The Give-and-Take of Impressions

The give-and-take of ‘sanskaras’ or ‘impressions’ is constantly going on in the play of life. Where there is mutuality, there is this give-and-take, but it is not a mechanical process. The ‘same action’ can create ‘different impressions’, according to the “MOTIVE” which inspires that action.

• A man who, out of the motive of ‘doing good’ to another person, gives him food or clothes, at once catches his ‘good impressions’.
• The man who SLANDERS another person with an ‘evil motive’ or STEALS his belongings at once catches his ‘evil impressions’.

Killing an animal for sport, pleasure or food means– catching all its ‘bad impressions’ since the MOTIVE is “selfish”. But no such ‘bad impressions’ are caught from snakes or germs and the like, which are a danger to humanity, when they are killed out of ‘philanthropic motives’ and only when absolutely necessary. Such killing, when it is not a duty, will certainly create ‘binding impressions.’

Conversations, movies, books, radio, meetings, travels, crowds and so on are various mediums through which there is give-and-take of diverse types of impressions on a stupendous scale. In short, the cycle of impressions is interminable except when the aspirant slowly and patiently takes to the emancipatory, uphill spiritual path under the guidance of a Truth-realized Master, with his blessings.    

The “impressions” in the ego-minds of all, whether gross, subtle, mental are largely similar. But their ‘colors’ are different and of innumerable variety, according to the SPIRITUAL POSITION of different individuals. ‘Consciousness’ gets committed to some illusion or other owing to these ‘mental impressions’ which are ever active in spite of the daily respite of ‘dream’ and ‘sleep’.

The ‘gross consciousness’ of the PHYSICAL BODY gets dissolved in the ‘dream-state’ of the SUBTLE BODY; and the ‘dream-state’ in its turn gets dissolved in the ‘sleep-state’ of the MENTAL BODY.

But this daily dissolution of illusion is temporary. After sometime the impressions again begin to prick and clamour, “Spend us! Spend us!” Thus latent consciousness is again brought back to its gross illusion.

If the whole world were to go to sleep, it would be the great dissolution of the entire world. All the individuals would recede into their ‘mental bodies’ and be absorbed in utter oblivion for some time until they re-enter the panorama of the threefold world in a new cycle of existence.
      The ‘impressions’ of the UNREALIZED INDIVIDUALS remain exactly the same, even during this universal dissolution, which takes place by the “Divine Will”. In the new cycle, they take up their evolution where they had left it.
      “Universal dissolution” is not without some purpose. The usual ‘theories of evolution’ advanced by scientists are based only upon ‘intellectual data.’ They never do justice to God’s hand in the game.

When the world is put to sleep with all its current ideas, theories, beliefs, ideals and modes of individual and collective life, it is easier for the world to change its direction of ‘search’ and ‘fulfillment’ in the next cycle of creation. It has to start where it left off, but IT CAN RE-ORIENT ITSELF in a new direction from the place where things had previously stopped. This means that, in the new cycle of existence, the

• ideas,
• theories,
• beliefs and ideals and
• modes of individual and collective life

begin to develop entirely on new lines, according to what has been planned by the Truth-realized Masters. The ‘old modes’ disappear, yielding place to new ones.

The Masters plan not only for ‘humanity’ in general, but also for the ‘new Circle-to-be’, for which the seeds are sown hundreds of years before the time when they actually manifest themselves. 

The ‘physical body’ is nothing but the gross form of ‘impressions’. The ‘mental impression’ in the mind of the male parent first takes a ‘subtle form’, which then is released in the gross form of mating. The mass of sanskaras or impressions thus released ultimately reach the ‘mind’ of the female parent; and it is from the ‘mind’ of the female parent that the process of ‘physical incarnation’ starts. The ‘soul,’ which is awaiting reincarnation in the gross body, CAN DESCEND ONLY IF– during the process of sanskaric or impressional exchange between male and the female, their “minds” have come as near to stopping as possible.

The ‘physical body’ is produced by the working of many “impressions”, and is the result of their very embodiment. It is, therefore, no wonder that it has a TENDENCY to ‘bind the soul’ which inhabits it.

‘Love for the physical body’ is only a form of ignorance. Swine take delight in refuse, and so do the ignorant ones take delight in the ‘body’.

From the spiritual point of view, there is nothing more pitiable than SLAVISH SUBMISSION to the ‘desires’ and ‘demands’ of the physical body. Because of its incessant claims on the attention of the ‘mind’, the ‘physical body’ often becomes a hindrance to real life; it is like a cage to the soul. But

the ‘soul’ cannot find its real freedom by putting an end to the ‘physical body’. The ‘physical body’ itself has to be INTELLIGENTLY USED and made to subserve ‘spiritual ends’.

What is the use of a body which RESISTS the dictates of the “mind”?

It is no use clinging to the ‘comforts of the body’, which one day must be given up. It is only an INSTRUMENT, and one should make the maximum use of it.

“Impressions” are contagious.

• Eating meat is prohibited in many spiritual disciplines because the person thereby catches the ‘impressions’ of the animal, thus rendering himself more susceptible to ‘lust’ and ‘anger’.
• Sometimes, innumerable ‘strong impressions’ are transmitted through the mere touch of the ‘physical body’ of another person. A ‘gross body’, even a corpse, can quickly impart numberless impressions to the person who touches it.
• Sex contact outside wedlock is the worst form of exposure to ‘heavy’ and ‘binding’ impressions of ‘lust’. In wedlock, the ‘impressions’ exchanged are much lighter and less binding.