Here are seven ways to explain this sūtra from seven different, respected, and renowned authorities known for their work with Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras.

T.K.V. Desikachar: The five activities are comprehension, misapprehension, imagination, deep sleep, and memory.

B.K.S. Iyengar: They are caused by correct knowledge, illusion, delusion, sleep, and memory.

Sri Swami Satchidananda: They are right knowledge, misconception, verbal delusion, sleep and memory.

Chip Hartranft: They are right perception, misperception, conceptualization, deep sleep, and remembering.

Gregor Maehle: The five fluctuations of mind or mind waves are correct perception, wrong perception, conceptualization, deep sleep, and memory.

Swāmi Hariharānanda Āranya: Pramana, viparyaya, vikalpa, sleep and recollection.

I.K. Taimni: (They are) right knowledge, wrong knowledge, fancy, sleep, and memory.