Vritti (Vrutti) (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

: वृत्ति,

Harvard-Kyoto The Harvard-Kyoto Convention is a system for transliterating Sanskrit and other languages that use the Devanāgarī script into ASCII. It is predominantly used informally in e-mail, and for electronic texts. Harvard-Kyoto system Prior to the ...

: vṛtti,

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

: વૃત્તિ), means "streams of consciousness",it is also a technical term used in

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

meant to indicate mental awareness against disturbances in the medium of

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

. Vritti can be taken as a catch-all term for any content in consciousness, where consciousness is regarded as a medium or container for any possible mental content. The scope of the idea is very broad, referring not only to thoughts and perceptions experienced in a normal waking state, but also to all super-physical perceptions, such as

dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, alth ...

or in any

altered state of consciousness An altered state of consciousness (ASC), also called altered state of mind or mind alteration, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking state. By 1892, the expression was in use in relation to hypnosis, though there ...

. Vritti has also been translated as "waves" or "ripples" of disturbance upon the otherwise calm waters of the mind. The classical definition of yoga as stated in the Yoga Sutras is to calm the waves and return, or reunite (yoga = union) mind to its calm state, or samadhi.

Usage in yoga

The concept of vritti is central to the main definition of

given in Sutra 1.2 of the

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' is a collection of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sutras (according to others, including BKS Iyengar). The ' ...

: "yogasch chitta vritti nirodha".

I. K. Taimni I. K. Taimni (Iqbal Kishen Taimni, 1898–1978) was a professor of chemistry at the Allahabad University in India, and an influential scholar in the fields of Yoga and Indian philosophy. He was a leader of the Theosophical Society. Taimni authore ...

translates this as: "Yoga is the silencing of the modifications of the mind". Central to the definition of yoga is the concept of ''vritti'' as a modification of the mind, which it is the intent of yogic practices to silence. In the context of yoga, the presence of vrittis in consciousness is regarded as impediments to enlightenment.

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

uses the metaphor of a lake to illustrate this concept: “ hittais the mind-stuff, and Vrttis are the waves and ripples rising in it when external causes impinge on it. The bottom of the lake we cannot see, because its surface is covered with ripples. It is only possible when the ripples have subsided, and the water is calm, for us to catch a glimpse of the bottom. If the water is muddy, the bottom will not be seen; if the water is agitated all the time, the bottom will not be seen. If the water is clear, and there are no waves, we shall see the bottom. That bottom of the lake is our own true Self; the lake is the Chitta, and the waves are the Vrttis.” Thus it is the goal of yoga to "still" or "silence' the modifications in consciousness, the vrittis, and thereby set the stage to learn the technique of

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

, an advanced mental method for achieving enlightenment.

According to Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

In the context of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and

, vrittis refer to different tendencies, or psycho-physical propensities, which give scope for the

mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

to express a variety of

feeling Feelings are subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of the sensations ...

s and

emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

s. Hindu texts describe samskaras to be a result of past actions and experiences that have left an imprint on the mind. The expression of samskaras gives rise to vrittis, which collectively represent the behaviour that makes most people different from each other: difference in desires and repulsions; in predispositions and complexes.

Connections made to modern science

According to some modern descriptions, a vritti triggers the

gland In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

s associated with that particular propensity to secrete the corresponding

hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs by complex biological processes to regulate physiology and behavior. Hormones are required ...

s. Usually this is done

subconscious In psychology, the subconscious is the part of the mind that is not currently of focal awareness. Scholarly use of the term The word ''subconscious'' represents an anglicized version of the French ''subconscient'' as coined in 1889 by the psycho ...

ly, although

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

s endeavour to control and master the expression of their vritties, through the practice of

asana An asana is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and later extended in hatha yoga ...

s (postures) and sadhana (meditation), leading to the attainment of

siddhi In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation ...

s (occult powers), and giving clear passage for the

kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

to rise. Vrittis need not be considered confined to the

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...

experiences of advanced yogis. The seat of the vritti of

love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

, or prema in

, is the

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

; the seat of the vritti of

fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

(bhaya) is the stomach. The sensation of feeling one's heart swoon, or "getting butterflies" corresponds to the physical expression of these psychic propensities. Each vritti may have a negative or positive expression. Even love, when over-expressed, leads to intense possessiveness. The goal of the yogi is thus not to suppress, or annul their vrittis, rather it is to find a harmonious balance, and ultimately, to channelize these tendencies inward.Shrii Shrii Anandamurtii, "Plexi and Microvita", ''Yoga Psychology'', Ananda Marga Publications, Calcutta, 1990 As a word, ''vritti'' means literally

vortex In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in th ...

(of consciousness), or "circular activity with no beginning and no end".

Vrittis of Tantric Chakras

Below are the Vrittis associated with each of the Tantric

Chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...

s: #

Muladhara Muladhara ( sa, मूलाधार or मूलाधारा; IAST: , lit. ''"root of Existence." Mula'' means root and ''dhara'' means flux.) or the root chakra is one of the seven primary chakras according to Hindu tantrism. It is s ...

: greatest joy, natural pleasure, delight in controlling passion, and blissfulness in concentration. #

Swadhisthana Svadhisthana ( sa, स्वाधिष्ठान, IAST: , en, "where your being is established." "''Swa'' means self and "''adhishthana'' means established), is the second primary chakra according to Hinduism, Hindu Tantrism. This chakra ...

: affection, pitilessness, feeling of all-destructiveness, delusion, disdain and suspicion. #

Manipura Manipura ( sa, मणिपूर, IAST: ) is the third primary chakra according to Vedic tradition. Description Location Located above the navel, Manipura translates from Sanskrit as "city of jewels" alternatively translated as "resplendent ...

: spiritual ignorance, thirst, jealousy, treachery, shame, fear, disgust, delusion, foolishness and sadness. #

Anahata Anahata ( sa, अनाहत, IAST: , en, "unstruck") or heart chakra is the fourth primary chakra, according to Hindu Yogic, Shakta and Buddhist Tantric traditions. In Sanskrit, ''anahata'' means "unhurt, unstruck, and unbeaten". ''Anaha ...

: lustfulness, fraudulence, indecision, repentance, hope, anxiety, longing, impartiality, arrogance, incompetency, discrimination and defiance. #

Vishuddha Vishuddha ( sa, विशुद्ध, IAST: , en, "especially pure"), or Vishuddhi ( sa, विशुद्धी), or throat chakra is the fifth primary chakra according to the Hindu tradition of tantra. The residing deity of this chakra is ...

: communication, calmness, purity, a melodious voice, and the command of speech and mantras. #

Ajna Ajna ( sa, आज्ञा, IAST: , ), brow or third eye chakra, is the sixth primary chakra in the body according to Hindu tradition and signifies the unconscious mind, the direct link to Brahman (ultimate reality). The third eye is said to ...

:centre of spiritual energy between the two eyebrows. #

Sahasrara Sahasrara ( sa, सहस्रार, IAST: , en, "thousand-petalled", with many alternative names and spellings) or the crown chakra is considered the seventh primary chakra in some yoga traditions. Hatha yoga The Sahasrara is described ...

:centre of spiritual energy at the crown of the head.

References

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External links