Vritti: The Five Mind Patterns

Vritti, meaning "whirlpool" or "modification," describes the five fundamental patterns through which the mind operates: correct knowledge, misperception, imagination, sleep, and memory. These patterns are the substrate upon which beliefs are constructed and maintained. Understanding vritti reveals how false beliefs originate from misperception and imagination rather than direct experience, while correct knowledge emerges from accurate perception. Patanjali teaches that beliefs become sticky not through logic alone but through habitual mental patterns that reinforce themselves. By recognizing which vritti a belief operates through, we gain the ability to question its foundation. This framework transforms belief change from moral judgment into psychological diagnosis—we stop viewing false beliefs as character flaws and start seeing them as mental patterns we can observe and gradually retrain. The practice involves witnessing your own mind's modifications without immediately accepting or rejecting them.