स्मृति

Smṛti (स्मृति) ordinarily means memory. In the Gita it occurs in verse 2.63, where from bewilderment comes smṛtivibhrama, confusion of memory. And in verse 18.73 Arjuna says that his delusion is destroyed and that he has regained memory.

In both places smṛti means more than recalling past events. It includes all that holds a person to their path: their values, the lessons they have received, past experience, and the remembrance of who they want to be. In the fog of anger the person has all this, but at that moment it does not come to hand. That is why the Gita places it just before the loss of discernment: when the ground of memory is gone, the faculty that decides cannot work either.

Common misreading: taking smṛti to mean only memory of past events. Note also that in tradition smṛti is the name of a class of scripture; that is not the sense in these verses.

Better sense: the inner remembrance that keeps us tied to our values and lessons, and whose return, as for Arjuna in 18.73, is a sign of clear sight.

To read more, see the topic "From Thought to Ruin".