Human Spiritual Structure: Storage of Samskaras
Notes in progress © 1998-2002 Alan McAllister  


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Life experiences are experienced and stored at different levels, from the physical body upto the atimanas kosa. How do these relate to each other? The original experience may be at any of these levels, but propagates to the others (or does all experience inherently occur on all levels at once?) Some of these things are purely in the body and other low levels of mind which do not survive death. What is the relationship between the longer term and the single life experience, conditioning, samskara?

Sort out the effects of storing stuff on one level, on the other levels. In particular while it seems clear that distortions on higher levels will eventually manifest on all lower levels, how much "upward" propagation is there? Do the linkages vary in strength and directness between the levels, and how much do these values depend on the specific events/causes?

It seems that the attitude of the spirit, in particular the nature of its identification with the various manifested levels plays a role. Thus the more closely the embodied spirit identifies with its body, the more impact physical trauma has on its higher levels.

This is linked to the question of learning. Much of what we experience, and the lessons we `learn' apparently have to do with releasing stored energies, pictures, samskaras. However we have also come in to the body to learn as a spirit. Are these two processes or only one?

While the physical reactions to experiences can be held in all parts of the body, with accompanying emotions, or emotional triggers the affect of samskaras through the vrttis is confined to the chakras. In the psychic view, pictures can be held in different levels of the aura, but most commonly in the cakras. How does all this fit together?

In yogic terms the samskaras are stored in the causal mind . Their exact expressionis not always the same as the action that led to their formation, due to changes in time place and person. It is said that they can accrue interest over time, therefore it is best to acknowledge mistakes and take punishment as soon as possible (as in Catholic confession).

Creation of samskaras

Creation of Pictures

Pictures are the images, patterns, and energies that we carry in our space which tend to control our actions and reactions. They are the psychic equivalent of samskaras. As with samskaras they may be acquired or imposed from/by others, society etc. They may be created by ourselves (this is more often called karma) and they may be "core" pictures, essentially inborn samskaras.

Creation of Memories

See creation of memories. Note that there are both conscious and unconscious pathways, with more or less emotional content.

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Page Created, February, 1998.
Last updated September 14, 1999.
© Alan McAllister

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