चित्त
Chitta
The mind-stuff and consciousness
📜Understanding Chitta
Chitta refers to the totality of the mind, including memory, thought-patterns, impressions, and the subconscious. It is the mental substance in which all experiences leave their traces and from which our reactions arise. The Yoga Sutras famously begin by defining yoga as the stilling of the fluctuations of chitta. When the mind-stuff becomes calm and clear, our true nature shines through undistorted.
🕉️Related Shlokas(15)
Gita 2.44
→Bhagavad Gita • Chapter 2
A mind captivated by promises of pleasure and power cannot settle into the stillness of samadhi—the very grasping that seeks happiness prevents the peace that would fulfill it.
Gita 2.67
→Bhagavad Gita • Chapter 2
Like wind sweeping a boat off course on water, even one sense to which the mind clings can carry away all your hard-won wisdom.
Gita 4.35
→Bhagavad Gita • Chapter 4
Once you know this, delusion ends permanently—you will see all beings existing within your own Self and within the Divine.
📖Related Stories(15)
Sanatkumara Teaching Narada
→Chandogya Upanishad, Chapter 7
Despite mastering all sciences, sage Narada lacks inner peace. Sanatkumara guides him through 15 progressive stages - from Name through Speech, Mind, to Space and beyond - culminating in Bhuma (the Infinite). Happiness exists only in the Infinite, not in finite things.
Bhai Bachittar Singh - Elephant Slayer
→Sikh History
During the siege of Lohgarh Fort, Mughals sent a drunken war elephant with iron plates to break down the gates. Bhai Bachittar Singh charged alone, his nagni spear piercing the elephants forehead. The elephant retreated in pain, trampling Mughal soldiers. This single act of courage saved the fort and became legendary for one mans valor against impossible odds.
💬Related Dialogues(15)
Sukra and the Dancing Girl
→Rama & Vasishtha
A single moment of desire, when identified with, can create vast mental universes of experience. The desire itself is not the problem - identification with desire is what creates bondage. Liberation comes when we see desires as phenomena arising in consciousness rather than commands we must obey.
The Nature of Mind
→Rama & Vasishtha
The mind has no independent existence—it is merely a bundle of thoughts appearing in pure consciousness. Through self-inquiry, the mind dissolves into its source, revealing the eternal Self.