“Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha means the calming and cessation of the restless and ever-changing modifications of the mind. When the practitioner disengages from identification with thoughts and abides in the state of a witness, one experiences one’s true nature.”
Meaning of Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodh
The second sutra of Maharshi Patanjali’s Yoga Philosophy, “Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodhah,” is extremely brief yet encompasses the entire philosophy of yoga within it. The general meaning of this sutra is that the stopping or calming of all the changing states of the mind is called yoga or samadhi.
word-by-word meaning:
Yogah – yoga is,
Chitta – mind,
Vritti – Mental fluctuation /whirlings/ Modification of the mind,
Nirodh – Cessation / Complete restraint,
Here, yoga is not limited to any physical practice, but is connected to the depths of the mind. Maharshi Patanjali wants us to understand that the real purpose of yoga is to recognize the restlessness of the mind and rise above it.
If a practitioner is truly serious and not merely caught up in external show, assimilating this principle is not difficult. It requires only consistent practice and awareness.
Our mind, by nature, keeps changing continuously. One moment it is in happiness, and the next moment it is in sorrow. The mind belongs to the world of illusion, and for this reason, it remains a servant of the world.
Its existence is limited to being attached to objects and being affected by them. As long as the mind is absorbed in the world, it can never be stable.
Because the mind cannot remain the same and keeps changing, its Vritti also continuously arise. When all these Vritti are calmed, the form of the mind that we normally call the mind ceases to exist.
In this state, the mind no longer has an independent existence because its basis was the Vritti themselves.
For this reason, yoga can also be called liberation from the bondage of illusion. When the modifications of the mind stop, the practitioner becomes free from worldly attachments.
At that time, the person becomes only the observer and knower. This is the state of moksha, where the soul experiences itself beyond all limitations.
Through yoga practice, we can know our true self. Any non-yogi cannot know their true self because, in ignorance, they take these constantly changing mental modifications to be their self.
This is the fundamental illusion. The mind’s emotions, thoughts, and reactions are not the soul, yet due to ignorance, a person considers them to be themselves.
For example, if a non-yogi experiences anger, they identify themselves with that anger. They feel that “I am this anger.” Similarly, they mistake all other emotions as their self. They consider their body, possessions, happiness, and sorrow, honor and insult as their self from time to time. This is the state of self-ignorance in which a person remains unaware of their true nature.
In the next sutra, Maharshi Patanjali clarifies that when these modifications are completely stopped, the Self recognizes its true nature. In that state, it also experiences the nature of the supreme self.
When impurities of consciousness are destroyed, the practitioner resides in pure consciousness where no duality remains.
Further in Yoga Darshan, Maharshi Patanjali describes five kinds of Chitta Vritti (modifications of the mind). These five are Pramana, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Nidra, and Smriti. Due to these Vritti, the mind remains active and entangled in the world.
It is important to understand each of these five Vritti because only through recognizing them can one control them.
If a practitioner wants to understand these five types of Chitta Vritti in detail as mentioned in Yoga Sutras, they must deeply know their nature and impact.
Five Types of Chitta Vritti in Yoga Sutra
Pramana Vritti is the state in which we get direct knowledge of the world through the senses and mind. For example, we see with our eyes and say there is earth, there is sky. Similarly, we hear sounds, feel cold and heat. Knowledge also arises through inference, like seeing someone cry and assuming that something unpleasant happened. Agama is also a form of Pramana (Valid Knowledge), which includes reliable knowledge obtained from scriptures or a guru.
Viparyaya Vritti is the state of the mind where the true form of things is not perceived. Doubts and wrong beliefs arise. Things are not as they appear. For example, if a lover thinks that their partner has started loving someone else just because they are not talking. Or when parents scold a child for misbehavior, the child may misunderstand that the parents do not love.
Vikalpa Vritti contains only imaginations which have no connection to reality. Like imagining a flying elephant or two donkeys fighting with horns. We know donkeys do not have horns, yet the mind makes such imaginations. This Vritti appears in life when someone imagines doing a wrong act and expects a positive outcome.
Nidra Vritti is also a state of the mind. In sleep, the mind is covered by ignorance and rests in darkness. Even then, the mind remains active because, upon waking, the person experiences that they had a peaceful sleep.
Smriti Vritti is the state when we recall past events. For example, someone remembers going to the Himalayas in childhood and falling sick due to extreme cold. This remembrance is also an activity of the mind.
How to Practice Chitta Vritti Nirodh?
Since the mind is inherently changeable, forcibly calming it is almost impossible. It cannot be suppressed. The mind can only be disengaged, and this is the real meaning of this sutra. Ending the mind does not mean stopping thoughts from arising, but stopping attachment to them.
The practitioner should not identify with the modifications, but remain in a witnessing state. When a yogi sits in meditation observing the modifications without getting entangled, Chitta Vritti Nirodh happens naturally.
Many new practitioners try to control the mind using the mind itself, which is impossible. This is a continuous process that develops over a lifetime with practice. It is not a task that can be completed quickly, but a discipline that requires patience, consistency, and awareness.
