Book 1, Part 3: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

written by Elena Bacash

In sutras 5-11 Patanjali tells us that there are five vrittis or activities of the mind. Vrittis are the fluctuations of the mind – that monkey mind that swings from idea to idea or more accurately from one thing it has made up to another thing it has made up. So, should we be listening to the thoughts that jump into our minds? Patanjali helps us clear this up by explaining the mind states and tells us that they are painful or not painful. He outlines five fluctuations of the mind or mind states:

1. Correct perception which includes sense perception, logic and verbal testimony
2. Incorrect perception
3. Imagination
4. Sleep (passivity)
5. Memory

These vrittis keep the purusha or spirit bound to the wheel of rebirth or samsara. We, the purusha or soul become identified or confused into thinking we are the objects we perceive like our thoughts and emotions and sometimes we even conflate physical things like our bodies, jobs or cars or houses with who we are because we are so attached to them.  If we lose a beloved piece of jewellery or a family heirloom or our house, our business, our relationships or our jobs, we’re devastated because we have invested ourselves entirely in them.  Remember though, we are not any of these things because we can sit back in the seat of Self and observe them. Patanjali tells us that this confounding of ourselves with objects of perception is the essence of our ignorance.

What are some of the statements we make that show us how identified we are with what we observe?

I am hungry

I am angry

I want money

I am intellectually superior or my opinions are correct

I am intellectually inferior or my opinions are incorrect

How do we overcome our problems? We need to overcome our attachment to objects and our misidentification with objects whether they are physical, emotional or mental.

Patanjali’s yoga sutras constitute the Raja yoga system which is the science of the mind and is the greater yoga system which includes the lesser yoga systems that we see today and have been used in the past.

The goal of the Raja yoga system is to control the lower nature or kama-manas – desire tinged with mind so that this can be replaced by the actions of the Soul or Seer. The Soul’s nature is love and its motivation is group connection. As Souls we need to rise above pleasure and pain - that duality which shows us we are identified with the form nature and develop instead non-attachment in our livingness.