Samskaras explained

Abstract
Intergenerational continuity in psychological and behavioural patterns has been examined through psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, attachment theory, social learning theory, and research on intergenerational trauma. Within the Indian Knowledge System, Samskāra refers to impressions or latent tendencies formed through experience and action that influence subsequent mental processes and behaviour. This paper examines Samskāra in relation to psychological transmission across generations.

While there is no scientific evidence that Samskāras are genetically inherited entities, parental behaviour, attachment patterns, social learning, family environments, and potentially biological mechanisms can contribute to intergenerational continuity.

Samskāra may therefore be understood as a philosophical framework for examining how prior experience, including inherited behavior, contributes to the formation and persistence of psychological tendencies.

Keywords: Samskāra, Indian Knowledge System, psychoanalysis, unconscious, intergenerational transmission, attachment, social learning, trauma, epigenetics

1. Introduction
   Psychological development occurs within social and relational environments, particularly during
   childhood. Parental behaviour, attachment patterns, emotional responses, and family interactions can
   influence children’s behavioural and psychological development, creating continuity across
   generations.
   The concept of Samskāra provides a relevant philosophical framework within the Indian Knowledge
   System. In Pātañjali Yoga, Samskāra refers to impressions or tendencies formed through previous
   experiences and actions that influence subsequent mental activity. Although the concept differs from
   contemporary psychological constructs, it raises a related question: how do previous experiences
   continue to influence present behaviour?
   This question can be examined alongside psychoanalytic theories of the unconscious, social learning
   theory, attachment theory, and research on intergenerational trauma. Freud’s concept of the
   unconscious proposes that psychological processes outside conscious awareness can influence
   behaviour (Freud, 1915/1957). Similarly, Samskāra concerns the persistence of prior experience,
   although the two concepts arise from distinct theoretical traditions.
2. Samskāra and Psychological Conditioning
   Within Pātañjali Yoga, Samskāra is associated with the formation of enduring tendencies resulting
   from experience and mental activity. Yoga Sūtra 1.50 describes the relationship between Samskāra
   and higher knowledge, while Yoga Sūtra 3.18 refers to knowledge concerning Samskāras. The
   concept is therefore broader than memory or habit and includes tendencies affecting thought,
   emotion, perception, and action.
   Samskāra should not, however, be treated as an ancient equivalent of neuroscience or psychology. It
   belongs to a philosophical system concerned with consciousness, mental conditioning, and liberation.
   Its comparison with contemporary psychological concepts is consequently interpretive rather than
   synonymous.
   Mallick and Mallick (2025) examine conceptual relationships between psychoanalysis and the Indian
   Knowledge System, including the unconscious, Samskāra, citta, and ahaṁkāra. Their work supports
   an interdisciplinary examination of psychological conditioning while maintaining distinctions
   between the two traditions.
3. Mechanisms of Intergenerational Transmission
   Social learning provides an established mechanism through which behavioural patterns can extend
   across generations. Bandura (1977) demonstrated that behaviours can be acquired through
   observation and modelling. Children therefore learn behavioural responses by observing caregivers’
   approaches to conflict, emotional distress, relationships, and social situations.
   Intergenerational parenting research similarly indicates continuity between parents’ developmental
   experiences and later parenting behaviours. Van IJzendoorn (1992) identified evidence of
   intergenerational continuity while emphasising that transmission is incomplete. Environmental
   influences, education, relationships, peers, and individual experiences also contribute to
   development.
   Attachment theory provides another mechanism. Early relationships with caregivers influence
   expectations concerning responsiveness, security, and interpersonal relationships (Bowlby, 1982). A
   parent’s psychological history may therefore influence caregiving behaviour, which becomes part of
   the child’s developmental environment. The child does not inherit the parent’s experiences directly;
   rather, the child’s own psychological patterns develop partly through repeated relational experiences.
   From the perspective of Samskāra, these repeated experiences can be understood as conditions
   through which new impressions and tendencies are formed. Thus, intergenerational continuity may
   occur through the transmission of environments and behaviours rather than the literal transfer of
   psychological impressions.
4. Intergenerational Trauma and Epigenetics
   Research on intergenerational trauma has examined psychological, behavioural, environmental, and
   biological pathways through which the effects of severe stress may extend across generations.
   Epigenetic research has attracted particular attention because environmental conditions can influence
