Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 6

प्रमाणविपर्ययविकल्पनिद्रास्मृतयः ॥६॥

pramāṇa-viparyaya-vikalpa-nidrā-smṛtayaḥ ||6||

They are right perception, wrong perception, imagination,
deep sleep and memory.

pramāṇa - right perception, a correct notion; a means of acquiring; measure, scale, standardviparyaya - wrong perception, misapprehension, error, mistake; intrinsic misconception; reversed, inverted, perverse, contrary tovikalpa - false notion, fancy, imagination; mental occupation; variation, combination, variety, diversity, manifoldness; difference of perception, distinction;nidrā - deep sleep; slumber; sleepiness; slothsmṛti - remembrance; memory; mindfulness; the whole body of sacred tradition or what is remembered by human teachers and constantly revised
<<< >>>

Commentaries and Reflections

Commentary by T Krishnamacharya:

“What is the true nature of the Citta?”

“In this Sūtra, Patañjali lists the five types of mental activities:
Pramāṇa Vṛtti, Viparyaya Vṛtti, Vikalpa Vṛtti, Nidrā Vṛtti, and Smṛti Vṛtti.
Vṛtti and Pariṇāma are synonymous, meaning “change of form”.
These five Vṛtti represent changes in the characteristics and functions of the mind.”

“The mind acts in countless ways and all of them
stem from the power of past Karma Vāsanā.
This is why individuals differ from one another.”

“Although the activities of the mind are countless,
Patañjali categorizes all of them in one of five groups:
Pramāṇa, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Nidrā, and Smṛti.”

Commentary by TKV Desikachar:

“Sleep (Nidrā) and Samādhi are the only times when there is no ‘I’.”

Commentary by Paul Harvey:

“The five groups are
right perception,
wrong perception,
imagination,
deep sleep and
remembrance.”

“Given the at all other times in verse 4,
we need to thwart the ploys of the mind to
conform to its unhelpful fluctuations by reducing:
1. The tendency of the mind to perceive in too many ways.
2. The tendency of the mind to distort what we see.
3. The tendency of the mind to fantasize.
4. The tendency of the mind to go to sleep at inappropriate moments.
5. The tendency of the mind to get lost in memory or impose memory on reality.”

“When these unhelpful fluctuations take over you are not there.
So if you are not consistent with your efforts,
you will not change your state of mind.
Plus, the unhelpful aspects of the fluctuations reduce
the tendency of the mind to experience a clarity of being.”

“In Sūtra 1.6 Patañjali identifies the psychic
fluctuations as being fivefold.
In looking at this statement,
which of these are you engaging?”

Links to Related Posts:

 

Inspirational Quote

“Common sense is the knack of seeing things as they are, and doing things as they ought to be done....” Harriet Beecher Stowe