Ananda Marga Universal Forum: What is payment of interest of samskaras + 2 more

Monday, April 27, 2026

What is payment of interest of samskaras + 2 more

Baba

What is payment of interest of samskaras

Namaskar,

Overview: When someone commits a wrongful act, their mind becomes distorted. And, until that samskara is exhausted, their mind will remain distorted. Moreover, in that distorted state of mind, they themselves will feel burdened, not light and free. The reason is because their mind is not in a normal, balanced state. Rather, due to that distortion, they are living in an abnormal frame of mind. And living in that debased condition is itself a form of punishment. So the longer they remain in that state, by definition, the more they are punished. The key point is that they are not yet freed of that samskara. In contrast, after dharma samiksa’, those sadhakas felt immense bliss because some small or large portion of the burden of their samskaras had been removed, by His grace.
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The operative factor is that when the mind does not suffer from any distortions (i.e. no samskaras) then one becomes Parama Purusa. So whenever we get freed from any samskara we are moving towards that state of supreme bliss. In contrast, the longer one has to live with any samskara, the more they will be burdened to the degree of their past nefarious activity, all due to their distorted state of mind. That is why, in a symbolic manner, it is said that the longer it takes for a person to undergo the reaction of their past action, the more “interest” they are paying on that initial action. That is Baba’s teaching from action-reaction theory.

Why one has to pay interest?

Ananda Marga ideology guides us, “Whenever an action is done, its reaction can never be equal and opposite. There should be some change. Mr. X borrows some money from Mr. Y. Say, he takes 100 Rupees. During the repayment, he will have to pay 100 plus some interest because the time factor has changed, otherwise he would have repaid the equal amount. Do you follow me? Due to change in the temporal factor, he will have to pay some interest.” (1)

Key question: What is meant by “interest” with regards to one’s reactive momenta? How does the interest of one’s reactive momenta take form?’
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Interest & workings of samskara theory

Here then is more about this topic.

(A) General principle: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction according to quantum mental suffering, assuming there is no change in time, place, and person. However, there is never an equal and opposite reaction. There is always some kind of time delay.

(B) Case example: When Ram hits Shyam then a samskara is formed in Ram’s mind, and the more time passes before he gets the reaction the more time Ram is living with the seed of that reaction in his mind. Ram had to live with that samskara (distortion of mind) for those many years until facing the reaction. That is the interest, i.e living with that burden in the mind. That’s to say, the sadhaka had to undergo the suffering of having that samskara (distortion) in the mind.

It is similar to taking a loan and not making the payments whereby you suffer because your credit rating went down. In that case, nobody will give you a loan as your overall financial stature declined. So you will be unable to purchase a house etc. Likewise, the sadhaka who suffers from having samskaras (distortions) in the mind will be unable to go close to Parama Purusa and become ensconced in His bliss.
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Why samskaras are the interest

(C) Living with samsakras: What does it mean to live with huge samskaras? The point is that to be in human form with very few samskaras is a life of bliss. The samskaras are what cause difficulty in life as the samskaras distort the mind. Living with the burden of unexpressed samskaras is itself troublesome.

(D) Paying the interest: Paying interest means living with unexpressed samskaras / pending reactions. In that case, the mind is heavy and burdensome. Whereas if one has a very small accumulation of samskaras then the mind is comparatively light and free.

(E) Seeing Baba: When going to see Baba and coming in His contact, Baba would graciously burn or take away some of their samskaras. For instance, if a sadhaka got a beating or received punishment, thereafter the mind would feel light and blissful, by His grace. Baba would remove some of their samskaras, and people would feel completely renewed and free - their mind would be floating in cosmic bliss.
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The burden of samskaras (part 1)

(F) When a person has a heavy load of samskaras (unexpressed reactions) in the mind that adversely affects their life. The interest itself is holding onto that samskara for a longer time period. When a person has that pending reaction in the mind it causes the mind to be tainted. So the more samskaras one has, the more tainted the mind is. In that degraded state, the mind has the tendency to indulge in crude vrttis. Moreover, because the mind is engaged in crude vrittis and degenerated dealings, that person cannot do great work. Only humans, neither animals nor plants, have been blessed to be able to engage in selfless work. But that quality is lost when they are burdened with more and more samskaras because then they will have a tremendous proclivity to indulge in lowly, crude dealings. And that causes terrible suffering for them.

