The Concept of smṛti in the Yogasūtra : Memory or Mindfulness ?

One of the key concepts in Buddhist meditation is mindfulness which has recently been introduced into new environments, including contemporary yoga. This paper identifies some of the parameters involved in the rather seamless integration of Buddhist mindfulness and yoga and explores whether this synthesis is an ancient one, already found in the oldest recorded text on yoga, the Yogasūtra, by investigating if the word smṛti, usually translated as “memory,” can refer to mindfulness. This would imply that mindfulness may have been a component of ancient yogic practices, although perhaps lost at some stage in the transmission only to be reintroduced recently by the syncretistic new trends in the globalised spiritual movements.


Introduction
Yoga and Buddhism, two closely related ancient Indian religious traditions, seem to be undergoing a new integration in the contemporary world.In the last decade, mindfulness has been increasingly introduced as a component of yogic practices, especially in the "Western" world (e.g.Boccio 2004). 1 The most obvious reason for this new development seems to be the frequent involvement of many contemporary teachers and practitioners of yoga in Buddhist meditation--most of them would actively practice or at least have some experience of mindfulness and consequently, they aim to integrate various aspects of the two traditions. 2 Before new meanings and functions of mindfulness in modern Yoga and modern Buddhism3 are explored, it is important to situate the concept of mindfulness in the historical context, i.e. to briefly outline the origins and the semantic history of this important meditation tool.

The Roots of Mindfulness
Most traditional schools of Buddhism view mindfulness (Pāli sati, Sanskrit smṛti) as one of the key elements of Buddhist meditation.Interpretations of mindfulness that have evolved in modern Buddhism very frequently refer back to Theravāda sources, hence this overview of the roots of mindfulness draws from the Theravāda Buddhist canon and consequently, the technical terms for mindfulness and the related concepts are given (in brackets) in Pāli.In the earliest textual records the word mindfulness (sati) seems to appear in two broader senses: (1) occasionally, it refers to "memory, recollection" or, more precisely, to a mental factor which facilitates memory rather than referring to memory itself (Anālayo 2006, 46); (2) frequently, the term refers to mindfulness as awareness of the present moment (i.e.observation of mental and physical processes from moment to moment) which the Canonical texts describe mainly through attributes and functions such as: presence, wakefulness, strong cognition, boundlessness etc. 4  Although the interrelation between the two meanings of sati has been discussed by several scholars (e.g.Gethin 2011), many aspects of the overlaps and differences between the two interpretations need further investigation which, however, lies outside the scope of this article.
Early Buddhist texts distinguish several concepts that are closely related to mindfulness and yet to be distinguished from it.An important concept is attention or awareness (manasikāra): it is, according to the Abhidhamma¸ a mental factor (cetasika) which occurs with every mind moment and functions as the bare cognition of an object before it is identified and conceptualized (see e.g.Bodhi,81).When attention is accompanied by understanding of what is wholesome or not it is called wise attention (yoniso manasikāra); it facilitates the development of mindfulness and wisdom-the two factors that are indispensable on the path to final spiritual liberation (Anālayo 2006, 58).All Buddhist texts position mindfulness as an integral part of the Buddhist path; mindfulness is one of the five faculties and powers; the first of the seven factors of enlightenment and one of the components of the noble eightfold path.Mindfulness as a component of the noble eightfold path is called right mindfulness (sammā sati), defined in the refrain of the Satipaṭṭhānasutta as mindfulness (sati) which is accompanied by freedom from desire and aversion (vineyya abhijjhādomanassa), clear comprehension (sampajāna) and diligence (ātāpī) (Anālayo 2006, 49).Right mindfulness is strongly associated with and linked to the ethical and soteriological aspects of the Buddhist doctrine: it provides an understanding as to whether mental states are wholesome or not; protects the mind from reacting with desire and aversion; and, together with clear comprehension, provides the foundation for wisdom and consequently, is an indispensable tool and constituent on the path to nibbāna.
