The purification of the mind is liberation, like the cleansing of impurities on the path; the impurity of the mind is the difficulty, by purifying it, one becomes pure.

The metaphor of the path (gati) and purification (śuddhi) is a practical one. Citta-mala — mental impurity — is the hardship (kaṣṭa); there is no other impurity. Patañjali’s kleśas are mala: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and fear of death. Śuddhi — purification — is not ritual but viveka: seeing clearly that impurities are not inherent to the mind but are mere adhesions. The vimala — the pure — that results is not a new color, but the original color revealed. Gold does not become gold when it is purified; it is revealed as what it always was. So it is with the mind: it is not transformed into pure consciousness; it is recognized as the pure consciousness that had been confused with its contents.

The metaphor of the path (gati) and purification (śuddhi) is a practical one. The citta-mala—mental impurity—is the hardship (kaṣṭa); there is no other impurity. Patañjali’s kleśas are precisely such mala: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and the fear of death. Śuddhi—purification—is not ritualistic but rather viveka: seeing clearly that impurities are not inherent to the mind but are mere adherences. The resulting vimala—the pure—is not a new color, but the original color revealed. Gold does not become gold when it is purified; it is revealed as what it always was. So it is with the mind: it is not transformed into pure consciousness; it is recognized as the pure consciousness that had merely become confused with its own contents.