🔥 Rāga (Attachment or Desire)
Rāga is defined in Sūtra II.7:
“Sukha-anuśayī rāgaḥ”
Rāga is that which follows after pleasure.
This sūtra explains that rāga is the attachment that arises from previous experiences of pleasure (sukha). It is one of the five kleshas (afflictions or causes of suffering), listed in Sūtra II.3, which disturb the mind and obstruct the path to liberation:
“Avidyā-asmitā-rāga-dveṣa-abhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ”
Ignorance, egoism, attachment (rāga), aversion (dveṣa), and clinging to life are the causes of suffering.
Rāga keeps the practitioner bound to the cycle of craving and repulsion, reinforcing the sense of self and entanglement in sensory experiences.