The practice of mindfulness as the path to liberation is discussed in several canonical and post-canonical texts; e.g., many discourses in the Aṅguttara Nikāya and the Saṃyutta Nikāya, as well as in Chinese Āgamas and in several Sanskrit Buddhist texts.One of the prominent canonical texts on meditation is the 4 E.g. the Visuddhimagga (XIV, 141), an important source of meditation methods for modern Buddhism, defines mindfulness: "By its means they remember (saranti), or it itself remembers, or it is just mere remembering (saraṇa) thus it is mindfulness (sati).It has the characteristic of not wobbling.Its function is not to forget.It is manifested as guarding, or it is manifested as the state of confronting an objective field.Its proximate cause is strong perception, or its proximate cause is the Foundations of Mindfulness, concerned with the body and so on (see Majjhima Nikāya Sutta 10).It should be regarded, however, as like a pillar because it is firmly founded, or as like a door-keeper because it guards the eye-door, and so on" (Buddhaghosa 1956, 524).
Satipaṭṭhānasutta ("Discourse on the establishment of mindfulness")5 which has received the most elevated position as the ur-text on mindfulness in modern Buddhism (e.g.Ñāṇapoṇika 1962, 11).This veneration of the text started "in the colonial era as the schools of Buddhism attempted to respond to the challenges of the modern age" (Sujato 2005, 113), particularly in Burma, emphasizing the rational aspects of meditation, aiming to authenticate and legitimize new methods of meditation through the canonical texts and the Satipaṭṭhānasutta in particular.The Satipaṭṭhānasutta discusses four areas of contemplation: mindfulness of the body (kāyā), feelings (vedanā), mind (citta) and mental objects (dhamma), however, according to several canonical texts (e.g.Saṃyutta Nikāya V 182) any single satipaṭṭhāna meditation can lead to liberation which may be why several modern meditation teachers (e.g.U Ba Khin) have recommended a single area of mindfulness as the path to enlightenment.

New Interpretations of Mindfulness
Although the concept of mindfulness has been known in the "West" since the European discovery of Buddhism in the nineteenth century, it is only in the last few decades that the practice of mindfulness has spread globally.Even a brief look at various book lists, journals and magazines on meditation, numerous publications and websites on psychotherapy and related areas, indicates that mindfulness is not only a major component of Buddhist meditation, but has been rapidly entering new environments.It is frequently applied in various forms of psychotherapy such as therapy for depression, anxiety disorders, pain management, working with children, relationship counselling, and has also been introduced into the work place and even in the corporate world, with courses such as mindful leadership, to name just a few.In these new milieux the meaning and function of mindfulness has been changing significantly.
In most Buddhist traditions, since the early beginnings, the ethical and soteriological functions of right mindfulness have been in the forefront.As mentioned earlier, Buddhism distinguishes awareness/attention, mindfulness and right mindfulness; however, these aspects have been modified or given new interpretations in modern Buddhism as well as in new secular contexts.The characteristic of mindfulness that is most emphasized by modern meditation teachers is bare awareness, with its non-interfering, uninvolved quality (sometimes it is called "choiceless awareness."the term introduced by J. Krishnamurti).New interpretations of mindfulness focus particularly on one aspect of mindfulness (sati), i.e., attention to and awareness of the present moment, often adding that it is to be practiced in a non-judging way. 6Although modern Buddhist meditation teachings have retained, at least to some extent, the ethical and soteriological aspects of the practice of mindfulness, there is an increasing emphasis on its psychotherapeutic roles; e.g."insight" is often interpreted in a new way, with more emphasis on understanding of or "insight" into the psychological content or past conditionings of an individual which may surface during the meditation practice in contrast to the traditional Buddhist "insight" which refers to an understanding of the three characteristics of existence (i.e.suffering, impermanence, and non-self) and aims at their complete eradication.Hence the popular definition of mindfulness often quoted in psychotherapeutic contexts presents mindfulness as "the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgementally" (Kabat-Zinn 2003, 145).Numerous studies indicate that mindfulness is helpful for a wide spectrum of problems and disorders independently from the Buddhist religious system and these studies view it as a tool for improving well-being; e.g.Baer (2006, 10) states that mindfulness leads to "the ability to make adaptive decisions about handling difficult and problematic situations as they arise, as well as increased enjoyment of pleasant moments"stating aims significantly different from the Buddhist perspective which seeks freedom from desires, and from attachment to pleasure.Typically mindfulnessbased therapies often combine awareness of the body and breath and sometimes include postural yoga (Baer 2006, 3-26), which aims at a kind of integration of yoga and mindfulness.This synthesis of the elements from the two traditions has not been occurring only in psychotherapeutic contexts but, especially in the last decade, many Buddhist meditation retreats include yogic practices and in turn, contemporary schools of yoga increasingly introduce mindfulness.

