Chitta - The Memory Function

In Vedanta, citta (chitta) is the memory function of the inner instrument (antahkarana). If manas is the doubter, and buddhi the decider, citta is the storehouse — it retains impressions (samskaras), recalls experiences, and provides continuity across time.

This storing and recollecting power gives life its narrative thread: we recognize people, places, and our own history because chitta holds impressions. In meditation, chitta is what brings up past thoughts, making quietude difficult. At the same time, without memory, there can be no learning or assimilation of the teaching.

Vedanta emphasizes that chitta is not consciousness itself. Like all aspects of the mind, it is jada (inert), illumined by awareness. Memory is a function, not the Self. The witness (sakshi) is ever-present, even as chitta retrieves or forgets.

For the seeker, the challenge is not to erase memory but to purify it — reducing binding impressions and strengthening shraddha and clarity. Yogic practice often emphasizes chitta-vritti-nirodhah — the quieting of mental modifications — but Advaita clarifies that freedom lies not in suppressing chitta, but in recognizing its borrowed nature.

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Root & Meaning

• From root cit = to perceive, to be conscious, to notice.

• Citta = that which holds impressions; the faculty of memory and recall.

Scriptural References

• Yoga Sutras 1.2: “Yogah chitta-vritti-nirodhah” — yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of chitta.

• Bhagavad Gita 6.35: “The mind (chitta) is restless, difficult to restrain, but can be controlled through practice and detachment.” (commentarial interpretations often gloss chitta here).

• Vedanta Sara: Lists chitta as one of the four functions of antahkarana.

Traditional View

• Chitta = memory, storehouse of impressions.

• Holds past experiences, provides recollection.

• One of the four functions of antahkarana (inner instrument).

Vedantic Analysis

• Chitta is inert, illumined by consciousness.

• Retains samskaras (subtle impressions of thought and action).

• Influences personality, tendencies, and habits.

• Important for learning and meditation, but can also perpetuate distraction.

Common Misunderstandings

• That chitta = consciousness: Chitta is illumined by awareness but is not awareness itself.

• That memory defines identity: Identity depends on ahankara; chitta is only one faculty.

• That chitta must be destroyed: It need not be erased; rather, it must be purified and understood as non-Self.

Vedantic Resolution

Chitta is the memory aspect of the inner organ, holding impressions and providing recollection. It is not the Self but an instrument illuminated by consciousness. True freedom comes from dis-identifying from it, not erasing it.