Vritti

Vritti (Sanskrit: वृत्ति, “turn”, “modification”, “wave”) is the fluctuation of mind — the continuous movement of consciousness oscillating between past and future, desire and aversion. In the Yoga Sutras (YS 1.2), Patanjali defines yoga itself as the cessation of these waves: yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ. There are five vrittis: pramāṇa (valid knowledge), viparyaya (error), vikalpa (verbal imagination), nidrā (sleep), and smṛti (memory). Each can be kliṣṭa (afflicted) or akliṣṭa (unafflicted) depending on whether it feeds fundamental ignorance. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna points to mental instability as the yogi’s chief obstacle. Controlling the vrittis does not mean eliminating thought, but that consciousness stops identifying with each wave as it arises and subsides.