Yoga and Mindfulness: New Developments
In Sanskrit, the term yoga is polyvalent, covering a very wide semantic field: in a broader sense it signifies any spiritual path or practice within Indian religious traditions; in a narrower sense it refers to classical yoga, based on the Yogasūtra of Patañjali and its commentaries.In modern English the term yoga is most commonly associated with various yogic practices focusing on postures, based on haṭhayoga; hence De Michelis introduces a new term for this practice, i.e. "Postural Yoga," or " Neo-Haṭhayoga" (2004, 8).Similarly as modern Buddhism situates the Satipaṭṭhānasutta to be the root text for the practice of mindfulness; modern yoga views the Yogasūtra to be its ur-text.The Yogasūtra that we know today is attributed to Patañjali, traditionally placed in the second century B.C.E.or, by modern scholarship, into approximately the second century C.E.In India the text is frequently invoked as a legitimate authority for practitioners of yoga which is largely based on postural yoga, although the text itself does not talk about postures and gives no evidence for āsana practice.Patañjali has even become a focus of devotion and the ritual recitation of this sūtra has elevated the text by treating it almost in a similar manner as Vedic texts (Singleton 2008, 91-92).
Since the 1990s, the proliferation of mindfulness-focused activities has also been reflected in modern yoga where it has been introduced as a therapeutic as well as a spiritual tool.The merging of the two traditions raises several questions: why has mindfulness been integrated into modern yoga rather seamlessly; what is the meaning and function of mindfulness in modern yoga; why is mindfulness most frequently introduced in those branches of modern yoga that focus on āsanas and praṇāyāma such as Iyengar yoga; why is there a need to integrate mindfulness into modern yoga in the first place-what function does mindfulness supplement that yoga is perceived not to provide?
The two most widespread modern approaches to mindfulness are those popularized by Goenka (based on U Ba Khin's method) and by Mahasi Sayadaw; both methods focus, at least initially, on mindfulness of the body and breath.In modern postural yoga, particularly in Iyengar yoga which is arguably the most widespread yoga today, the main focus of practice is the body (the practice of āsanas), with a secondary focus on breath (prāṇāyama). 7In the last decade, "Western" practitioners of yoga have introduced mindfulness into yogic vocabulary, usually as a synonym for awareness of the posture, and sometimes also of sensations, feelings and mental states that arise when one is in a yogic posture.Although Buddhist and Yogic traditions have regarded themselves throughout their histories as spiritual paths, each providing complete practical and soteriological frameworks that would not require the introduction of additional practices, the synthesis of yoga and Buddhism, initiated in the "West," has been very slowly transferred also into more traditional religious environments of Asia.Mindfulness in yoga is usually understood as awareness/attention which supports practitioners to be in the present moment, to improve their focus on bodily postures and the breath (e.g.Boccio 2004).The prevalent newly interpreted function of mindfulness as a therapeutic tool is increasingly being incorporated into modern yoga which has itself become in the last two decades largely secularised and medicalised, viewed as a "healing" practice to relieve stress, instrumental in building up "health and fitness" (De Michelis 2008, 24-26).Furthermore, mindful yoga has become commodified in the global consumer society where a proliferation of new types, styles and methods has been introduced and marketed in the yoga industry (Singleton and Byrne 2008, 1-2).However, on the other hand, it seems that mindfulness may provide for modern yoga a new focus, especially to the practice of āsanas, largely perceived as physical activity, often aiming to achieve greater fitness and flexibility; and thus viewed as lacking the spiritual or soteriological dimensions which are still present, though at the background, in Buddhist meditation.
