Vritti - The Movements of the Mind

We tend to think of the mind as a single, continuous field—one stream of thinking, feeling, remembering, imagining. But Vedanta offers a more precise picture. What we call “the mind” is not a monolith but a constant sequence of momentary appearances. A thought flares up, lingers for a breath, and dissolves. An emotion rises with force and then fades. A memory flashes, an image forms, a sudden insight breaks through. None of these movements are permanent, and none stay longer than the conditions that give rise to them. They come and go like weather.

Vedanta calls each of these appearances a vritti (vṛtti)—a modification of the mind, a small wave forming on the surface of awareness. It is a beautifully simple idea: the mind is not a fixed entity, but a field of ever-changing formations. And yet this simple insight has profound consequences for spiritual inquiry. Because if the mind is always moving, and the Self is the one who knows those movements, then the Self cannot be the mind. A vritti is known; the knower is not.

This distinction is the beginning of freedom. When anger arises, it is not I am angry but anger is arising. When sadness drifts in, it is not I am sad but a sad thought is moving through the mind. When joy bubbles up, it is not I am joyful but simply here is joy. The wave is never the ocean. The movement is never the witness. The appearance is never the awareness that knows it. Seeing this clearly loosens centuries of conditioning.

A vritti is not a moral event. It is not a personal failure or achievement. It is not “negative” or “positive,” “spiritual” or “unspiritual.” It is simply the mind doing what the mind is designed to do—respond to impressions, interpret experience, process memory, and express the tendencies (vasanas) that lie dormant within it. Even emotions, which seem so intimate and defining, are nothing more than vrittis filled with intensity. They rise in the mind, move through the body, and pass.

What gives vrittis their power is not their existence, but our identification with them. When a thought arises and we say, “This is me,” the vrittis becomes a world. When we say, “This should not be here,” we prolong it. When we cling to pleasure or panic at discomfort, we bind ourselves to the next wave. But when a vrittis is simply seen for what it is—a brief modulation of the mind—its ability to bind dissolves.

The goal of Vedanta is not to stop vrittis or to enter a blank state of mind. That is the path of Yoga. Vedanta’s aim is far simpler and more radical: to recognize that no vrittis, however refined or turbulent, can define the Self. Thoughts may appear, but the thinker is not found. Feelings may surge, but the feeler is never located. The mind continues its dance, but the dancer is never touched.

To understand vritti is to understand the nature of the mind.

To understand the nature of the mind is to stop mistaking it for yourself.

And that is the first real step toward freedom.

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Root & Meaning

From the Sanskrit root vṛt — “to turn, revolve, arise, appear, take form.”

A vritti is a modification, movement, or fluctuation of the mind.

In Vedanta, a vritti is any thought, emotion, sensation, memory, perception, or mental image that arises in the mind (antahkarana). Each vritti has a beginning and an end, and because it is known as an object, it cannot be the Self.

Scriptural References

While most famous in Yoga Sutra 1.2 (citta-vritti-nirodhah), the concept is deeply embedded in Vedantic literature:

• Upanishads: Distinguish the unchanging witness (sakshi) from the changing movements of the mind.

• Panchadashi & Vivekachudamani: Treat vrittis as the mechanism by which knowledge takes place.

• Bhagavad Gita: Describes the mind’s restlessness (chanchala)—the constant arising of vrittis—as the cause of confusion.

Though not always named explicitly, the idea of mental modifications is fundamental to Vedantic psychology.

Traditional View

In Advaita Vedanta:

• A vritti is a thought-wave in the mind.

• The mind forms a vritti in response to an object.

• Knowledge occurs when the vritti takes the “shape” of the object (vritti-jñāna).

• The Self is the consciousness that knows the vritti but is untouched by it.

There are three basic types of vritti:

1. Tamas → dull, heavy, depressive, inert

2. Rajas → agitated, emotional, restless

3. Sattva → clear, calm, reflective

The movements of the mind reflect the quality of guna predominating at any given moment.

Vedantic Analysis

A vritti is not the enemy. Vedanta does not teach the suppression of thought, emotion, or mental activity. Instead, it clarifies the nature of these movements so one is no longer confused by them.

Key insights:

1. Every vritti is an object.

If it can be known, witnessed, or observed, it cannot be the Self.

This is the heart of drg-drshya viveka.

2. Vrittis do not bind; identification binds.

Anger is never the problem.

“I am angry” is the problem.

The vrittitti is harmless unless the ego claims it.

3. Vrittis are required for knowledge.

Even Self-knowledge is ultimately a vritti:

akhandakara-vritti — the “Brahman-shaped” cognition that destroys ignorance.

4. Liberation is not the destruction of vrittis.

It is the recognition that vritti never belonged to you.

The mind continues to think.

The Self continues to know.

Nothing changes at the level of consciousness.

Common Misunderstandings

• “I must stop my thoughts to be spiritual.” No. That is Yoga’s goal, not Vedanta’s. Vedanta does not require stillness of mind—only clarity of knowledge.

• “Emotions are impurities.” Emotions are simply vritti colored by rajas and tamas. Their presence does not diminish consciousness.

• “Self-knowledge ends all mental activity.” The mind continues. Life continues. What ends is confusion about who you are.

• “A quiet mind is a liberated mind.” A quiet mind is a sattvic mind, not a liberated one. Liberation occurs not by quieting the mind but by seeing through it.

Vedantic Resolution

A vritti is a passing appearance in the mind, known to the unchanging Self.

Thoughts arise, emotions surge, perceptions come and go, but none of these movements alter consciousness.

Self-knowledge doesn’t eliminate vritti;

it removes the sense of ownership over them.

The mind becomes a transparent instrument—capable of thought, emotion, reason, delight, and perception, yet no longer mistaken for the Self.

In this clarity, even the rise and fall of vrittis becomes effortless.

They are seen as nothing more than waves on the surface of awareness, never touching its depth.