“hetu phala asraya alambanaih sangrhitatvat esam abhave tad abhavah”
“Impressions and desires are bound together by their dependence upon cause and effect. In the absence of the latter, the former too ceases to function.”
Our soul moves from one life, or body into another life and body due to a rebirth. Along with the new body also comes the fruits of this previous body. As a tree grows and produces fruit so does a life leave fruits of it’s labour. We call these impressions and they are created as a result from action within the life of the body inhabited. When the body dissovles these impressions stay with the soul and become part of the new life of the next body.
Each person, or soul has certain desires they spend their lives trying to fulfill. The desires are created by our ignorance that something outside of ourselves is of greater importance than our true selves. For some it is easy to see their desires because they live their life trying to fulfill them, like greed for money or other matrial objects. For others it is not as easy to see the desires which rule their lives. Until the soul is able to dissolve these desires the impressions and desire follow us into each rebirth.
The desire is the cause and the impression is the effect. The only way to stop creating new impressions and new lives is to dissolve the desire. Controlling the desire is not the same as dissolving it. If you control something it still exists. If you use restraint and discipline to keep from giving into a deisre nothing has changed except that you are using your energy to restrain yourself instead of indulging youself. So the only way to be free of desire is dissolve it. When a desire is non-exsistent no energy, action or thoughts are used to move towards it or against it, so no effect or impression is created.