The rather seamless integration of the two traditions may have been facilitated by a strong compatibility between the primary focus on āsanas and prāṇāyama in modern yoga and the primary focus on mindfulness of the body and breath in modern Buddhist meditation.In a larger historical context, the easy synthesis has been facilitated by several syncretistic movements starting in the late 19 th century with the new developments such as the Theosophical Society and the Neo-vedānta in India, and later on, the emergence of the New Age movements in the 1970s, all of these encompass a great variety of spiritual traditions based on the idea of the "oneness" of all religions. 8The belief that all traditions lead to the same goal, that spiritual liberation or enlightenment is the same experience in all religions provides an environment in which it is very easy to transpose a method from another tradition.Thus, on the one hand, mindfulness has emerged in modern yoga as a therapeutic tool and on the other hand, it provides a spiritual background to secularized postural yoga.Its ethical component is usually not emphasized, and the traditional aim, spiritual liberation, is not a fully articulated goal but remains a rather distant and elusive possibility.

Mindfulness in Classical Yoga?
The relatively new integration of the two traditions prompts an enquiry into the question as to whether the synthesis of mindfulness and yoga is a new phenomenon or perhaps an ancient one, found already in old Indian texts on yoga, and whether indications of practise of mindfulness may be surmised already in the oldest recorded text on yoga, the Yogasūtra, the ur-text of modern yogic traditions.The Yogasūtra, attributed by the tradition to Patañjali, is a collection of 195 very brief aphorisms, usually situated in the second century C.E., though probably founded on a significantly older tradition, though there is no clear evidence of its pre-Buddhist origins.The text has received several traditional commentaries, the most important among them include: the Yogabhāṣya ("Exposition on Yoga"), the oldest commentary by Vyāsa, probably from the fifth century C.E.; the Tattvavaiśāradī ("Clarity of Truth") by Vācaspatimiśra from the ninth century C. E.; and the subcommentary Rājamārtaṇḍa ("Royal Sun") by Bhoja from the eleventh century. 9 In ancient Indian religions, the technical terminology used is specific to a particular tradition and hence, texts usually introduce and define their own metalanguage.Such is also the case in the Yogasūtra where many, but not all, technical terms are defined in the text itself. 10Modern interpreters often rely, in their translations of these terms, on later commentaries on the Yogasūtra such as Vyāsa's and Vacaspatimiśra's or sometimes draw from other Indian religious traditions; modern Indian translators frequently draw from Vedānta and modern theistic movements.Consequently, when reading translations of, and 9 Among later commentaries the following can be listed: the Vivarana ("Exposition") by Śaṅkara, somewhere between the ninth and the fifteenth century; the Sarva-darśana-saṃgraha by Mādhava in the fourteenth century; the Maṇi-prabhā by Rāmānanda Yati in the sixteenth century; the Laghvī and the Bṛhati by Nāgojī Bhaṭṭa and the Yoga-vārttika and the Yoga-sāra-saṃgraha by Vijñāna Bhikṣu in the sixteenth century. 10E.g. citta is not defined in the Yogasūtra nor is it listed as one of the tattvas.
commentaries on, the Yogasūtra, we have to be aware of the entire context of the particular period and tradition of the interpreters.
The Sanskrit word smṛti which occurs several times in the Yogasūtra, is quite consistently translated into English by most translators as "memory" (e.g.Woods 1914;Bangali 1976;Feuerstein 1989;Whicher 1995) or "remembering" (Hartranft 2003).As indicated earlier, there seems to be a close relationship and overlap between the two meanings of the term smṛti (Pāli sati) in Buddhism; the question here is whether the Yogasūtra, which is dated in the period when Buddhism flourished in India, may reflect both meanings of the term as well.There are instances in the text that evidence an influence of Buddhism on the Yogasūtra as noted already by several scholars (e.g.La Vallée-Poussin 1937, 223-42;Larson 1989, 129-46;Bronkhorst 1993, 71-77) which further incite inquiry into whether smṛti allows, besides being rendered as "memory," alternative readings.
