situation we’re in), suffering will follow.
Consider this example: You end a romantic relationship that had many difficulties and caused you pain. You know it was unhealthy, toxic, or simply not right for you. Then a few weeks later, late on a Friday night, you feel lonely and sad. Before you know it, you’re on the phone with your ex asking them to go out for a drink. You want to experience some comfort, ease, and happiness. However, since this is an unhealthy or toxic relationship, that momentary experience of pleasure will ultimately cause greater despair and suffering.
We desire positive experiences and emotions, but when we take inappropriate actions to repeat them, we get stuck in patterns. When we repeat the same experience and expect a specific outcome, we tend to fall into vicious cycles of harmful behavior.
Another way to understand rāga is that it is the foundation for addiction.
This said, some pleasurable experiences are very supportive and provide us with nourishment, joy, and contentment. It is not wrong to repeat those types of experiences. However, if it becomes inappropriate for us to repeat them, and we do, then we are acting from rāga.
A note for context: My perspective is based in the Viniyoga/Desikachar lineage. Viniyoga is a traditional Indian lineage of Yoga taught by TKV Desikachar, who was the son of Krishnamacharya. (Add hyperlink) My teacher, Chase Bossart, was a 20+ year private student of Mr. Desikachar. I have studied this text with Chase, word for Sanskrit word, consistently for the past four years.
Stay tuned to learn more about each of the kleśas (afflictions) in my upcoming blog articles.
Namaste,
Kelly