Dvesha in Yoga Meditation
QUICK EXPLANATION ON DVESHA
Dvesha = veil of aversion
Dvesha = fourth of the 5 kleshas (which means coloring or veil)
5 kleshas: avidya, asmita, raga, dvesha, abhinivesha
Dvesha = When Consciousness appears to be an individual, which happens after the veils of avidya and asmita are added, it can look at the rest of the apparent manifestation and starts to dislike parts of it. When a sensory impression comes into the mind and ahamkara colors it with dislike, with aversion, it means the another veil is added, namely that of dvesha. This adds another false identity to “me”, because it is the appearance of “I” who dislikes, so anything colored with dvesha is immediately related to me.
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DVEHSA: PRACTICAL
Observe dvesha
In daily life you can witness dvesha easily in relation to ahamkara. As soon as a new sensory impression comes in; witness if it gets labeled by ahamkara. If so, which coloring does it get: raga or dvesha? Do you enjoy it or you not enjoy it? Do you think it is beautiful or ugly? Tasty or bad? Both are colorings of attachment. Now this impression will be stored in the unconscious mind-field, waiting for the day it can pop-up again. Both will add to the collection of false identities, because you instantly think when you like something that “I like it”.
Notice the degree of dvesha
If you witness how the sensory impression gets labeled, notice if you can be aware of the degree of the coloring. Is it heavily colored? Does it have a big aversion? Or is it a minor coloring and it doesn’t really matter what happens with it? Probably, it already has less effect on you, when you are mindful of the coloring. However, you may also witness the power of dvesha, which can be quite strong!
Dvesha and emotions
As soon as something gets colored with dvesha, it gets stored in the chitta. One day this samskara will bubble up and because of the coloring of dvesha is has an aversion quality to it. Which means something wants to be avoided. When you succeed in avoiding it the effect will be emotions like happiness, pride, greed, or anything related to a “smiley face”. When you do not succeed in avoiding this desire the emotions related to a “frown face” will be the effect; like anger, sadness, jealousy, or frustration. It is extremely useful to know that these emotions are unavoidable when something is colored with dvesha. When a sensory impression is colored, it will be stored (can’t escape this process). It will one day bubble up as active desire (can’t escape this either) and it will have an emotional responds (this too cannot be avoided). Thus, dvesha leads to emotions. Knowing this you can also observe your emotions and find out if this emotion was caused by raga or dvesha.
To like something you have to be in avidya
Know that you first have to be in avidya to be able to color something with dislike, with dvesha. Because there has to be the illusion that there are two, how else can one have an opinion about the other. So avidya and asmita might naturally enter into your conscious awareness when you start to observe dvesha.
Dis-like without coloring
If you are living in reasonable non-attachment (vairagya) you can still disapprove of things, but this is done with complete awareness that it has nothing to do with your true nature and it doesn’t matter if it stays or goes. In this state of being, buddhi stays sharp, and can still judge a situation. But since it has nothing to do with you it doesn’t add any dvesha, and therefore doesn’t form a samskara.
Remember it is all a play of Consciousness
To be less influenced by dvesha, you want to become constantly aware that all the apparent manifestation is but merely a dance of Consciousness. Nothing is a part of you or belongs to you. All is one. How can you like or dislike anything if it is all one and the same?!?
Daily observations and Self-assessment
Eventually the concept of dvesha will swim around in your awareness all the time, as it becomes a part of constant self-awareness. Also, becoming aware of dvesha will have the effect that you will increase your use of this word in your daily vocabulary to express yourself and you will discover how dvesha relates to other concepts, processes, or insights. For example, you may come to see that when you are in a state of kshipta you are more entangled in dvesha, then when mind is ekagra, or you come to understand the relationship between the gunas and dvesha. Eventually you will discover how all these concepts dance together and coming to know this dance will guide you towards that which is beyond all the concepts. This is because as you increase your self-awareness, you will discover that everything you can observe is not who you truly are, you are not dvesha, you are the One that is able to witness all these concepts. Therefore dvesha itself have to be transcended, who you really are is beyond dvesha. This will increase the non-attachment towards dvesha itself, while you can be in awe of the beauty of the Divine dance of Consciousness that appears to play as dvesha. Therefore practicing self-awareness is actually practicing not-self-awareness by which the True Self will eventually reveal itself.