The term smṛti occurs in the Yogasūtra in six sūtras: four occurrences are in the first chapter (samādhipāda) which presents the foundations of yogic practice, and two occurrences in the fourth chapter (kaivalyapāda) which is the concluding section where, among other topics, the transformation and liberation of consciousness are discussed.The Yogasūtra starts with the definition of yoga as being the cessation of the fluctuations of consciousness and then continues, in sūtra 1.6, with the listing of five types of fluctuations.Here the text specifies what can occur within consciousness (citta); the term smṛti, being one of the five kinds of fluctuations, is consistently translated by all English translators as "memory" (e.g.Woods 1983, 19;Feuerstein 1989, 30) or 11 All translations from Sanskrit are made by the author, partly drawing from translations by Feuerstein (1989) and Houston (1995).The Sanskrit text is translated into English only tentatively; the wide spectrum of possible renderings is sometimes marked by a forward slash, indicating that the given translation is rather optional.Only those Sanskrit terms are discussed here that have a direct relevance to the concept of smṛti.
"remembering" (Hartranft 2003, 5).Then the sūtra proceeds to define each of these five types of fluctuations of consciousness,12 the last being smṛti.
The term smṛti rendered as "memory" would imply that the object experienced is recalled from the past-which is the interpretation given by most translators and commentators; however, the sūtra gives no direct indication for this reading.The earliest commentator Vyāsa (probably from the fifth century C.E.) opens his comments with a question about whether the mind "remembers" (or, if read alternatively, "is mindful of") cognition or the object of cognition. 13He continues that both cognition and the object are "remembered,"14 actually what is "remembered" (or read alternatively, "what one is one mindful of") are mental impressions (saṃskāras), which manifest under appropriate conditions.15Vyāsa's interpretation of smṛti can be paralleled by the notion of the Buddhist concept of mindfulness (smṛti/sati) which is presented in the Abhidhamma as a mental factor (cetasika) that knows cognition and/or the object of cognition arising through one of the six senses (e.g.Bodhi, 1993, 286-87); it is similarly described in numerous passages of the Suttapiṭaka, particularly in the dhammanupassanā section of the Satipaṭṭhānasutta.Later commentators on the Yogasūtra attribute to the term smṛti functions that could be rendered into English as "memory"; e.g.Vācaspatimiśra defines: "smṛti is concerned with objects which have already been made the object of one of the other fluctuations." 16All modern English translations interpret smṛti in this sūtra as "memory" or "recollection" (e.g.Whicher 1998, 117;Woods 1914, 32;Bangali 1976, 6) or "remembering" (Feuerstein 1989, 33;Houston 1995, 1.11;Hartranft 2003, 6).It is only in the earliest commentary by Vyāsa that smṛti may be alternatively interpreted as mindfulness.
The following sūtras explicate how the cessation is achieved through practice (abhyāsa) and detachment (vairāgya) and list two types of cessation: distinguished (saṃprajñāta) which is accompanied by cognition and non-distinguished (asaṃprajñāta) without cognition.The latter is achieved when preceded by the five faculties, presented in 1.20.  of the others [asaṃprajñāta] is preceded by faith, energy, memory/mindfulness, concentration and wisdom.
