Rebirth - Past Impressions Play An Important Role

From the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita

- Shri Murarilal Dhanuka

सतिमूलेतद्विपाकोजात्यायुर्भोगाः । ॥२.१३॥

Sati Mule Tad Vipako Jati Ayuh Bhogah (Yoga Sutra 2:13)

So long as the cause exists, it will bear fruits, such as rebirth, a long or short life and the experience of pleasure and pain.

In the earlier aphorism (Yoga Sutra 2:12), Patanjali said that a person’s latent tendencies have been created by their past thoughts and actions. These tendencies will bear fruits both in this visible life or in the lives to come. He used the word 'Karmashaya', which means the sum total of Samskaras. In the commentary of this Sutra, Swami Vivekananda says, “Whatever work we do, the mind is thrown into a wave and after the work is finished, we think the wave is gone. No, it has only become fine, but it is still there. When we try to remember the work, it comes up again and becomes a wave. So, it was there, if not, there would not have been the memory. Thus, every action and every thought, good or bad, just goes down and becomes fine and is stored there. Both happy and unhappy thoughts are called pain-bearing obstructions, because according to the Yogis, they, in the long run, bring pain. Therefore, the