योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥२॥
पदविभाग: (separating individual words): योगः, चित्त, वृत्ति, निरोधः
अन्वय: (Rearranging in logical prose sequence): चित्त-वृत्ति-निरोधः योगः (अस्ति)
प्रतिपदार्थ: (word-by-word meaning):
योगः (yogaḥ): Yoga, चित्त (citta): of the mind / consciousness / mind-stuff, वृत्ति (vṛtti): fluctuations / modifications / patterns / movements, निरोधः (nirodhaḥ): cessation / restraint / stilling
That “sh” sound (श् / ś) you see in योगश्चित्त (yogaścitta) is the result of a phonetic rule in Sanskrit called Sandhi (specifically, Visarga Sandhi). Here’s a breakdown to understand it –
- The first word is योगः (yogaḥ). It ends with a visarga (the two dots ः), which produces a light “h” sound.
- The second word is चित्त (citta), which starts with the palatal “ch” (च) sound.
- The grammatical rule states that whenever a visarga (ḥ) is followed immediately by a “ch” (च) or “chh” (छ) sound, the visarga transforms into the palatal “sh” sound (श् / ś).
तात्पर्यम्: (final translation): Yoga is the complete cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.
Further context on 2nd sutra in Patanjali’s Yogasutras
Each thought is a force. It is the culmination of all the natural forces acting together to produce the firing of neurons in our brain. Each of us possesses a chitta, or mind stuff, which acts as the instrument that catches hold of this force and generates a thought.
This verse suggests that the outside world remains largely unknown or unknowable to us. What we experience as a thought is simply our internal reaction to that external environment.
To understand how this happens, we need to look at our internal architecture. We have senses, the physical organs responsible for those senses, and the mind that connects to both. The mind gathers these sensations and presents them to the determining faculty, known as Buddhi.
This entire internal system used to gauge our environment consists of the indriyas (organs), the manas (mind), the buddhi (intellect), and ahamkara (egoism). Together, they form the Antahkarana, our internal instrument.
All of these elements are different processes occurring within the same chitta. You can think of chitta as the individual mind in its totality. When movement happens within this chitta, it creates mental waves. These waves of thought are what Patanjali calls vrittis.
The analogy of the lake
Imagine the chitta as a lake and the vrittis as ripples on its surface. The bottom of the lake represents our true self.
If the water is constantly agitated by ripples, the bottom remains completely hidden. We cannot see our real self until we subdue those waves. The cause of these ripples might be a pebble tossed into the water. This implies that our minds are set into motion by forces extending far beyond our current lifetime. What truly matters is the vigor with which we learn to control this motion.
Who is behind this causation, and why do they do it? I do not have the answer to that. But one thing is certain. The mind is constantly in motion. It is always turning, revolving, and rolling. As an observer of this movement, our primary job is to calm this monkey mind and give it a clear direction. Yoga is simply the path through which this lake is pacified.
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