Ignorance and Egoism
To regard the non-eternal as eternal,
the impure as pure,
the painful as pleasant,
and the non-Atman as the Atman —
this is ignorance.
To identify consciousness with
that which merely reflects consciousness —
this is egoism.
Attachment is that which dwells upon pleasure.
Aversion is that which dwells upon pain.
The desire to cling to life is inherent
both in the ignorant and in the learned.
This is because the mind retains
impressions of the death experience
from many previous incarnations.
When these obstacles
have been reduced to a vestigial form,
they can be destroyed,
by resolving the mind back
into its primal cause.
In their fully developed form,
they can be overcome through meditation.
— Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
(From Sacred Jewels of Yoga)