From Citta to Consciousness: Conceptual Parallels between Yoga Sūtra and Modern Psychology
Integrated Journal for Research in Arts and Humanities March 3, 2026 Meenakshi Saraf
Classical yogic philosophy, as systematized in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, presents a structured psychological model of mind and consciousness that parallels contemporary psychological science. The paper explores conceptual similarities between Patanjali's concept of citta (mind-stuff) and its modifications (vrittis) and modern cognitive psychology's constructs of mental processes, cognition, behavior regulation, and altered states of consciousness. By analyzing themes such as the nature of mind, cognitive fluctuations, self-construction, emotional regulation, and transformation of consciousness, the authors argue that yoga offers a systematic psychological framework relevant to modern theoretical and empirical research, not merely a spiritual discipline.