Thoughts about Quieting the Mind

by Nina

Number 48 by Jackson Pollock*

The first time I read the definition of yoga in Patajanli’s Yoga Sutras, I have to admit my eyes glazed over a bit. Okay, a lot. 

1.2 Yoga cittavritti nirodha
1.2 Yoga is the cessation of the movements in the consciousness. — Iyengar  

It seemed so abstract! What are the movements in the consciousness? And why do you want them to cease? And what did all that have to do with what I’d been learning in my yoga classes? 

It wasn’t until I heard Patricia Walden discussing the meaning of the compound word “cittavrtti” (translated above as “movements in the consciousness” with “citta” being “consciousness” and “vrtti” being “movements”) that I had my little epiphany. Patricia described the vrttis as being “revolutions” of the mind and connected the word “vrtti” to the “revolved” poses we do in our asana practice, such as Parivrtta Trikonasana, Parivrtta Arda Chandrasana, and Parivrtta Janusirsasana. 

The Whirls of Consciousness

Once I learned that vrttis could be thought of as “revolutions” of the mind, I started to think about the way our minds tend to cycle over and over with the same thoughts. When we are depressed or anxious or mentally stressed out, aren’t we tormented by negative thoughts and emotions that go round and round? What if I miss my deadline? What if the plane crashes? What if I can’t fall asleep tonight? Or, if only my lover hadn’t left me. If only I wasn’t so helpless/afraid/overwhelmed. If only my parents had loved me more. (See Yoga Sutra 1.2: Restricting the Whirls of Consciousness). Later Baxter added to my understanding of this by pointing out that in addition to fears about the future and regrets about the past, our vrttis can include judgments about the present, such as “I suck at meditating,” or “I hate that person.” 

In fact, the Yoga Sutras identifies five afflictions that basically sum up all the negative thoughts we tend to experience.  

2.3 avidya asmita raga dvesha abhinevesha klesah


The five afflictions (klesas) which disturb the equilibrium of consciousness are: ignorance or lack of wisdom, ego, pride of the ego or the sense of ‘I,’ attachment to pleasure, aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life. —Edwin Bryant 

Now the idea of being able to quiet those thoughts—to cease their movements—seemed quite appealing! (Not all the vrttis are negative thought patterns, by the way; those are just my example of some vrttis I’d really like to restrict. Edwin Bryant defines the vrttis as “any sequence of thought, ideas, mental imaging, or cognitive acts performed by the mind, intellect, or ego.”)  

So that’s why I started to prefer a different translation of the same sutra, one that translated “vritti” as “whirls” rather than movements or fluctuations.

1.2 Yoga is the restriction of the whirls of consciousness. —Georg Feuerstein 

That's very evocative, isn't it? It made me think of a Jackson Pollock painting....
 
Quieting the Mind  

In yoga philosophy, the whirls of consciousness not only cause suffering by disturbing our equanimity, but they also prevent us from being present and realizing the truth. Patanjali states the aim of quieting the mind in very next sutra:

1. 3 When that is accomplished, the seer abides in his own true nature. —Edwin Bryant  

So how do we quiet the mind? Yoga was initially developed (or perhaps “evolved” is a better word) for that purpose. Thousands of years of different kinds of yoga practice have resulted in a lot of different methods for quieting the mind, including meditation, breath practices, and chanting. But traditionally the recommended practice is meditation (see Samyama: The Trinity of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi ). As the Yoga Sutras says: 

2.11. The states of mind produced by these klesas are eliminated by meditation. — Edwin Bryant 

Interestingly, Desikachar has a completely different and very straightforward translation of sutra 1.2, which essentially defines meditation in a nutshell. In his definition, the moment of quieting the mind through meditation IS yoga.  

1.2 Yoga cittavritti nirodha
1.2 Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward and object and sustain that direction without any distractions. —Desikachar 

Whether or not the aim of your practice is to achieve union with the divine or simply cultivate contentment, the concept of quieting the mind is useful because restricting the whirls of consciousness fosters equanimity. It also teaches you about how your mind works. When you start to become aware of the vrttis—of the way your mind gets caught up in them—they start to lose some of their power over you and you can begin the process of separating yourself from them.

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