raga

Raga is the pull toward what we have liked in the past. Sūtra 2.7 defines it by its source rather than its object: attachment follows pleasure, which means the mind is not reaching for the thing itself but for the memory of how the thing felt. The word literally means "coloring" or "dyeing," and it's the same rāga from Indian music, a musical mode that colors a mood. The mind takes on the color of what it has enjoyed. Raga is about deciding which experiences are worth arranging a life around: "wanting to get." It pairs with dvesha, a similar kind of desire but in the other direction: "wanting to get rid of."