Ālaya

Ālaya (devanāgarī: आलय) is a Sanskrit word meaning "abode, dwelling." In the Yogacara school of Buddhism it is usually employed in connection with the word vijñāna (consciousness) as ālayavijñāna ("store-house consciousness").

H. P. Blavatsky defined it as follows:

Alaya (Sk.). The Universal Soul (See Secret Doctrine Vol. I. pp. 47 et seq.). The name belongs to the Tibetan system of the contemplative Mahâyâna School. Identical with Âkâsa in its mystic sense, and with Mûlaprakriti, in its essence, as it is the basis or root of all things.

Although in the quote above Mme. Blavatsky says that ālaya is identical with mahat (universal mind), when describing cosmic planes she makes the former the sixth principle while mahat is the fifth one.

The terms anima mundi and over-soul are frequently used as a synonym for ālaya.

Further reading

• Ālaya at Theosopedia