In his Yoga Sutras Pataiijali lists five classes of chitta vrtti which create
pleasure and pain. These are:
- Pramax:ta (a standard or ideal), by which things or values are measured
by the mind or known, which men accept upon (a) direct evidence such
as perception (pratyak�a), (b) inference (anumana) and (c) testimony or
the word of an acceptable authority when the source of knowledge has
been checked as reliable and trustworthy (agama). - Viparyaya (a mistaken view which is observed to be such after study).
A faulty medical diagnosis based on wrong hypotheses, or the formerly
held theory in astronomy that the Sun rotates round the Earth, are
examples of viparyaya.
3· Vikalpa (fancy or imagination, resting merely on verbal expression
without any factual basis). A beggar may feel happy when he imagines
himself spending millions. A rich miser, on the other hand, may starve
himself in the belief that he is poor.
4· Nidra (sleep), where there is the absence of ideas and experiences.
When a man is sleeping soundly, he does not recall his name, family or
status, his knowledge or wisdom, or even his own existence. When a man
forgets himself in sleep, he wakes up refreshed. But, if a disturbing
thought creeps into his mind when he is dropping off, he will not rest
properly.
5· Smrti (memory, the holding fast of the impressions of objects that
one has experienced). There are people who live in their past experiences, even though the past is beyond recall. Their sad or happy
memories keep them chained to the past and they cannot break their
fetters.