   gene expression without altering DNA sequences.
   Yehuda and Lehrner (2018) reviewed evidence concerning intergenerational trauma and proposed
   epigenetic mechanisms as one possible pathway. However, human evidence remains complex
   because biological, environmental, and behavioural factors are difficult to separate.
   There is currently no scientific evidence demonstrating that Samskāras, memories, or traumatic
   experiences are directly encoded in DNA. Epigenetic findings therefore should not be interpreted as
   scientific validation of Samskāra. The two belong to different explanatory frameworks.
5. Do Children Inherit Samskāras?
   The answer depends on the meaning of inheritance. In biological science, inheritance refers primarily
   to the transmission of genetic information. There is no established evidence that Samskāras constitute
   genetically inherited psychological entities.
   Psychological transmission operates through different mechanisms. Parental experiences may
   influence behaviour, emotional regulation, beliefs, attachment, and responses to stress. These
   behaviours shape the child’s developmental environment, while observation and repeated interaction
   contribute to the formation of the child’s own psychological tendencies.
   For example, a parent who consistently responds to interpersonal conflict through avoidance may
   provide a model through which the child learns avoidance as a coping strategy. The child’s behaviour
   is therefore acquired through experience rather than biologically inherited from the parent. If the
   child later reproduces similar patterns in their own relationships, intergenerational continuity may
   emerge.
   In this sense, Samskāra can be used as a philosophical framework for understanding the persistence
   of conditioned tendencies without claiming that these tendencies are genetically transmitted.
6. Transformation and Psychological Change
   Intergenerational continuity does not imply determinism. Psychological patterns can change through
   new experiences, relationships, learning, and deliberate practice.
   The yogic understanding of Samskāra allows for such transformation. Pātañjali Yoga describes
   relationships among different Samskāras, suggesting that existing tendencies can be influenced by
   subsequent mental and behavioural processes. From a psychological perspective, awareness of
   learned patterns can similarly create opportunities for behavioural change.
   Consequently, patterns may have an intergenerational history without becoming permanent. Changes
   in one generation can alter the relational and developmental environment experienced by the next.
7. Discussion
   The comparison of Samskāra with psychoanalysis and contemporary research reveals areas of
   conceptual convergence but does not establish theoretical equivalence. Psychoanalysis examines
   unconscious psychological processes; social learning theory emphasises observation and modelling;
   attachment theory examines relational development; and trauma research investigates psychological,
   environmental, and biological pathways of intergenerational influence.
   Samskāra belongs to a different philosophical framework centred on mental conditioning and
   consciousness. Its relevance lies in its emphasis on the enduring influence of previous experience
   upon subsequent tendencies.
   The most scientifically defensible interpretation is therefore that children do not biologically inherit
   their parents’ Samskāras. Rather, parental histories may influence behaviours and relational
   environments, which in turn contribute to the formation of psychological patterns in subsequent
   generations. This process allows continuity without requiring direct biological transmission.
8. Conclusion
   There is no established scientific evidence that Samskāras are genetically inherited psychological
   entities. However, behavioural and psychological patterns can demonstrate intergenerational
   continuity through social learning, parenting, attachment, family environments, and other
   developmental mechanisms. Intergenerational trauma research additionally suggests that biological
   processes may contribute to some forms of transmission, although these mechanisms remain under
   investigation.
   Within an interdisciplinary framework, Samskāra can therefore be understood as a philosophical
   account of how prior experience and action contribute to the formation and persistence of tendencies.
   Its relevance to intergenerational psychology lies not in biological inheritance but in the continuity of
   patterns through relationships, behaviour, and developmental environments.
   Intergenerational patterns may be transmitted, but transmission does not imply permanence.
   Psychological awareness, new experiences, and changes in behaviour can modify existing patterns
   and influence subsequent generations.
   References
   Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice Hall.
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   Freud, S. (1957). The unconscious. In J. Strachey (Ed. & Trans.), The standard edition of the
   complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 14, pp. 159–215). Hogarth Press. (Original
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Exploring the Concept of Samskāra: How Inherited Behaviors Shape Our Children and Influence Intergenerational Healing from Trauma