Vrittis

The Nature of Vrittis, the Mind, and Liberation

Vritti is a Sanskrit word meaning “whirl.” Basically, a vritti is an emotion—good or bad—that arises in our consciousness. Each emotion we feel settles at a specific level in our body.

There are different chakras at different levels of the body that serve as the home where these levels of emotion settle. The rawest, most inherent layers of emotions, or vrittis, settle in the lower two chakras: Svadhishthana and Muladhara. The higher chakras house higher emotions and lift us to higher levels of consciousness as we learn to govern them.

Energy is the expression of the dynamic flow of the cosmos. The mind is a vibration of energy. To express the flow of energy, the mind adopts vrittis, or mental tendencies.

Vrittis are the thoughts and emotions that whirl around in our minds. Vrittis express emotions, but at the same time, they cloud our mind. Emotions are constantly changing; they disturb the natural peace and calm of our true nature and act as the veil through which we are prevented from having clarity.

Vrittis are caused by attachments and desires, and they can be worked through by the practices of Yoga. When all the vrittis have been digested, the mind is free from the manipulations of thoughts and emotions.

This doesn’t mean we stop feeling emotions. As we practice, we learn to feel emotions fully, but they no longer overpower us. We can look at emotions, feel them, understand them, and let them go. Then, there is space for them to be replaced by a different emotion. We lose the attachment to emotions that make us feel good, as well as to the emotions that drive us to repeat bad habits.

Yoga is the way to quiet the vrittis in the mind, or chitta, to reveal our true self.

The 5 Groups of Vrittis

Patanjali, the father of yoga, grouped the vrittis into five distinct categories:

• Pramana (Correct Perception or Right Knowledge): The information collected by our five senses. This is knowledge that we believe to be true because it comes from personal experience or a reliable source.
• Viparyaya (Misconception or Incorrect Understanding): This occurs when our senses misinterpret what is presented to them. An example is a coiled rope on a dark path that is mistaken for a snake until it is seen clearly. Our tricky minds distort perceptions, giving rise to false impressions and illusions that eventually must be corrected by right knowledge.
• Vikalpa (Imagination): Imagination is a valuable tool of the mind for planning and generating ideas. However, it can also create unrealistic fantasies that complicate our perception and understanding. Fear and paranoia are also created within our imaginations.
• Nidra (Sleep or Forgetfulness): Nidra is the vritti of sleep or mental dullness. It can be a state of inertia where the mind lacks clarity, awareness, and alertness.
• Smriti (Memory): Smriti represents the habits and patterns of memory. It is the way our minds weave threads of our past into the tapestry of our present. Modern research into memory recall has revealed that each time we remember something, we are actually remembering the last time we recalled it, rather than the original event itself.

Avidya, Jnana, and Brahman

Vrittis are modifications of the mind, and they are the direct effect of Avidya.

Avidya is the veiling or ignorance of our true nature. It is a misconception of our true reality and is described as a lack of awareness of our true nature, which disconnects us from truth or from knowing the way things really are. It manifests as an attachment to our personality or ego, which we mistake for our true identity.

Avidya can be destroyed by Jnana. Jnana is spiritual knowledge or wisdom. When one obtains the wisdom that the Self is inseparable from the oneness of the Universe, or the Divine, a realization occurs that we are all a part of the same whole. An inward awareness takes place; one becomes free from worldly and mental burdens and becomes inseparable from absolute reality.

Eventually, all vrittis are absorbed back into Brahman—the unchanging reality described as “knowledge” and “infinity.” Also known as The Tao, God, or Universal Oneness, Brahman is the omnipresent source underlying every person, molecule, and atom.

This process is called Laya, meaning “dissolution,” much like a drop of water vanishing onto a hot pan. When thoughts and emotions are traced backward to their origin, they dissolve back into this pristine source of emptiness and oneness. This dissolution leads naturally to samadhi—the highest unification with the Divine—freeing the mind from the endless cycle of mental waves and returning it to absolute stillness. (Note: This foundational cosmic matter from which creation springs is known as Moola prakriti, or the “original state.”)

The Layers of the Mind and Koshas

Vrittis arise from the mind (chitta). They arise because a vritti is the essential nature, or the bridge, between two levels of the mind: the mind of intellect and knowledge (buddhi) and the mind that perceives (manas).

• The energy body related to consciousness, knowledge, intuition, and experience (buddhi) is the Vijnanamayakosha.
• The part of the mind related to the five senses (manas) is the Manomayakosha. It constantly craves new, pleasant sensations, emotions, and experiences.

For a deeper exploration of these energetic layers, read the full guide here: The 5 Koshas: Understanding Your Subtle Bodies.

“Mind gains great strength when the vrittis are destroyed. It is not easy to destroy vrittis (thought-waves) because they are innumerable. They should be taken up one by one and dealt with separately. Some vrittis are very strong. They demand strong efforts for their destruction. Most of the vrittis are very weak. Weak vrittis melt away like clouds. Strong thoughts remain and frequently recur daily in the morning as soon as you rise from your bed.”

Quieting the Mind

To overcome this, we must enter silence. Silence is Atman. Silence is the heart-cave. When the mind is fully controlled, the vrittis cease.

We achieve this by closing our eyes, drawing in the senses (indriyas), and stilling the mind—silencing the thoughts, sharpening the intellect, purifying the chitta, meditating, and chanting Om. When all the vrittis cease, the samskaras (latent impressions) and the foundational frame of the mind still remain. These samskaras can only be completely “fried” and dissolved by Nirbija-Samadhi.

On an emotional level, the vrittis are associated with the different chakras. The chakras are traditionally depicted as lotuses with a specific number of petals, with one emotional vritti corresponding to each petal.

The linga sharira is the subtle body. It is composed of the pranamaya kosha (vital life breath), manomaya kosha (mind), and the vijnanamaya kosha (intellect). The real indriyas (senses) reside in this astral body (linga sharira); they are incredibly subtle (sukshma).

To purify these layers, we have to ingest goodness and health. We must adopt a healthy, sattvic lifestyle that involves walking mindfully, eating fresh food, maintaining a healthy gut, and speaking nicely and kindly to and about other people. We must choose to be positive and encouraging.

When the outgoing tendencies of the mind are arrested, when the mind is retained within the heart, and when all its attention is turned entirely inward upon itself, that condition is known as Antarmukha Vritti. The Antarmukha Vritti is the indrawing energy of the mind, brought about by an increase in Sattva (purity and light).

When we finally reach Samadhi, the senses are entirely absorbed back into the mind. They are no longer wandering or searching outward for external stimuli.