वृत्ति — vṛtti: attitude and inner orientation in the murlis

Estimated reading time : 5 mn

The definitions and explanations are newly written editorial material, translated from the French draft. Examples reproduce Hindi sentences and the French and English translations verified in the published versions.

The word and its ordinary meanings

वृत्ति — vṛtti, shown as vr̥itti in the site’s transliteration, is a feminine Hindi noun of Sanskrit origin. Hindwi gives mental activity, nature or character, and state of mind. These meanings help explain the connection between mental activity and an inner disposition.

The Monier–Williams entry reproduced by SanskritDictionary also gives manner of life and conduct, occupation and livelihood, and commentary on a text. These meanings should not be imported into every BK occurrence: a passage about attitude towards others is not necessarily about employment, income or textual commentary.

The Murli dictionary entry includes attitude and behaviour. The relationship between inner disposition and outward expression must be established from the passages themselves.

Published translations of the word

French: attitude. English: attitude. The examples of 4 April 2021 and 17 September 2021 directly attest this equivalent. On 9 May 2024, the French version renders the construction in terms of being attracted, while the English retains attitude. This reformulation does not establish “attraction” as a published noun equivalent everywhere. On 21 January 2024, वैराग्य वृत्ति occurs in the published expression attitude de désintérêt illimité / attitude of unlimited disinterest. The qualification belongs to the phrase rather than the noun alone.

Proposed translations

Attitude remains the preferred equivalent in both languages. Inner disposition / disposition intérieure emphasises the inner basis of reactions. Mental orientation / orientation mentale suits passages asking towards whom the mind turns. Tendency / tendance can suit a recurring inclination, but might imply a fixed trait when the texts specifically ask for transformation. These are explanatory proposals rather than published equivalents established by the selected examples.

One central meaning, several aspects

The passages mainly refer to the same inner attitude. Brotherhood, attachment, detachment and purity qualify it rather than creating four separate faculties. Its influence on the atmosphere is a function attributed to it by the teaching.

1. Inner attitude: spiritual brotherhood

The fraternal attitude rests on soul consciousness. The surrounding passage also develops concern for others’ welfare, love, cooperation and selflessness. वृत्ति therefore denotes an inner approach to relationships, rather than merely a polite gesture.

हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : श्रेष्ठ वृत्ति सदा भाई की आत्मिक वृत्ति हो .

Français — publié : Maintenez toujours une attitude élevée de conscience d’âme et fraternelle.

English — published: Always have an elevated soul-conscious attitude of brotherhood.

Murli · daily · 2021-04-04 · hi56 · FR · EN

2. Orientation towards the Father or bodily appearances

The question concerns the direction of attitude: towards the Father or towards a person’s bodily name and form. The French translation expresses this through being attracted. It is an application of inner orientation, not a separate entity called वृत्ति.

हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : हमारी वृत्ति एक शिवबाबा की तरफ जाती है या और कोई के नाम-रूप तरफ जाती है  ?

Français — publié : Suis-je attirée seulement par Shiv Baba ou par quelqu'un d'autre?

English — published: “Is my attitude directed towards Shiv Baba alone or towards anyone else's name and form?”

Murli · daily · 2024-05-09 · hi22 · FR · EN

3. An attitude of detachment

वैराग्य qualifies attitude. The published English uses unlimited disinterest; detachment is proposed here as an explanation to avoid interpreting it as lack of concern. The passages on brotherhood and cooperation show that detachment cannot simply be equated with rejecting all relationships.

हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : अभी समय प्रमाण बेहद के वैराग्य वृत्ति को इमर्ज करो .

Français — publié : A présent, faites apparaître votre attitude de désintérêt illimité.

English — published: Now, according to the time, let your attitude of unlimited disinterest emerge.

Murli · daily · 2024-01-21 · hi155 · FR · EN

4. Influence attributed to attitude on the atmosphere

The text attributes a role in creating the atmosphere to attitude. Nearby sentences ask for stability against external vibrations and for strengthening attitude through awareness of one’s promise. This influence is part of the murli’s spiritual explanation; the quotation does not experimentally measure it.

हिंदी — मूल / Hindi — original : वृत्ति से ही वायुमण्डल बनता है , यदि आपकी वृत्ति श्रेष्ठ है तो वायुमण्डल शुद्ध बन जायेगा .

Français — publié : C'est votre attitude qui crée l'atmosphère; si elle est élevée, l'atmosphère sera pure.

English — published: An atmosphere is created through your attitude: if your attitude is elevated, the atmosphere will become pure.

Murli · daily · 2021-09-17 · hi207 · FR · EN

Connections with vision, speech and thoughts

On 4 April 2021, hi57–hi63, attitude towards a soul is connected with the perception of that soul’s activity. The passage develops the relationship between वृत्ति, दृष्टि and सृष्टि: inner disposition, vision, and the world perceived or transformed. These terms are connected rather than interchangeable.

On 1 January 2023, hi96–hi99, humility is required in attitude, vision, words and relationships. The text rejects excusing a spoken remark by claiming it did not reflect one’s attitude. English sentence alignment is shifted in this passage: context must be compared rather than blindly copying the row opposite a Hindi sentence.

Connection with thoughts does not mean that वृत्ति always denotes one isolated thought: the passages concern a disposition from which one thinks and perceives. Likewise, behaviour may express an outward manifestation, but attitude better preserves the inner quality of the selected examples. This is not an absolute boundary for every use of the word.

Sources and scope

The first two relevance-ranked pages of the daily corpus were consulted, containing 40 excerpts. Five source pages were examined in French and English: 4 April 2021, 9 May 2024, 17 September 2021, 21 January 2024 and 1 January 2023. Reprints were not counted as independent evidence. Daily includes reprinted BapDada teachings; the separate avyakt and mamma corpora were not surveyed. Ranking measures lexical relevance rather than doctrinal importance. This sample cannot exclude other meanings throughout the murlis.