Six Enemies of the Mind (Shad-ripu)

All is suffering

Suffering, as we know, is a part of life. When the baby is born, the first sound you hear from the baby is that of a cry. During our lifetime, we go through all kinds of pain and suffering caused by disease, injury, fatigue, stress, disagreements, old age, and finally death etc. Even the so called moments of pleasure are short-lived. 

Our scriptures and the great teachers from the ancient times talk about suffering and how the goal of life is to end this suffering so we can be liberated. 

In Buddhism, there is mention of four noble truths:

1. Dukkha (suffering): This life is full of suffering
2. Dukkha samudaya (reason for suffering): lustful cravings (trishna) lead to suffering
3. Dukkha nirodha (end of suffering): It is possible to put an end to this suffering
4. Nirodhagamini pratipad (path to freedom from dukkha): Buddha gives the eight-fold path to eliminate dukkha

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali presents an identical viewpoint even though he has used a slightly different terminology:

1. Dukkha (suffering)
   1. For those who have developed discriminatory wisdom, all life is suffering on account of the pains resulting from change, anxiety and tendencies (samskaras); as also on account of the conflicts between the functioning of the three Gunas and the Vrttis (fluctuations of the mind) (Sutra 2.15)
2. Heya-hetu (cause of suffering)
   1. The cause of that (suffering) which is to be avoided is the union of the Seer (Purusha) and the Seen (Prakriti) (sutra 2.17); 
   2. This union is caused by ignorance (avidya) (sutra 2.24)
3. Haana (removal of dukkha)
   1. The dissociation of Purusa and Prakrti brought about by the dispersion of ignorance (Avidya) is the real remedy (for eliminating suffering) and it leads to Liberation of the Seer (Purusha). (Sutra 2.25)
4. Haanopaya (technique of removal)
   1. Uninterrupted discriminative discernment is the means for the removal of the apparent union between Purusha and Prakriti (Sutra 2.26)
   2. By the practice of the limbs of Yoga, the impurities dwindle away and there dawns the light of wisdom, leading to discriminative discernment (sutra 2.28)

As you can see, on the topic of dukkha (suffering), there is a marked similarity between the concepts presented by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras and the four noble truths presented in Buddhism.

Samkhya Karika, the most authentic and widely followed text on the philosophy of Samkhya, also states a similar concept in its very first shloka: 

duḥkhatrayābhighātāj jijñāsā tadapa1ghātake hetau ।

dṛṣṭe sāpārthā cen naikāntātyantato’bhāvāt ॥ 1॥ 

Because we are confronted with the three kinds of suffering, there is a desire to know the means of its removal. And if it is argued that the enquiry is superfluous because some obvious means are available (medical science, for example), we must realize that these other means are neither absolute nor permanent (Samkhya Karika 1) 

The three categories of suffering mentioned in this verse are: adhyatmika (caused by the body or mind of oneself), adhibhautika (caused by other living beings) and adhidaivika (caused by divine intervention) 

What is the root cause of this suffering? As stated above, Patanjali, in the yoga sutras, attributes this suffering to avidya (ignorance). When we are ignorant of our true nature, ego takes over and begins to dominate our decision making. As we know, the ego likes to identify every life experience with labels such as “like it/dislike it”, “love it/hate it”, etc. This kind of labeling leads to strong attachments or strong aversions (raga/dvesha) which give birth to the six enemies of the mind discussed below.

Six enemies of the mind (shad-ripu) 

It is these strong attachments and aversions, which corrupt our mind with these six negative tendencies, which are commonly referred to as the six enemies of the mind (shad-ripu). All our behaviors and actions are constantly influenced by these six negative tendencies:

• Kama (lust/craving)
• Krodha (anger)
• Lobha (greed)
• Moha (delusion)
• Mada (arrogance, vanity)
• Matsarya (jealousy) 

Let us look at these six enemies of the mind one by one.

Kama (lust/craving) 

kama (craving/lust)

When a person has a pleasurable experience with an object of the five senses, he develops a liking for it which leads to attachment. When we constantly go after objects that we are attached to, it can lead to addiction. This can lead to a sense of craving for these objects. We can develop craving for food, power, sex, possessions, wealth etc. In some literary works, “kama” is usually associated with sexual craving. In the Bhagavad Gita (chapter 3, verse 37), it is stated, “The Supreme Lord said: It is lust alone, which is born of contact with the mode of passion (the guna rajas), and later transformed into anger. Know this as the sinful, all-devouring enemy in the world.”

Krodha (anger)

krodha (anger)

Anger is usually a response to some perceived threat. You can become angry when you lose your patience, when your opinion is being disregarded or you believe that injustice is being done to you. As stated above, we develop strong likes and dislikes based on life experiences. We get angry when our strong desires (cravings) are not fulfilled. Similarly, we get angry when we are not able to get rid of something that we totally dislike. Anger can get aggravated when you are unable to express it appropriately. 

