Karma

Author(s): Annie Besant
Publisher: Theosophical Publishing House

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the outcome of its mental life; not one thought, however fleeting, but is there represented; the astromental images may in many cases long have perished, may have had strength enough to endure but for a few hours, but the mental images remain among the possessions of the soul, not one is lacking. All these mental images the soul carries away with it, when it passes through death into the astral world.
The kāma loka, or place of desire, is divided into many strata as it were, and the soul just after death is encumbered with its complete body of desire, or kāma rūpa, and all the mental images formed by kāma-manas that are of a gross and animal nature are powerful on the lowest levels of this astral world. A poorly developed soul will dwell on these images and act them out, thus preparing itself to repeat them again physically in its next life; a man who has dwelt on sensual thoughts and made such mental images will not only be drawn to earth scenes connected with sensual gratifications, but will constantly be repeating them as actions in his mind, and so setting up in his nature stronger and stronger impulses towards the future commission of similar offences. So with other mental images formed from material supplied by the desire-nature, that belong to other levels in kāma