Tattva-viveka
Bhakti samskaras.
NrsinghaDas - January 7, 2005 2:20 am
My qusetions are about bhakti samskaras.
What exactly are they? Are they eternal?
Can/do they develop in the stages of ajata and jata sukrti?
or only after one reaches the stage of sraddha?
If they are in fact eternal, how does theyr inffluence effect the unfortunate jiva whos faith has been defeated by anarthas after some practice and progress on the path?
Im inclined to assume that they somehow or other would retain some eternal effects. Even if theyre specific flavor/charecteristics can become dissassembled or lost due to anarthas wouldnt they still hold some weight in the sukrti department ?
Also does there influence have the power to prevent one who has aquired them in previous births, but due to offenses fallen down, from achieving videha mukti ?
please forgive any spelling errors. I was never so good at that, all those theirs,theres,theyres etc are confusing 
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Citta Hari Dasa - January 7, 2005 7:06 pm
Let's start with what a samskara is in the generic sense. A samskara is usually described as an 'impression' left in the mind by repeated thought and/or action. The example of water dripping onto a stone and eventually boring a hole into it is often given to illustrate this. From this we can see that for a samskara to form it takes two things: repetition and focus in the same place (activity or thought) over time. Due to our having been in contact with matter since forever we have many samskaras for interacting with matter and thus our default behavior is directed toward matter. Material samskaras are, however, not eternal since they are stored in the subtle body, and because the subtle body is ultimately dissolved through bhakti-sadhana the samskaras contained within it are dissolved as well. Once a samskara is gone then our drive for that particular activity is gone also. We lose interest in it without even having to think about it. Conversely, as long as a samskara exists for a particular activity then the tendency to engage in that activity exists in a latent form until the opportunity arises for its expression. This is why we see renunciates (of all traditions) getting involved in worldly activities even ater many years of abstaining from them.
In contrast to the ephemeral nature of material samskaras, bhakti samskaras are eternal, because bhakti itself is eternal. When through association and long practice one develops the samskara for bhakti then even though anarthas may get in the way of that samskara reaching its maturity the samskara itself is not affected, except in the case of serious Vaisnava aparadha.
Also does there influence have the power to prevent one who has aquired them in previous births, but due to offenses fallen down, from achieving videha mukti ?
If I understood your question correctly then that would depend on the severity of the aparadha. Guru Maharaja has said that it is possible for the samskara for bhakti to be completely destroyed, but one can just imagine what kind of offense that would take.