(G) The longer one has to wait to undergo the reaction of a particular samskara, the more interest they are paying. Those who are sincere sadhakas undergo the reaction more quickly because sadhana accelerates the process.
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The burden of samskaras (part 2)

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Action, whether good or bad, causes deformity in the mind, and in the process of regaining its normal form one experiences as reactions good results for good deeds and bad results for bad ones. After death mind takes the shelter of unit consciousness as reaction in its potentiality (saḿskára). The unit consciousness, in order to have those potential reactions expressed, will have to seek a body suitable for the expression of these reactions. For instance, Rama dies, and his mind takes the shelter of his unit consciousness (átman) as reactions in their potentiality (saḿskára).” (2)

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “It is important to clarify here that the actual form of suffering is not predetermined. It cannot be said what might be the actual reaction of a particular action. For example, it is not preordained that if one commits theft his things of the same value will be stolen as a reaction. The suffering is measured in terms of mental suffering to the extent which was inflicted on others by stealing their property. Thus the measure of experiencing the result of an action is mental and is in terms of pleasure and pain, and the actual form of experience has relatively no importance.” (3)

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Rama has to experience the pain and pleasure of all these happenings, and so his unit consciousness will have to seek a body on rebirth, where an opportunity to experience all this will be available.” (4)

Ananda Marga philosophy states, “It is seen that unit consciousness and the potential reaction (saḿskára) cannot take shelter in any body for rebirth indiscriminately. A suitable body where the opportunity and field for experiencing their reactions (karmaphala) is available will have to be sought out. It is only in such a body that unit consciousness, along with total reactions in their potentiality, will seek shelter and be reborn.” (5)

Conclusion

(H) The phrase “paying interest” with regards to samskara theory is an artistic, linguistic expression. The foundational idea is that when one is living with the burden of that samskara, their mind is tainted. In that case, one is unable to do great work and feel His bliss.
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(I) There are many ways for a sadhaka to reduce, exhaust, eliminate, or finish their samskaras. One very simple way is by doing sincere sadhana, by His grace. Then the burden is decreased or eliminated entirely. Having a pending samskara is itself a burden. By doing sadhana one burns samskaras and that lessens their burden and suffering.

In Him,
Caetanya

References
1. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 14, Action and Reaction
2. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, What Is My Relation with the Universe and the Cosmic Entity?
3. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, What Is My Relation with the Universe and the Cosmic Entity?
4. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, What Is My Relation with the Universe and the Cosmic Entity?
5. Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy, What Is My Relation with the Universe and the Cosmic Entity?

== Section 2: Prabhat Samgiita ==

Waiting for Your footsteps

"Tumi esecho bha'lo besecho..." (Prabhat Samgiita #2435)

Purport:

Baba, You have come to me, poured affection, and made me Yours. You have spread Your sweet smile, captivated and dyed my mind in Your sublime colour, and embraced me as Your own.

My Parama Purusa, I continue waiting for Your footsteps, counting the time for Your arrival, and passing the moments in decorating for Your reception. My every second is spent in repeating my mantra in Your memory, in waiting for Your auspicious arrival. In all my various chores, now after coming to me, You have poured and drenched me with spiritual nectar. You have soaked the sweetness into the flower buds as well.

My Eternal Companion, there is now nothing that I desire from You, as You have given me everything. I am in Your anudhyana’ all the time, 24 hrs. By Your infinite compassion, I feel Your presence in kiirtana and sadhana; I am forever Yours. You have appeared in my heart in a very intimate, new, and newer bha’va, i.e. madhur bha’va. It is Your karun’a’.

Baba, the Ever-Present Entity, I feel deep inside my being that You love me and that You care for me in all the ways - always watching for my welfare. What more do I need than that….

== Section 3: Links ==

Upcoming festival: Ananda Purnima - 01 May 2026