Yoga Sutra 1.11 Meaning: Smriti (Memory), Traumas, & The Illusion of the Past
- Shahid Khan - Yogveda Yoga
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
अनुभूतविषयासंप्रमोषः स्मृतिः ॥ १.११ ॥
Transliteration: anubhūta-viṣayāsampramoṣaḥ smṛtiḥ
Translation: "Memory (Smriti) is the retention of past experiences; it is when an experienced object or event is not forgotten."
What is Smriti? The Ultimate Recycler
We have finally reached the fifth and final mental fluctuation in our Book of Thoughts: Smriti, which translates to Memory.
Patanjali places Memory last because it does not exist on its own. Smriti is entirely dependent on the other four vrittis (mental fluctuations). When you pull up a memory, you are simply recycling one of the previous states: you are remembering a fact (Pramana), a past misunderstanding (Viparyaya), a past imagination/fantasy (Vikalpa), or the feeling of deep sleep (Nidra). We believe memory is a perfect, objective video recording of the past. It is not. Memory is a dynamic, shifting ghost.
Traumas, Triggers, and the Limits of Psychotherapy
Our memories are the containers for our deepest traumas, triggers, and their exact opposites (intense euphoric nostalgia and attachments). Whenever a present event resembles a past trauma, Smriti acts as a trigger, hijacking your nervous system and making you react to a ghost as if it is happening right now.
In Western psychology, the common approach to trauma is to endlessly analyze, talk about, and dissect the memory. However, from a yogic perspective, psychotherapy often cannot help you truly overcome them. Endlessly talking about a memory simply keeps the vritti spinning. You cannot talk a ghost to death; analyzing the illusion only makes it feel more real.
To achieve true inner peace, you do not need to analyze the story. You must reduce the vrittis and the kleshas (the root psychological afflictions: ego, attachment, aversion, and fear). When the kleshas are reduced, the emotional charge is unplugged. The memory remains, but the trauma and triggers disappear.
How Your Mind Rewrites History
A memory changes over time depending on your current mental state. The vritti that is active in your mind today dictates how you remember yesterday.
This is why almost everyone has a memory of a "beautiful, carefree childhood," regardless of how miserable or difficult it actually was. Your mind uses Imagination (Vikalpa) to paint a nostalgic, golden filter over the past.
The memory itself is just an imprint; it is the turbulence of your mind that makes the memory "good" or "bad." As you practice yoga and your mind becomes purer (as vrittis and kleshas are reduced), your memories physically change. The painful sting of trauma or the desperate ache of nostalgia fades. You begin to see the past simply as it was—a neutral fact—without the heavy emotional distortion.
The Dialogue: Dropping the Story
Student: "Master, I have a deep trauma from my past. I have talked about it for years in therapy, trying to understand why it happened and how to fix it, but the trigger is still there. Every time I remember it, I suffer all over again."
Master Khan: "You are suffering because you are keeping the vritti spinning by constantly analyzing the story. The memory is just a ghost. Talking to the ghost will not make it leave."
Student: "Then how do I heal the trauma if I don't analyze it?"
Master Khan: "By starving it. You must reduce the kleshas—your attachment and aversion—to the event. When you purify the mind and quiet the fluctuations, the emotional charge of the trauma dissolves. You will still have the memory, but it will no longer have you."
Your Practice: Starving the Ghost
You cannot delete your memories, but you can stop them from hijacking your present reality.
Task 1: Timestamp the Trigger. Open your Book of Thoughts. When you feel a sudden wave of trauma, anger, or intense nostalgia today, stop. Ask yourself: Is this happening right now, or is this a ghost from the past (Smriti)?
Task 2: Trace the Vritti, Not the Story. Do not write pages analyzing why the memory hurts. Instead, simply label the mental state. Are you looking at a past misunderstanding (Viparyaya) or a romanticized fantasy (Vikalpa)?
The Ultimate Goal: By recognizing that your memory is not a static truth but a shifting reflection fueled by kleshas, you stop feeding the story. You learn to reduce the vrittis rather than analyzing them, taking away their power to hurt you and finally reclaiming your inner peace.
Author, Master Shahid Khan
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