Patanjali Yog Sutra - Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah (1.2)

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥२॥

Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah (1.2)

Q. What is Yog?
Yog is Chitta Vritti Nirodhah.

This sutra is also known as the Lakshana Sutra, for it is in this sutra, Patanjali presents the definition of Yog. He defines Yog as the Nirodha (settling) of the Vrittis (mental disturbances).

The Vritti is the non stop processing, that continues to run in the back of our mind, and hampers us from internalizing our awareness. Yog is the addressal of the those non-stop flux, that goes on in our head and dictates our days and our lives. The entire effort of Yog is to put a pause button to the continuous on-going noise that goes on in the background, and distracts us from being ourselves.

Whether we are aware or not, there are innumerable thoughts that occupy the mind all the time, and the mind, knowingly or unknowingly, entertains them all. Yog is to bring a halt to those tendencies of the mind, and then to channel that awareness inwards. Yog is to disconnect from the external and to establish the connection within.

Very simply put, if we have to look at the bottom of the lake, it is very important for the lake to be still; it is very important for the ripples to die down and the waters to settle, so that the stones that lie at the lake bottom become visible.

In our lives, we all have had such days when someone would have said something to us and their words keep on playing on our mind, for a long time. It can be a small conversation at work or a casual discussion at home. Even while doing something else, those words occupy our minds and continue to influence our emotions and actions. We spend the entire day processing them in various ways, and the rest of the day gets colored by it. Our mind would hover around those words, exactly in the same way a fly would hover after being squashed. And it is this hovering tendency of the mind (Vritti) that Patanjali mentions in this sutra. He defines, Yog as the Art and Science that addresses the hovering of the mind and helps it to settle inward.

The aim of Yog are twofold - to see the reality as it is and to deeply connect within. And to achieve both these aims, it is important that we channel the mental energy from the outside to the inside. Only then we will be able to see the beautiful stones that lie at the river bed.