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itself the primary klesa. Avidyā gives immediate rise to ego (asmita) which results in desire and aversion ( Raga-dveṣa) and also in apprehension of self-loss or death (Abhiniveśa ).
The Yogins say that every karma known to the world is done under the influence of these klesas and is therefore defiled. It has the effect of prolonging worldly existence with its attendant evils. Such a karma, even when it produces happiness is not free from its impurity. It may be white (Śukla) but has not bearing on the soul's release from ignorance. So also the other two varieties called dark (Kṛṣṇa) and mixed (Śuklakṛṣṇa ). All these varieties of karma originate from non-discrimination (aviveka) or avidya. True knowledge is of the nature of discrimination. Whatever karma originates from this source has the effect of uprooting ignorance and leading to emancipation which is freedom from the shackles of prakṛti.
The Yogi's karma is uncoloured, in the sense that it is none of the coloured varieties. This karma has the effect of producing discrimination and thereby removing avidya etc. which generates mundane life. It tends ultimately to destroy the function of the guņas which consists in helping forward not only the cause of bhoga of the ignorant puruşa but also the cause of apavarga of the same purușa. This is the karma of a yogi which enables the soul to regain its detachment from nature and ultimately to instal it on the pedestal of aloofness from creation. This karma of the yogins is a form of yoga which is described under the technical appellation of Kriyayoga by Patanjali consisting of Tapas, Svadhyāya and Iśvara praṇidhāna. The three forms of Kriyāyoga representing the three aspects of human nature stand for the activities of will, knowledge and devotion with surrender. Tapas is penance of any kind involving some physical pain such as is bearable by the body. Undue hardship is to be avoided. Svadhyaya is reading of Sastras and Mantra-culture which produces knowledge. Iśvarapraņidhāna in its lower form is to perform our duties without an eye on their results which have to be dedicated to God or the Supreme Guru. In its higher form the
