1.6 · Five Streams

Valid knowing, error, imagination, sleep and memory.

Word by word

pramāṇa

valid knowing, a right means of knowledge

viparyaya

error, misperception

vikalpa

imagination, verbal construction

nidrā

sleep

smṛtayaḥ

memories

Where it fits

Having sorted the movements by effect (1.5), Patañjali now sorts them by kind. The list sets the agenda for 1.7–1.11, one sūtra for each item. Putting valid knowing and sleep on the list shows that the stilling of 1.2 asks for more than correcting mistakes or emptying the mind.

Reading

Here is the whole list. Every movement of the mind is one of five: knowing correctly, getting it wrong, building something out of words alone, sleep, and memory. The next five sūtras define each in turn. The list holds two surprises. Right knowledge is on it, so yoga stills even true thoughts. Sleep is on it, so a blank mind is not yet the goal. Vyāsa's only comment is a single line placed before the sūtra, reminding us that each of the five may be afflicting or not (1.5).

Vyāsa

“These movements, afflicting or not, are of five kinds.”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 17.

Practice

Take one belief that shaped your day, such as 'the bus is always late' or 'she is annoyed with me'. Ask which of the five it is: something you know (seen, worked out, or heard from someone reliable), a mistake, a story made of words, or a memory. Write the answer beside it.

A question to sit with

Which of the five is moving you now?

Key ideas

vṛtti (movement of the mind)