When we identify so deeply with our mind states, we can end up acting out these thoughts through our behaviors. Knowing the Meaning More Deeply Cultivate a Witnessing Presenceīy identifying with the fluctuations of the mind, life can feel like a roller coaster ride of madness. The heart of what Patanjali is addressing here is our consciousness as human beings.
This phrase, “yogas chitta vritti nirodha,” is stated in Yoga Sutra 1.2. These fluctuations that Patanjali refers to have to do with desires, aversions, attachments, ignorance and the ego's sense of “I” and “me” and “mine.' (Learn more in Who is Patanjali: An Introduction to the Father of Yoga.) However, what the author of the Yoga Sutras (Patanjali) is teaching us here has to do with a method of quieting the mind, which is a system of practices that leads us to mental peace.