The five faculties described in this sūtra are to be developed before the cessation of the fluctuations of consciousness (asaṃprajñātasamādhi) is achieved.These faculties are identical (and even listed verbatim in the same order) to the frequently attested Buddhist five faculties (indriya) and powers (bala), usually translated as "faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom."Although all translators of the Yogasūtra generally interpret smṛti as memory, in this sūtra only some translate this term as mindfulness (but render it memory in other sūtras) and acknowledge that sūtra 1.20 may reflect Buddhist influence: e.g.Feuerstein translates the term smṛti as mindfulness, defining it as "the practice of concentration and meditation," and suggests that although the set of the five faculties may stem from Buddhism it may equally be "not particular to any one tradition" (1989,(40)(41).Woods (1914, 20) renders the term as "mindfulness" and briefly acknowledges the Buddhist parallels.Vyāsa does not define or explain the term smṛti in this sūtra but focuses on how the five faculties condition one another respectively: from well-established faith arises energy, from energy memory, which further conditions mindfulness, concentration and wisdom or insight; hence, in his view, mindfulness is conducive to samādhi. 17Later commentators follow Vyāsa, further discussing how one factor leads to another and also give various equivalents for smṛti: most of them (i.e.Vācaspatimiṣra, Vijñānabhikṣu, Nāgojībhaṭṭa) equate smṛti with the term dhyāna, the seventh limb of the "eightlimbed yoga" (aṣṭāṅgayoga) which is usually translated into English as "meditation" (Arjunwadkar 2006, 24-25) or interpret the term as "the recollection of past objects" (Maharaj 2013, 75).Dasgupta (1924, 102) follows these commentators and translates the term as "meditation," however, he does not link the five faculties to Buddhism but argues that they are actually only aspects of yogic detachment (vairāgya) and practice (abhyāsa) (1924,129).To my knowledge, only one traditional interpreter, Hariharānanda Āraṇya from the turn of the 20 th century, attempts in his Pātañjalyogadarśan (published in 1911) to interpret the term smṛti as mindfulness or "continual mindfulness" (sadā samanaskatā) (Maharaj 2013, 64), and views it as the precondition for the development of dhyāna. 18Although his interpretation occurred a century ago and seems to be more plausible than traditional readings of smṛti it has not received sufficient scholarly attention so far (Maharaj 2013, 59, 77).It is evident that among the passages from the Yogasūtra discussed here in relation to smṛti, sūtra 1.20 indicates Buddhist influence most strikingly; several scholars have acknowledged this (e.g.La Vallée-Poussin 1937; Larson 1989); Bronkhorst (1993, 72-75) outlines some parallels, discusses the links to Buddhist jhānas and argues that sūtras 1.17-1.20 are taken from a different context or source. 19However, the links between the yogic and Buddhist interpretations of smṛti have received very scant attention so far.
The first chapter of the Yogasūtra continues with discussion on the different means to achieve cessation, and obstacles on the path to absorption (samādhi), stating the conditions for the achievement of cognitive absorption beyond cognition.
1.43: smṛti-pariśuddhau sva-rūpa-śūnya-iva-artha-mātra-nirbhāsānirvitarkā , as if empty of its own form, [there is the] appearance of the object-only, when the memory is purified/when there is purification through mindfulness.
Translators render the tatpuruṣa compound smṛti-pariśuddhau in various ways: "on the purification of the depth-memory" (Feuerstein 1989, 53); "upon the purification of memory" (Houston 1995, 1.43); "when the memory is quite purified" (Woods 1914, 82); "[not] coloured by memory" (Hartranft 2003, 17).Here I propose an alternative reading of this compound, i.e. "when [there is] purification of/through mindfulness" for the following reason: the cognitive absorption is beyond cognition (nirvitarka), this is a state without fluctuations and hence, it would be problematic to read smṛti as memory because memory is 18 Hariharānanda Āraṇya's contribution to the alternative reading of smṛti is examined in detail in the comprehensive and well presented article by Maharaj (2013). 19 Sujato (2005, 146) also explores, rather briefly, the links between the two traditions and proposes that practice of mindfulness is described in the Yogasūtra; however, he reads smṛti as memory but proposes the term dhāraṇa to refer to mindfulness, since the Abhidharma lists dhāraṇa as a synonym for sati; this hypothesis would require further research.defined in the Yogasūtra as a fluctuation.Some commentators and translators try to resolve this problem by interpreting smṛti as the "depth-memory" or the "subconscious" (e.g.Feuerstein 1989, 53-54) without providing a convincing argument or evidence for their presumption.Parallels in the Pāli Buddhist Canon indicate a close relation of this sūtra to the descriptions of meditative absorptions (dhyāna/jhāna); e.g. in Anupadasutta of Majjhimanikāya (MN 111), where the fourth jhāna is described: "… in the fourth jhāna, which has neither-pain-nor pleasure [there is] purity of mindfulness (satipārisuddhi) …" (Bodhi and Ñāṇamoli 2009, 900). 20Satipārisuddhi in this text may be alternatively read as "purity [achieved] by mindfulness"; the compound is actually interpreted in this way elsewhere, by Walshe is his translation of the Brahmajāla Sutta (2012,86).Buddhist parallels (in the example given as well as in several other instances) indicate that mindfulness may be an alternative reading for smṛti in the Yogasūtra 1.43 and consequently imply parallels between the nirvitarka samādhi of the Yogasūtra and the descriptions of the fourth jhāna in Buddhism.Vyāsa's commentary on smṛti also allows this alternative interpretation; he comments that smṛti-pariśuddhau implies purification from ideas, inferences and words 21 which corresponds to the purifying function of mindfulness in the development of the fourth jhāna.
