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The Vrittis - Understanding The Nature Of The Mind

Updated: Oct 28

In the profound realm of Yoga philosophy, the "vrittis" gracefully reveal to us the intricate dance of the mind's fluctuations. Derived from the Sanskrit term "vrit," meaning to whirl or revolve, the vrittis elucidate the myriad patterns and activities that disrupt the mind's inherent tranquillity and clarity.


To put it bluntly, the vrittis expose the mind for what it is – an absolute tumultuous spectacle of absurdity, delusion, lightness and joy.


As human beings, with our inherent need and desire to straighten out anything that appears so paradoxical, it's no surprise that we find ourselves repeatedly entangled in its complexities.


Over the next few weeks, using the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as our foundational text, we will discover together that within the Science of Yoga, the mind is characterised (in both positive and negative ways), by five distinct vrittis, each of which reveal an important facet of our mental landscape and how we perceive, interact and relate to the very fabric of existence itself.


Before we dive headfirst into a detailed examination of each vritti, let us first unravel the mystery of these mental patterns and behaviours.


Pramana (Correct Perception)


Pramana is the vritti of accurate knowledge, where the mind aligns with truth and perceives the world without distortion. It is the clarity that arises when our understanding mirrors the reality of things. Pramana is like a diligent librarian of the mind, tirelessly cataloguing and organising our perceptions with a scholarly precision - or so it would seem. In reality, Pramana is deeply influenced by the other four vrittis , leading one to the eternal question of whether our perceptions of things are truly our own.


Viparyaya (Misconception)


Viparyaya, in contrast to Pramana, manifests as the vritti of misconception or erroneous understanding. Here, the mind distorts perceptions, giving rise to false impressions, illusions, and a skewed interpretation of reality. Viparyaya is the trickster of the mind, adept at weaving elaborate tapestries of illusion.


A wonderful way of describing both the behaviour and the action of Viparyaya is to imagine yourself navigating the labyrinth of your mind, only to discover that every twist and turn leads to a hall of mirrors, each reflecting a distorted version of reality back at you. Here, the principle of correct perception becomes a grand joke indeed, and an existential absurdity reigns supreme.


Vikalpa (Imagination)


Vikalpa introduces the vritti of imagination and conceptualisation.


Whilst these are incredibly important mental abilities that help us to navigate the future before it arrives, when the mind's creative ability is unleashed, it also has the propensity to concoct fantasies and unnecessary mental constructs; constructs and fantasies that add layers of complexity to an already tangled web of perception and understanding.


In the realm of Vikalpa, reality is simply a blank canvas waiting to be adorned with the vibrant hues of our dreams and desires, splattering the canvas of existence with the colours of our wildest fantasies.


Nidra (Sleep or Forgetfulness)


Nidra embodies the vritti of sleep or mental dullness, and it is not confined to physical slumber alone. It signifies a state of inertia where the mind lacks clarity, awareness, and alertness.


When seen through the mental eye of Nidra, reality becomes a hazy dream; time flows like a river of wet sugar and human logic takes a backseat to the experience of life. We find ourselves drifting through a fog of forgetfulness, our memories morph into chimerical fantasies and dreams blur with waking life. When held tightly in the grip of Nidra, reality is but a fleeting illusion… where up becomes down and left becomes right.


Smriti (Memory)


Last but certainly not least, there is the vritti of Smriti, the habits and patterns of memory. 


Smriti is the ability of the mind to weave the threads of our past into the tapestry of our present. In the realm of Smriti, every memory is a cherished treasure, a relic of bygone days that has been imbued with the bittersweet flavour of nostalgia.


And yet our memories are not memories at all; modern understanding of memory recall has revealed that each time we remember something we are, in fact, remembering the last time we remembered it… and, if that’s the case, then how can we be sure of anything we remember at all.


The Vrittis are not merely fleeting thoughts or passing whimsies of the mind - they are the very fabric of our cognitive, conscious existence.


Within the Science of Yoga, the vrittis are recognised as the essential nature of the everyday, temporal consciousness we all have and, through which, we all experience our lives, our environments and our relationships.


When we come to understand the absurdity of our own minds, through the dedicated and disciplined practice of Yoga, we find ourselves smiling and laughing at the sheer chaos of it all and our hearts fill with joy at the blissful, cosmic comedy of existence itself.


It is here we come to realise that whilst Yoga is a terribly serious business indeed, we must never take ourselves too seriously at all…


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