Description of the Vrttis - Thought Forms
5. वत्तृ म् ऩञ्चतय्य् णिष्टा अणिष्टा्॥ ५॥
vrittayah pangchatayyah klishta aklishtah
“There are five classes of modification, of which we have place them as painful and not painful.”
Based on our life experiences from birth to our formative years and the present day, thoughts have arisen through experience and we placed upon them the emotions that arise at the time of their conception.
For example I was given ice cream it felt good or, it gave me tummy ache. Then repeat this in a more and more micro fashion, waves upon waves of experiences, emotions, sensations and thoughts gathering and layering on top of one another into what you perceive is a landscape of polarisation pleasant and unpleasant.
Pleasant emotions, thoughts, feelings, experiences, memories, and unpleasant. Which then will you lean to and what coping mechanisms are in place for the unpleasant? More layering then of alternative story lines and false memories, waveforms etc to avaid, hide, disassociate from and repress.
Therefore what we perceive as painful and not painful on based on the idea of preference.
Ideas are energy, form and frequency. The Yogis listed them as five main categories. Anything that moves energy away from what is, is waste, excess. Remember where we started?
Citta Vrtti Nirodha - to go beyond wave forms of thought we must understand what they actually are. So that we may observe them slowly overtime with the Self trust and dispassion of the meditator.
6. प्रभािणवऩमम य णवकल्पणनद्रास्मतृ म् ॥ ६॥
pramannaviparyayavikalpanidrasmritayah
“(These are) right knowledge, indiscrimination, verbal delusion, sleep, and memory.”
Right knowledge being painless as it is the result of wisdom, illumination from samadhi, meditation and concentration.
This is true freedom. Freedom of the trappings of the mind, but let’s be clear we are still in the world where there are good and bad experiences there are opportunities to do good things and choose a moment by moment path of wisdom.
On a deeper level there is also varying degrees of karma including past actions and future consequences. More of that later.
The mind forms, waves or modifications are five in the main and non of which are cessation - ceasing. These five labels are useful to name when practicing meditation the sitting when the mind appears to increase its frequency of thought. Observing as they wander past. Until the minds settles through various practices or learnt techniques.
Many meditators will admit going deep into fantasies whilst sitting and ‘meditating’. Remember it's not a judgement more of a note to self, literally Self, to move on or move up the frequency spectrum as it were and out of the buying into of thought waves.
As one wave will invariably lead to another.
7. प्रत्यऺानभुानागभा् प्रभािाणन ॥ ७॥
pratyakshanumanagamah pramanani
“Right knowledge is inference from competent evidence that we experience through the senses and, which provide proof.”
Mind stuff which is the result of right knowledge from logic, reasoning that is learnt from the world around us through the senses and imprinted as a correct knowing of experience.
8. णवऩमम य ो णभथ्याऻानभ अ् तद्रू ऩप्रणतष्ठभ ॥् ८॥
viparyayo mithyajnanam atadroopapratishtham
“Indiscrimination is false knowledge not established in real nature, something incorrectly learnt, observed or perceived.“
Mind stuff that we have acquired from conditioning or under false pretences that has left an incorrect imprint.
9. शब्दऻानानऩुाती वस्तशुन्यू ो णवकल्प् ॥ ९॥
shabdajnaananupati vastushoonyo vikalpah
“Verbal delusion follows from words having no (corresponding) reality, this can be anything that is not learnt to its fullest or misinterpreted so not know by truth.”
10. अबावप्रत्यमारम्बना वणृत्तणनद्र य ा ॥ १०॥
abhavapratyayalambana vrittirnidra
“Sleep is a Vrtti which embraces the feeling of voidness”
Sleep is a conscious process with its own mind fluctuations. Evidence of sleep containing mind fluctuations and thought including analysis or observations would be that we know whether we slept well or whether we dreamed and whether our mind or body was more of less active. So Yogis do not count sleep as in anyway thought less.
11. अनबुतूणवषमासप्रं भोष् स्मणृत् ॥ ११॥
anubhootavishayasanpramoshah smritih
“Memory (smritih) is when the (Vrttis of) perceived subjects do not slip away (and through impressions come back to consciousness)." Through experience we have memories that create waves vrttis. These can return again and again we varying levels of intensity.
THE 5 Vrttis
Thought forms / waves / patterns / signals / pathways
Pramana - correct knowledge
Viparyaya - incorrect knowledge
Vikalpa - imaginary or fantasy
Nidra - sleep
Smriti - memory
Applied Practices
Truth {Direct evidence from those who lead the way}
that which we have categorised as painful and not painful. That which we attach desire or fear to, and that which we want to attract or avoid.
Inference {Logic / Reasoning}
It makes logical sense that the mind would polarise experiences into pleasant and unpleasant. By noticing the minds adaptive techniques and varying waveforms, signals and pathways we can begin to decode our preferences and reach out into unlimited possibility, knowing that life and nature Prakriti mainly consists of nuance with no absolutes.
Experience {Practice}
Begin to allow experiences of light and shade into your meditations incorporating the sensory experiences of pleasure and pain, lightness and heaviness.
Learn to objectively begin to control what the mind thinks about by becoming familiar with how subjective it can be.
Track your mind’s wonderings with dispassion.
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