The term smṛti occurs also in two sūtras in the last chapter of the Yogasūtra which focuses, among other topics, on final liberation (kaivalya).The chapter first talks about the development of psychic powers and then discusses the law of karma.4.9. jāti-deśa-kāla-vyavahitānām-apy-ānantaryaṃ smṛti-saṃskārayor-ekarūpatvāt Because of the correspondence/uniformity between memory/mindfulness and mental impressions (saṃskaras), [there is] a succession [of karma-vipāka and vāsanās] even though they may be separated [in regard to] birth, place and time.
This sūtra continues the discussion on karma from 4.7 and 4.8; here karma is explained as continuation through time and space.The term smṛti is interpreted by most translators as "memory" (Woods 1914, 307;Houston 1995, IV.9) or "depthmemory" (Hartranft 2003, 61;Feuerstein 1989, 131) or even the "personal subconscious" (Feuerstein 1989, 131).Vyāsa comments on the causal relationship between memory (smṛti) and mental impressions (saṃskāras)22 : memory (smṛti) arises from mental impressions (saṃskāras) and mental impressions (saṃskāras) arise from memory (smṛti). 23However, if smṛti is read alternatively as mindfulness it would indicate that mindfulness arises successively together with mental impressions (saṃskāras), witnessing arising of resultant karma.In the Buddhist view, smṛti/sati is presented in the Abhidhamma as one of fifty-two mental factors (cetasika) and one of fifty mental formations/impressions (saṃskāras) which are also classified as mental factors (cetasika).Memory/mindfulness (smṛti) can arise together with other mental factors (cetasikas) in various types of consciousness; from this perspective, smṛti and saṃskaras are uniform (eka-rūpatva), both being cetasikas which may occur in successive mind-moments, being subject to the conditions arising in time and space.In Buddhism, it is smṛti that conditions purification of consciousness (smṛti-pariśuddhi) which leads to the state of samādhi.Modern interpreters do not look into Buddhist parallels but read the term smṛti as memory, following the commentarial tradition, including Vyāsa who views smṛti as a manifestation of impressions (saṃskāras) and hence both terms are interpreted to be uniform (Dasgupta 1924, 108).
The last occurrence of the term smṛti is in sūtra 4.21, following the discussion as to whether consciousness can be conscious of itself and whether consciousness and its object can be known at the same time.In sūtra 4.20.it is stated that consciousness and its object cannot be cognised simultaneously; then the text continues with the problem of the regression of cognition.

citta-antara-dṛśye buddhi-buddher atiprasaṅgaḥ smṛti-saṃkaraś-ca
If consciousness could be perceived by another [consciousness] [this would lead to] regression from cognition to cognition and blending/confusion of memory/mindfulness.
