Certainly. Sutra 1.10 of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali states:
“Abhāva pratyayālambanā vṛttir nidrā”
(YS 1.10)
This is translated as:
“Sleep (nidrā) is a mental modification supported by the absence of content.”
Explanation (based strictly on the text):
This sutra defines the fourth type of mental fluctuation listed in Sutra 1.6: Nidrā, or sleep.
Breaking it down:
Abhāva – Absence, non-existence
Pratyaya-ālambanā – Based on or supported by a mental impression or cognition
Vṛttiḥ – Mental modification
Nidrā – Sleep
Patañjali is saying that even deep sleep — which might feel like the absence of thought — is still a vṛtti, a fluctuation of the mind. It is characterized not by the presence of specific thoughts or sensory experiences, but by the cognition of absence.
In other words, during sleep, the mind is still active in a subtle way. It rests on the idea or impression of nothingness, making it a unique form of mental activity.
This perspective is crucial in yoga philosophy, where even seemingly passive states of mind are observed and understood in order to reach a deeper stillness and awareness.
Would you like to move on to Sutra 1.11, which defines the last of the five vṛttis? Abhava – missing or absent, not having something
Pratyaya – the subject or object
ALAMBANA
VRITTIR
NIDRA
Going from nothing to everything & Everything to Nothing Whenever ego comes say I am nothing. Whenever feel helpless say I’m everything. Change thought about Self & Everything will change.
Having thought about not having thought is nidra Thought of nothingness is one of the thoughts called nidra Sleep can be painful for you b/c you lost something. Thought but not having anything thought is nidra
When we are not effected by anything else this is called yog. If we are effected by the reality then we are living in the dream.
Invalid knowledge is ignorance Can’t deny darkness, b/c darkness teaches us the lesson of light. Don’t take darkness as pain but as a tool.
This is about our perception Once our perception is changed we can reach to Brahman Infinity in Sanskrit is called Anant- that which has no end no beginning