Rāja Yoga Study Group
Samādhi Pāda · Lesson 3
Welcome to Samādhi Pāda, Lesson 3. Enter Patañjali’s opening definition of Yoga, then explore Citta, its five modes, Vṛttis, and the mind as a reflector of reality through Swamiji’s teaching, then integrate what you observed in your journal.
- 1 ListenReceive Swamiji’s teaching without rushing.
- 2 ExploreSelect each term in the interactive infographic.
- 3 IntegrateReflect, practise, and complete the guided journal.
Sūtra 1.1 · The Auspicious Beginning
Now, Yoga Begins
The video could not be loaded. Please refresh the page or contact Ambika.Now begins the exposition of Yoga—of Samādhi.
Interactive Infographic
The Four Movements of Readiness
Select each petal to follow Swamiji’s teaching: the sacred “now,” the true goal, the preparation, and the sign of readiness.
Atha · Now
The Sacred Now
Atha is “now,” but it is also a word of blessing. It marks the rare and auspicious moment when the teaching is present and a student is ready to receive it.
“Now” is a sacred opportunity, not merely a point in time.
Manana · Reflection
What would it mean for me to become ready—now?
Sūtra 1.2 · The Definition of Yoga
Inside Citta-Vṛtti-Nirodha
Yoga is the restraint—or stilling—of the modifications of the mind.
Interactive Infographic
Inside the Definition of Yoga
Select each petal to explore one term. These terms belong to the sūtra; they are not chronological steps.
Yoga · Samādhi
The State Being Defined
After announcing the exposition in 1.1, Patañjali now defines Yoga. Here Yoga is the state of Samādhi.
Here Yoga means Samādhi: citta-vṛtti-nirodha.
Manana · Reflection
How does your understanding of Yoga change when nirodha is approached as restraint rather than only as complete stopping or annihilation?
Sūtra 1.2 · Deep Dive I
What Is Citta?
The video could not be loaded. Please refresh the page or contact Ambika.Citta may name the storehouse of memory and, in a broader sense, the entire inner instrument.
Interactive Infographic
The Four Faculties of the Inner Instrument
Antaḥkaraṇa means the inner instrument. Select each faculty to see its function. In this teaching, citta can also name the whole inner instrument.
Citta · Storehouse
The Memory Faculty
In its narrower meaning, citta is like the subconscious storehouse: it holds memories, instincts, and learned habits.
Citta can mean one faculty—and it can also name the whole inner instrument.
Manana · Reflection
In this moment, what can you notice being remembered, imagined or doubted, discerned, and finally claimed as “I” or “mine”?
Sūtra 1.2 · Deep Dive II
The Five Modes of Citta
The same inner instrument may be scattered, dull, alternating, one-pointed, or fully restrained. These modes describe its present operation—not who you are.
Interactive Infographic
One Mind, Five Ways of Operating
Select a mode to explore how citta is operating. These are changing modes—not fixed personalities or diagnoses.
Kṣipta · Scattered
The Monkey Mind
Attention jumps from object to object. Thinking becomes fast, reactive, superficial, and unable to remain with one line of inquiry.
Many impressions; little depth.
Manana · Reflection
Which mode is most present now—and what do you notice in your attention, energy, and reactivity?
Sūtra 1.2 · Deep Dive III
Vṛttis — From Ripple to Whirlpool
A vṛtti is an active movement taking shape in citta—from a subtle thought we can witness to an intense pattern that absorbs attention.
Interactive Infographic
How a Movement Takes Hold
Choose each named image. A vṛtti is the movement happening now; saṃskāra is the impression left behind; vāsanā is a deeper tendency formed from accumulated impressions.
A Single Ripple
One Thought Enters
Like a drop touching still water, one thought creates expanding ripples. It may fill awareness, yet remain easy to witness.
A movement is present; it is not the whole of you.
Manana · Reflection
Which movement is present now: a ripple, interference, or a whirlpool?
Sūtra 1.2 · Deep Dive IV
From Reflection to Reality
Citta represents reality as a lake reflects a mountain. A steadier mind offers a clearer image—but the reflection is never the mountain itself.
Interactive Infographic
The Mountain and the Lake
Choose each part of the analogy to distinguish Reality, its mental representation, and the consciousness that makes knowing possible.
The Mountain · Reality
Reality Is Not Its Reflection
The mountain exists independently of its image. A reflection may reveal shape and colour, yet it remains a representation—not the mountain itself.
A representation can give knowledge of reality, but it is not reality itself.
Manana · Reflection
Where might I be taking a mental representation—about myself, another person, or a situation—to be reality itself?
Practice Journal · Samādhi Pāda
Observe Like a Real Yogini
From Reaction to Clear Seeing
Pause and write only what is useful. This is not a test, and there is no perfect answer. A few honest words are enough.
Atha · Arrive in Now
Become present before interpreting the experience.
Observe Without Judgement
Do not follow the vṛtti. Do not fight it. Notice what is present.
“A vṛtti is present.” Observation—not the production of Samādhi—is the practice here.
Map the Inner Instrument
Recognise how citta is operating. These are changing functions and modes—not identities or diagnoses.
Vṛtti → Saṃskāra → Vāsanā → new Vṛttis
Reaction vs. the Ability to Listen
Distinguish the mountain from its reflection, then let buddhi participate.
A representation can give knowledge of reality, but it is not reality itself.
Integrate
Let clearer seeing become one simple, embodied response.