Namaste
Originally Posted by
catnip
How are Samskaras (mental impressions) formed and how does one relieve them? I think i may have many negative ones, and just formed another recently. And can someone provide detailed, easy to understand information on exactly what they are and how they function?
Word saṃskāra means "the faculty of memory, mental impression or recollection, impression on the mind of acts done in a former state of existence".
So impressions that we have on the mind we have formed by performing acts in the past. This is called karma. Thus saṃskāras are the result of our karmas or activities we have done in this life and in previous lives.
By performing various sensory activities such as seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving about, enjoying senses etc, we perform acts or karma. All this leaves some impressions (saṃskāras) in our mind or will bring about saṃskāras in the future as a result of our karmas.
It is said that the activities are performed with the body, words and mind. Thus we can go somewhereby walking, doing something with hands or we can talk or think. By doing all this we create karma.
In Bhagavad-gītā 3.5 (http://vedabase.net/bg/3/5/en) it is said that "no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment".
So even when we lie down to sleep we are not doing anything with body and words, but our mental activity does not stop. The mind's activities are thinking, feeling and willing. Even during the sleep thinking, feeling and willing continues. Thus saṃskāras are manifesting during our waking state and during sleep.
Bad saṃskāras can manifest during our waking state and during sleep in the form of bad dreams. To ask "how does one relieve them?" is like to ask "How to relieve of material existence?" or "How to attain liberation or stop the sufferings of repeated birth and death?".
If we want to be saved from the sufferings of repeated birth and death, bad saṃskāras etc, we have to refrain from materialistic activities of sense enjoyment (renunciation) and take refuge in the Lord.
Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā 9.27-28 (http://vedabase.net/bg/9/27/en) :
"Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.
In this way you will be freed from bondage to work and its auspicious and inauspicious results. With your mind fixed on Me in this principle of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me."
Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-gītā 9.34 (http://vedabase.net/bg/9/34/en) :
"Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances to Me and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me."
Now, you can tell "Who knows when I will attain liberation. I am suffering from bad saṃskāras right now and here. What should I do with it?"
You can try with yoga, but more or less the only thing you can do is to tolerate. To tolerate means to live with it and do not give much attention to it, but to continue with the spiritual effort.
Our whole material existence, repeated birth and death, our bad saṃskāras, karma etc, can be destroyed by the fire of spiritual knowledge or spiritual effort. This is explained in Bhagavad-gītā 4.37 (http://vedabase.net/bg/4/37/en) :
"As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all reactions to material activities."
Spiritual life is compared with blazing fire which can completely destroy or burn to ashes our whole material existence of repeated birth and death, our bad saṃskāras, karma etc.
We are pure spirit souls, but in this material world we live in a material body, we have the material mind which becomes disturbed with material impressions or saṃskāras, we suffer the results of material activities or karma. All these material things are considered various types of material impurities the pure spirit soul lives with in this material world.
The practice of spiritual life is compared to a fire, while the spiritual soul is compared with gold that should be purified from impurities to get pure gold. Refining with flame is one of the oldest methods of refining gold.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.28.10 (http://vedabase.net/sb/3/28/10/) :
"The yogīs who practice such breathing exercises are very soon freed from all mental disturbances, just as gold, when put into fire and fanned with air, becomes free from all impurities."
Lord Krishna explains bhakti yoga in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 11.14.25 (http://vedabase.net/sb/11/14/25/en) :
"Just as gold, when smelted in fire, gives up its impurities and returns to its pure brilliant state, similarly, the spirit soul, absorbed in the fire of bhakti-yoga, is purified of all contamination caused by previous fruitive activities and returns to its original position of serving Me in the spiritual world."
regards
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