According to the
Yoga Sutras there are five activities of the mind – the
vrittayah panchatayah. They are
pramana,
viparyaya,
vikalpa,
nidra, and
smriti and
Patanjali discusses them in
sutras 6 through 11 in the
Samadhi Pada.
The first category is
pramana which means right and unchanging knowledge of what was previously unknown. According to the
sutras, we gain correct knowledge three ways. The first is
pratyaksha which literally translates as that which is visible to the eye. Information from the outside world is presented to the mind and thoughts arise in response. I like to think of the phrase: “I saw it with my own two eyes” but it applies to direct perception with all of our senses.
The second way to attain right knowledge is through
anumana, logical inference, where we establish the correct cause and effect relationship about something. The ancient
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