These five vṛttis are] right knowledge, error, imagination, sleep, and memory.

Bryant Commentary:

The vṛttis, which bind puruṣa to the world of saṁsāra, are enumerated here. Patañjali lists five distinct types of vṛttis. The implication, in essence, is that the human mind finds itself in one of these five states at any given moment. According to the Yoga tradition, all possible mental states that can be experienced can be categorized as manifestations of one of these five types of vṛttis. Any other states of mind that one might conceive of would be considered by the Yoga tradition as a subset of one of these five essential categories. The commentators reserve their comments for the ensuing sūtras, which explain each of these items in turn.

Pramana, Viparyaya, Vikalpa, Sleep and Recollection.

They are right perception, misperception, conceptualization, deep sleep, and remembering.

The five vacillations are correct perception, misconception, imagination, sleep, and memory.

(They are) right knowledge, wrong knowledge, fancy, sleep, and memory.

Taimini Commentary:

Here again, on a cursory examination, the five-fold classification may appear rather odd but a deeper study will show that it is perfectly scientific. If we analyse our mental life, as far as its content is concerned, we shall find it to consist of a great variety and number of images, but a closer study of these images will show that they can all be classified under the five broad sub-heads enumerated in this Sutra. Before we deal with each of these separately in-the subsequent five Sutras let us try to understand the underlying system of classification in a general way.

Pramana and Viparyaya comprise all those images which are formed by some kind of direct contact through the sense organs with the outer world of objects. Vikalpa and Smrti comprise all those images or modifications of the mind which are produced without any kind of direct contact with the outer world. They are the result of the independent activity of the lower mind using the sensuous perceptions which have been gathered before and stored in the mind. In the case of Smrti or memory these sensuous perceptions are reproduced in the mind faithfully, i.e. in the form and order in which they were obtained through the sense-organs previously. In the case of Vikalpa or imagination they are reproduced in any form and order from the sensuous material present in the mind. The imagination can combine these sensuous perceptions in any form or order, congruous or incongruous but the power of combining the sensuous perceptions is under the control of the will. In the dream state the will has no control over these combinations and they appear before consciousness in haphazard, fantastic and frequently absurd combinations influenced to a certain extent by the desires present in the sub-conscious mind. The higher Self with its will and reason has, as it were, withdrawn beyond the threshold of consciousness, leaving the lower mind partly entangled with the brain deprived of the rationalizing influence of reason and the controlling influence of will. When even this remnant of the lower mind also withdraws beyond the threshold of brain consciousness we have dreamless sleep or Nidra. In this state there are no mental images in the brain. The mind continues to be active on its own plane but its images are not reflected on the screen of the physical brain.

Now, let the student examine his mental activity in the light of what has been said above. Let him take any modification of the lower concrete mind which works with names and forms and see whether he cannot put it under one or the other of these five groups. He will find to his surprise that all modifications of the lower mind can be classed under one or the other of these subheads and therefore the system of classification is quite rational. It is true that many modifications on analysis will be found to be complex and come under two or more groups but the various ingredients will all be found to fit under one or another of the five groups. That is why the Vrttis are called Pancatayyah, five-fold.

It may be asked why only the modifications of the lower concrete mind have been taken into account in this classification of the Citta-Vrttis. Citta comprises all the levels of the mind, the lowest of which is called the lower Manas functioning through the Manomaya Kosa and dealing with concrete mental images with names and forms. The answer to this question is obvious. The ordinary man whose consciousness is confined to the lower mind can conceive of only these concrete images which are derived from perceptions through the physical sense-organs. The Citta-Vrttis corresponding to the higher levels of the mind though more definite and vivid and capable of being expressed indirectly through the lower mind are beyond his comprehension and can be perceived on their own planes in the state of Samadhi when consciousness transcends the lower mind. Yoga starts with the control and suppression of the lowest kind of Citta-Vrttis with which the Sadhaka is familiar and which he can understand. No useful purpose could be served by dealing with the Citta-Vrttis corresponding with the higher levels of the mind even if these Citta-Vrttis were amenable to ordinary classification. The Sadhaka has to wait till he learns the technique of Samadhi.

Let us now consider the five kinds of modifications individually, one by one.

They are caused by correct knowledge, illusion, delusion, sleep and memory.

Iyengar Commentary:

These five-fold fluctuations or modifications of consciousness are based on real perception, or correct knowledge based on fact and proof; unreal or perverse perception, or illusion; fanciful or imaginary knowledge; knowledge based on sleep; and memory.

Consciousness has five qualitative types of intelligence: mudha (silly, stupid, or ignorant), ksipta (neglected or distracted), viksipta (agitated or scattered), ekagra (one-pointed or closely attentive) and niruddha (restrained or controlled). Since conscious intelligence is of five types, fluctuations are also classified into five kinds: correct knowledge, perverse perception, imagination, knowledge based on sleep, and memory. These five conscious states of intelligence and five classes of fluctuations may disturb the sadhaka, or help him to develop maturity of intelligence and attain emancipation.

Wrong perceptions (viparyaya) are gathered by the senses of perception and influence the mind to accept what is felt by them (as in the story of the six blind men and the elephant). Fanciful knowledge (vikalpa) causes the mind to live in an imaginary state without consideration of the facts. Memory (smrti) helps one to recollect experiences for right understanding. Sleep (nidra) has its own peculiarity. As a jar when empty is filled with air, so consciousness is empty in sleep. It exists in space, without a place, and is filled with dormancy. In sleep, one has a glimpse of a quiet state of mind, manolaya. This dormant state of mind is felt only on waking. Just as a flower when at rest is in its bud, so the consciousness rests in its bud, the conscience. Correct knowledge (pramana) is direct knowledge from the core of the being. It is intuitive, therefore pure, and beyond the field of intellect.

Direct knowledge leads man beyond the conscious state. This state of consciousness is called amanaskatva.

They are right knowledge, misconception, verbal delusion, sleep and memory.

Satchidananda Commentary:

Here Patañjali names the five types of vṛttis and explains them one after the other.

(These are) right knowledge, indiscrimination, verbal delusion, sleep, and memory.

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