As per a Buddhist saying, “anger is like holding a piece of burning charcoal in the hand with the intent of hurling at someone you hate. Guess who is getting hurt/burnt?”

Bhagavad Gita in the following shlokas (2.62, 2.63) describes how lust and anger can eventually lead to total destruction. The sequence described here is sometimes referred to as the “ladder of destruction”.

“When a man constantly thinks about objects of the five senses, attachment for those objects arises. From attachment is born desire (craving), and from desire is born anger. From anger comes delusion, from delusion comes loss of memory, from loss of memory comes destruction of intellect, which leads to total annihilation.” (Bhagavad Gita, verses 62-63, chapter 2) 

Lobha (greed)

lobha (greed)

Greed, like all the other negative traits, is driven by the ego. It represents an excessive and selfish desire to possess more than what we need or deserve. To fulfill their greedy ambitions people can resort to unfair means, violence, crime, stealing etc. People become greedy when they have a sense of insecurity, a sense of lack, incompleteness and unwholesomeness. 

We can curb greediness if we can learn to differentiate between “wants” and “needs”. When we live a life of contentment (santosha), we limit our endeavors to fulfilling our basic needs. On the other hand, irrespective of how much we possess, we are never satisfied and our “wants” continue to grow. You may want something because of an ad that you saw on TV, or you may be jealous of your neighbor who owns a million dollar home whereas you are living in a small two-bedroom condo.  

Moha (delusion)

moha (delusion)

Delusion refers to our inability to discern the real truth and get entangled with worldly attachments. We believe that we’ll get and give happiness by attaching ourselves to our kids, family etc, We don’t realize that this is only a deluded sense of happiness. True happiness comes from the pure love and compassion that results from non-attachment. Attachment is the result of the ego which always has some self-interest involved. We feel discouraged or unhappy when our self-interest is not fulfilled. On the other hand, when we perform our duty with an attitude of non-expectation (nishkama-bhava), this results in pure joy.  

Mada (arrogance)

mada (arrogance)

Some of the words that are commonly used to describe “mada” are arrogance, vanity, pride, presumptuousness, conceit, egoism etc. A person with these qualities always thinks too highly of himself and tries to put others down. People get arrogant about their beauty, position, fame, wealth, scholarship, lineage, physical strength etc. Even yogis who after intense meditation, develop special powers, called siddhis, are known to develop arrogance and egoism. Those living in this egoistic, exaggerated opinion of themselves get a rude shock when confronted with the realities of life and suffer great disappointments. Mada (arrogance) is like a balloon that keeps growing until it eventually bursts. Many a time there is a hidden sense of lack of self-esteem which makes them behave arrogantly.  

Matsarya (jealousy) 

matsarya (jealousy)

Jealousy and greed are closely related. Similar to greed, Jealousy also stems from a sense of non-contentment and inadequacy. One feels that one is missing or lacking something in life. When the person sees others possessing objects that he also desires, he feels a sense of jealousy. Jealousy, as we all know, has been a common theme portrayed in our movies, books, plays etc. It has been the cause of fights and wars. Many a divorce happen as a result of jealousy. Again, like all other negative tendencies, the main culprit for jealousy is the ego. 

Enemies of the mind in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali talks about three of these tendencies – lobha (greed), krodha (anger) and moha (delusion) while discussing two of the eight limbs of yoga – the five yamas and the five niyamas. 

“When negative thoughts of acts such as violence, etc. arise in the mind, they are either performed by oneself, or got done by others, or even approved of; they can be incited by greed, anger or delusion; or they can be indulged in with mild, medium or extreme intensity; they are the cause of infinite misery and unending ignorance. Reflecting in this manner is called “pratipaksha bhavana” (the contrary thought)” (sutra 2.34). 

The Yamas and Niyamas are as follows:

Yamas: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (celibacy) and aparigraha (non-hoarding)

Niyamas: shaucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerities), swadhyaya (self-study), ishwara-pranidhana (surrender to Ishwara)

The above sutra tells us that we tend to violate these yamas and niyamas when we are incited by greed, anger or delusion, which are three of the six negative tendencies that we are discussing. Which means that when we are motivated by these tendencies, we can engage in violence, telling the untruth, stealing, being greedy etc. What we need to realize is that indulging in these acts will ultimately result in untold misery and plunge us into darkness of ignorance. To avoid these pitfalls, Patanjali says that we should immediately think of thoughts that are contrary to these negative thoughts (pratipaksha bhavana).  

Concluding remarks

The six enemies of the mind that we have talked about are indeed the impurities of the mind that cloud our pure vision and cause untold pain and suffering. As we saw earlier, it is the ego which uses life experiences to plant the seeds of strong attachments and aversions. These attachments and aversions result in strengthening the six negative tendencies (shad-ripu) discussed here. It is the interplay between the ego and the shad-ripu that causes us pain and suffering at the mental and emotional levels. The only way to get rid of these negative emotions is to eliminate avidya (ignorance) which will diminish the influence of the ego, purify the mind and make it transparent so we can get access to the light of true intuitive wisdom.