The sūtra states that cognition (buddhi) cannot look at the cognition itself since this would lead to regression and confusion of memory.Here the term smṛti is interpreted by most translators as "memory" (Feuerstein 1989, 137;Woods 1914, 331;Houston 1995, IV.21;Hartranft 2003, 65).Vyāsa comments that if consciousness (citta) was grasped by another consciousness, this would lead to cognition (buddhi) grasped by another cognition and accordingly, the chain of cognitions would condition as many memories (smṛti), leading to confusion. 24If smṛti is read in the context of mindfulness, it would imply that, as consciousness cannot be conscious of itself, similarly, mindfulness cannot be mindful of being mindful since this would lead to regression; this is evident from the Buddhist perspective since there is no self (anātman) who observes or is mindful but there is only the process of successive ever-changing mind-moments.However, this view is rejected by the commentators on the Yogasūtra because they presume the existence of a Self (puruṣa) the owner of consciousness, as stated by Vyāsa: "The views of sāṃkhya-yoga and others denote by the word sva "the Self" (puruṣa), the owner, the enjoyer/experiencer of the consciousness." 25his brief overview of all the occurrences of smṛti in the Yogasūtra suggests that the term smṛti may encompass a wider semantic field-similarly to the concept of smṛti/sati in Buddhism-and encourages further enquiry into the different connotations of the term in the ancient yogic traditions which should be studied in a wider context of the different meditative schools of the time.The alternative reading of smṛti in the Yogasūtra proposed here can imply that mindfulness may have been a legitimate meditation method in the earliest yogic traditions, perhaps similarly understood and practised as in Buddhism-which, in spite of the abundance of primary and secondary sources available, requires further investigations about mindfulness.In the earliest commentary on the Yogasūtra by Vyāsa, at least in sūtras 1.11., 1.20 and 1.43, the term smṛti may be alternatively read and linked to the concept of mindfulness as understood in Buddhism.Later commentaries do not shed any new light on the possibility of this interpretation of smṛti and largely reflect new developments of religious traditions of India at the time.Consequently, all yogic schools of modern yoga in India (e.g.those developed by Iyengar, Satyananda, Desikachar etc.) reflect new developments (such as "Neo-Vedānta," devotional Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva movements) in their readings of the Yogasūtra, and consistently interpret smṛti with English term memory.

Conclusion
It has been only in the last decade that the concept of mindfulness has entered yoga, mainly in the "West," under the influence of Buddhist meditation.Mindfulness, as interpreted in the context of modern Buddhism, is viewed as one of its key concepts and practical tools; it has been transformed and transplanted into new paradigms of the global spiritual and consumerist society.Consequently, mindfulness has also entered modern Yoga: presumably it is perceived, practised and interpreted in a different way to how it would have been in the time of the Yogasūtra, often separated from its traditional ethical and soteriological framework.The goals of mindfulness meditation are largely secularized: the goal of spiritual liberation (the main aim of the Yogasūtra as well as Buddhist meditation), if present at all, is a notion that has no immediateness-it remains a possibility in the future.The relatively new integration of the two traditions through mindfulness, though interpreted in new ways, initiates an enquiry about whether the synthesis of mindfulness and yoga is relatively new or perhaps is an ancient one, found already in the oldest recorded Indian texts on yoga, the Yogasūtra, perhaps lost in the yogic transmissions of India only to be reintroduced recently in a new context, with new interpretations and aims.
The analysis above suggests that smṛti in the Yogasūtra and in Buddhist traditions (Pāli sati) needs to be revisited; in both traditions the term seems to cover a wide semantic spectrum, ranging between "memory" and "mindfulness"-the two meanings may not have been separated the way they are in modern yoga, where the term is rendered as "memory" only and in modern Buddhism where smṛti/sati is usually read as mindfulness (and less frequently, as memory).It seems quite likely that the ur-text of Yoga, the Yogasūtra that we know today has been influenced by Buddhism and hence demonstrated here that it is possible to read smṛti as mindfulness, at least in some of the sūtras.However, there is no textual evidence that this meaning of smṛti has been transmitted in the Yogic traditions of India: the commentaries on the Yogasūtra (perhaps partly with the exception of Vyāsa) interpret the word smṛti as memory which has been followed by most modern translators and interpreters of yoga.Further in-depth study of meditation techniques such as mindfulness in ancient India is required, drawing from all known traditions; this could create a broader spectrum of meanings and connotations for smṛti and other meditative terminology and practices of the time.