The Famous Definition of Yoga
The second sutra of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras gives the most quoted definition of yoga: "Yogas chitta vritti nirodha" - yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.
Let us unfold the words:
- Chitta - the mind-field; the whole of our mental awareness, including thoughts, memory and impressions.
- Vritti - the movements, waves or fluctuations that arise in the mind.
- Nirodha - stilling, restraint or quieting.
So yoga, at its heart, is not merely a set of postures. It is the practice of calming the constant ripples of the mind until it becomes clear and still. Patanjali then adds that when this stilling happens, "the seer rests in its own true nature." This one line holds the entire aim of yoga in a few words.
What Are the Vrittis?
A vritti is any wave or modification that arises in the mind - a thought, a feeling, a memory, a judgement. Patanjali describes five kinds of vrittis: right knowledge, wrong knowledge, imagination, sleep and memory. Each may be pleasant or troubling.
A lovely image is helpful here: the mind is like a lake, and the Self is reflected on its surface. When the water is disturbed by countless waves, the reflection is broken and unclear. When the waves settle, the surface becomes a still mirror and the reflection appears whole.
The vrittis are these waves. Yoga does not fight to destroy the mind, but gently trains it to grow calm. As the fluctuations quiet down through practice and dispassion, the mind stops distorting our vision of who we truly are.
How Stilling the Mind Reveals the Self
Patanjali teaches that the fluctuations of the mind are calmed through two wings of practice: abhyasa (steady, patient practice) and vairagya (dispassion, or letting go of craving). Neither alone is enough; together they gradually quiet the mind.
Why does this matter so deeply? Because, in this view, our restlessness and suffering come from identifying with the ever-changing waves of the mind. We mistake passing thoughts and moods for our very self. When the waves grow still, that mistake falls away.
Then, as the sutra says, the seer - the pure awareness that we truly are - rests in its own nature. This is the Self shining without distortion. All the limbs of yoga, from ethical living to meditation, serve this single purpose: to still the mind so that our real, peaceful nature can be known directly.
Quick Answers
What does chitta vritti nirodha mean?+
It is Patanjali's definition of yoga - the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Chitta is the mind-field, vritti is the waves or movements arising in it, and nirodha is their quieting. In short, yoga is the practice of calming the restless mind until it is clear and still.
What is a vritti?+
A vritti is any wave or modification arising in the mind - a thought, feeling, memory or judgement. Patanjali names five kinds: right knowledge, wrong knowledge, imagination, sleep and memory. These waves, when stilled, allow the mind to reflect our true nature clearly, like a calm lake.
How are the vrittis stilled?+
Patanjali says the mind's fluctuations are calmed through two means: abhyasa, steady and patient practice, and vairagya, dispassion or letting go of craving. Practised together over time, they gradually quiet the mind so that the seer rests in its own true nature.
About the author
Pandit Ravindra Sharma · Vedic Rituals & Bhakti, 22+ years
Pandit Ravindra is the Vandnaa editorial team's resident specialist on aarti, chalisa, and daily devotion. He has performed home and temple pujas across Varanasi and Delhi for over two decades and contributes the bhakti-focused articles on this site.
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