An Answer
 

If the soul is pure; then where does karma reside?
i've been so perplexed by this question. We're told we
come into each life to work thru our karma; which can
only mean we come in with it each time; right? So how
can my soul be pure if it's coming in each time with my
karma? i set out on an internet search for the answer
this evening. At first, i found only websites with notions
of WHY it exists and HOW it exists... but could not find
anything on Where it exist. And then i found a link that
set me on the path to my answer.

http://www.ananda.org/ask/951/where...f-karma-stored/
Yogananda implied that the seeds of karma
that compel us to keep reincarnating in a physical
body are predominantly stored in the astral body, saying:
Although the physical body is discarded in death, the
astral body carries the unfulfilled desires, their traces,
and discordant vibrations, which must be worked out or
dissolved in other embodiments.

Swami Kriyananda writes:
One’s past life spiritual attainments are retained enduringly
in the astral brain. Like seeds, they sprout when the
conditions are right. What triggers a right condition may be
almost anything. Sri Ramakrishna, the great master who
lived in the nineteenth century, in Bengal, India, had his
first spiritual awakening as a child on beholding a flock of
cranes flying in graceful beauty against a gray sky.

Yet in another website

http://www.thespiritualscientist.co...e-karma-stored/
When a soul leaves the body it is understood to be
surrounded by mind/intelligence and ego. The question is
where does the present karma and past reside and how
it is taken into account during the next birth. It is said
one is born only with prarabda karma and the sancintya
karma is kept in account.

So now i was wondering what prarabda karma and sancintya
karma are? Well, i found out there were three.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanchita_karma
Prarabdha is that portion of the past karma which is
responsible for the present body. That portion of the
sanchita karma which influences human life in the
present incarnation is called prarabdha. It is ripe for
reaping. It cannot be avoided or changed. It is only
exhausted by being experienced. It is selected out of
the mass of the sanchita karma.

Sanchita Karma is the sum of one's past karmas – all
actions (good and bad) from all lives.

Kriyamana Karma is the karma that human beings are
creating in the present, the fruits of which will be
experienced in the future.

Okay... so that was just a detour. It didn't really help in my
search for where karma resides (though it is interesting;
isn't it?) So now (since karma resides in the astral body)
where is that in relation to where my soul resides? Are they
one in the same? i found part of the answer here:

http://www.healing-journeys-energy....rgy-bodies.html
There are four.
My Casual Body (the first of the subtle energy bodies)
also known as the My Spiritual Body is a body of
consciousness associated with my true spiritual path
and direction in life. It is my highest potential and
reflects my ability to manifest my souls true potential
here on earth.

My Mental body which creates the character framework
for your soul to project its personality. The "self" - me -
manifests and expresses my concrete intellect
throughmy mental body.

My Astral Body (the third of the subtle energy bodies)
is more fluid and of a higher vibration than my etheric
body. It appears as colored clouds in continual motion,
reflecting the quality and intensity of my emotions.

My Etheric Body (the fourth of the subtle energy bodies)
appears as a bluish-grey color or shadow, extending
approximately one inch from my physical body. It is
responsible for the transfer of life energy or vitality from
the universal energy field to my physical body.

Funny i remembered being taught this a long time ago.
When did i let myself forget? Shaking my head...
But i still couldn't remember if my soul is separate
from all this or is this what comprises my soul?
In the final website,

http://www.spiritportal.org/karma.html
...(over many lifetimes) most of us Star Seeded Souls –
that is, if this describes you - have accumulated our
own karmic junk stored layer upon layer within our
consciousness and energy fields, that our very being
is not only hidden from the world, but even from our
own selves.

BINGO! My soul is separate and resides in the center of
my casual body (my first layer) ... and my karma resides
(two layers removed from my soul) in my astral body
and now it's even more conceivable to me that my soul
DOES resides in my heart; the heart of my casual or
spiritual body. Ha! My true heart. And not only that,
but our souls (twice removed from our karma) are
indeed pure. NOW i have no doubt at all that our
souls are pure.

Soft Grin...