Look at the self-assessment PDF and a PDF that includes daily internal dialogue and daily observation, or visit www.abhyasaashram.org (when you are on this page scroll all the way down to find several downloadable PDFs). These PDFs can be used as tools to explore and expand your understanding on dvesha.
DAILY OBSERVATION AND YOGIC SELF-AWARENESS ASSESSMENT
2.3 There are five kinds of coloring (kleshas): 1) forgetting, or ignorance about the true nature of things (avidya), 2) I-ness, individuality, or egoism (asmita), 3) attachment or addiction to mental impressions or objects (raga), 4) aversion to thought patterns or objects (dvesha), and 5) love of these as being life itself, as well as fear of their loss as being death (abhinivesha).
avidya asmita raga dvesha abhinivesha pancha klesha
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2.8 Aversion (dvesha) is a modification that results from misery associated with some memory, whereby the three modifications of aversion, pain, and the memory of the object or experience are then associated with one another.
dukha anushayi dvesha
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SWAMI RAMA ON DVESHA
“Attachment [raga] is always a source of misery, no matter who or what you are attached to, while love is a source of liberation. Attachment is dependent on others or on a particular object that will inevitable change, whereas love is dependent purely on knowledge and the reality. For example, if the person whom you claim to love changes, your feelings for that person will also change. Being attached to someone may give you pleasure, but that attachment could also lead you to dvesha.
Dvesha means “repulsion or feeling of hatred for persons or things”. Raga and dvesha, attachment and hatred, are two sides of the same coin. You cannot separate them. Dvesha may cause pain when one is confronted with an object or a person one does not like or when such an aversion assumes the form of contempt, hatred or open hostility. When you are attached you become blind and forget the reality.”
~ Sadhana pg.80
”Rajas creates raga (attraction or attachment) and dvesha (aversion or hatred) toward the objects of the world. One whose life is controlled by rajas remains continually active, for he constantly pursues the objects of pleasure. He is never satisfied and is always seeking new sources of pleasure. That way of being can lead to hypertension and many other diseases and does not allow the student to discipline and control himself. Often the student functions under the sway of unconscious habits of a rajasic nature and acts without knowing and understanding why he is doing so.”
~ The Perennial Psychology of the Bhagavad Gita pg. 384
SWAMI JNANESHVARA ON DVESHA
Read the whole article “Two faces of Emotions in Yoga Psychology” on www.swamij.com
Two types of desires and emotions: There seems to be no limit to the diversity of our desires. However, the desires all operate in only two directions. Either we want something or some outcome, or we want to avoid something or some outcome. Every desire falls into one of those two types.
Similarly, there are only two categories of outcomes once those desires become active and play out. Either we attain our desired outcome, or we do not attain our desired outcome. From those, there are at least hundreds of emotional responses, although all of those emotions are of only two types or directions as well.
In Yoga psychology all of these pairs are related to the kleshas (colorings) of raga (attraction or drawing towards) and dvesha (aversion, pushing away, or opposition) as described in Yoga Sutras 1.5 and 2.1-2.9. These are accompanied by the klesha or coloring of the fear of the loss or “death” of the matrix of attractions and aversions that collectively define who we (incorrectly) think we are at the level of personality and physical body identity.
Read the whole article “Witnessing” on www.swamij.com
Dvesha, aversion or pushing away:
Aversion is a form of attachment: Aversion is actually another form of attachment. It is what we are trying to mentally push away, but that pushing away is also a form of connection, just as much as attachment is a way of pulling towards us.
Aversion is a natural part of the mind: Dvesha actually seems to be a natural part of the universal process, as we build a precarious mental balance between the many attractions and the many aversions.