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Vritti

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The fluctuations or modifications of the mind, as described in the Yoga Sutras, including thoughts, emotions, and perceptions.

Detailed Definition
Vritti in poetry is the mind’s restless dance—the thought that lingers, the memory that haunts, the fear that whispers. Poets use it to depict inner turmoil: not the soul, but its noise. It becomes the poem’s battleground: not to silence, but to witness—the moment the reader sees the waves, and remembers the ocean.
Example
Example in poetry:
Vritti is mental fluctuation—A Patanjali-inspired poem: “Vritti: thoughts like waves—each one a ripple, not the ocean”; A modern lyric: “Anxiety rose—Vritti: ‘You’re not enough,’ ‘They’ll leave,’ ‘It’s too late’”; A haiku: “Mind racing—Vritti: / thoughts like monkeys”; Another: “Vritti isn’t you—it’s the weather passing through your sky”; A devotional verse: “Yoga says: ‘Still the Vrittis—then you see your true self’”; A minimalist line: “Mental modifications. Thought waves. / Vritti: the mind’s noise.”
Additional Notes
Vritti are the mind’s ripples; in Yoga Sutras, stilling vrittis is yoga’s goal; in poetry, vrittis appear as obsessive thoughts, emotional storms, or conceptual clutter—true verse arises when vrittis subside, making the poem a still pond reflecting truth, essential for interpreting meditative poetry as mental silence made audible.
Also Known As
Mental Fluctuations Thought Waves Mind Modifications Citta Vrittis
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