Summing up the block of seven lines that Patanjali dedicated to exercising the state of mind wholeness (chitta-prasadanam), I shall try to explain why this subject has been essentially significant. One can by intuition guess that mind non-wholeness (chitta-vikshepa) correlates with vritti. And indeed, this opinion was shared by all commentators of Yoga Sutras We… Continue reading Mind Wholeness, Absent-Mindedness and Torpid Mind. Mistakes in Meditation
Tag: chitta-vritti-nirodha
Sutra 1.40. Another Post About Miracles
Many people are looking for kitschy miracles but turn their blind eye to the major one The sutra 1.40 been quoted out of context gave rise to numerous twisted fantasies that I intend to dispel. This sutra completes the passage on scattered mind (chitta vikshepa) restoration and stabilization methods, and reads as follows परमाणु परममहत्त्वान्तोऽस्य… Continue reading Sutra 1.40. Another Post About Miracles
Sutra 1.37. Emotions and Wholeness
In the recent articles of the blog I have wandered a little off the point of Yoga Sutras’ text sequential analysis in favor of sharing interesting reports made at Krakow conference. Now I’m coming back on the track of the main issue. Let me remind the reader that starting from sutra 1.33. Patanjali draws a… Continue reading Sutra 1.37. Emotions and Wholeness
Sutra 1.35. Methods of chitta stabilization.
Part 4. Thoughtless brains beget evil ideas
In the next lines Patanjali proceeds with methods of chitta stabilization and bringing together that, as you might remember, have been already said to include the development of Anahata experience and control of breath. The line 1.35 offers one method more, yet its interpretation requires that we overcome a few challenges. The first challenge is… Continue reading Sutra 1.35. Methods of chitta stabilization.
Part 4. Thoughtless brains beget evil ideas
Sutra 1.34. Breath control as a method of gathering chitta
The next line of Yoga Sutras does not involve any difficulty for translation, as well as for commentary and understanding. प्रच्छर्दनविधारणाभ्यां वा प्राणस्य ॥ ३४॥ 1.34 pracchardana-vidhāraṇābhyām vā prāṇasya pracchardana (n.) – a well-known word that in terms of literature on yoga denotes “exhalation”. It consists of the prefix pra + cchardana – a… Continue reading Sutra 1.34. Breath control as a method of gathering chitta
Sutra 1.33. Methods of chitta stabilization.
Part 2. Yogi’s “Virtues” of anahata nature
In his next sutra Patanjali offers a totally different and very original approach to the issue of restoring the integrity of chitta that is grounded upon development of anahata experience: मैत्रीकरुणामुदितोपेक्षाणां सुखदुःखपुण्यापुण्यविषयाणां भावनातश्चित्तप्रसादनम् ॥ ३३॥ 1.33. {maitrī-karuṇā-muditā-upekṣāṇāṃ} {sukha-duḥkha-puṇya- apuṇya-viṣayāṇāṃ} bhāvanātaś {citta prasādanam}
In this line the author made use of nominal compound structures called… Continue reading Sutra 1.33. Methods of chitta stabilization.
Part 2. Yogi’s “Virtues” of anahata nature
Chitta-Vritti-Nirodha and Shamanic Experience
In this blog, as well as in other works of mine, I have more than once mentioned shamanic roots of yoga much as of other psychopractices. However there comes a question: are the key goals and practices of yoga as laid down by Patanjali correlated with analogous goals and practices of shamanism? It may be… Continue reading Chitta-Vritti-Nirodha and Shamanic Experience
Sutras 1.2 and 1.17. Nirodha and Samprajna
For those readers who in this multitude of articles might havelost the general thread and the logic of YS doctrine exposition Ishall put in remembrance the basic points. • In the second line Patanjali gives the definition of yoga as chitta-vritti-nirodhah • Then he draws definitions of each vritti. • In the line 1.12 he… Continue reading Sutras 1.2 and 1.17. Nirodha and Samprajna
Some Words on the Subject taken from Sandilya Upanishad
It is interesting that they have actualized the difference between nirodha variants in scope of classical Yoga; for instance the Sandilya Upanishad that in terms of significance I consider to be commensurate with the text of Yoga Sutras states that: 41. For the destruction [1] of the Chitta, there are two ways – Yoga and… Continue reading Some Words on the Subject taken from Sandilya Upanishad
Chitta Vritti Nirodha
As I have already mentioned earlier, this line of YS has a conceptual significance for the whole subsequent understanding of the text, as well as the practice of yoga in general, so I have decided to dedicate to it not one article (I guess so far there are three J apart from those already written)… Continue reading Chitta Vritti Nirodha