From animal to human

“Master,” said one disciple, “in your last incarnation or even in this incarnation, did you ever see or know an animal and then a few years later actually see it again as a human being?”

The Master said, “In my last incarnation I was responsible for about seven or nine animals coming into human incarnation. First I helped them, and then they came to me when they became human beings.”

“When they came to you as human beings, did you feel something for them or know that you had done anything for them?” asked the disciple.

“Certainly, certainly,” the Master replied. “First, as animals, they came to me to see if they could have human incarnations. I have dealt with cows, dogs, goats, cats and other animals. I did this for two dogs of my own family, which I was so fond of in my last incarnation. These dogs were really nice and I loved them. One of them used to take letters from our house to our cousin’s house about four miles away. We would write down the message, give it to him and he would take it to our cousin’s house. Quite often my mother used to write letters to her sister, and sometimes she sent them like this. Our dog Taga acted just like a human being, like a real messenger.

“Now, when I was very young I was like an ordinary human being; but when I realised God I received occult power. Even at the age of sixteen or seventeen I had occult power. So on my last visit to my childhood home, when I saw that the dogs were still alive, I made contact with their souls. Later, they took incarnation as human beings.

“Once I saw two or three tortoises. When I looked at them I clearly saw that it was only a matter of six months or a year until they would die and take human incarnation. It was one hundred per cent certain that no matter when they died, their next incarnation would be a human incarnation.”

Another disciple asked, “If you saw somebody as an animal and then he came back as a human being and became your disciple, wouldn’t he have a really good start? I mean, couldn’t he make very fast progress?”

The Master said, “After completing the animal incarnation, when the soul takes human incarnation it may take ten years or thirteen years or even more to come to me. Some people here have already known me in this incarnation for eight or nine years, but even so they do not make progress. If people do not make any satisfactory progress after having stayed nine, ten, twenty, fifty years with a Master, what can he do with them? Nothing. And a human incarnation is far superior to an animal incarnation. In a human being the soul is much more developed. So how can you expect someone to become very close, or very spiritually developed when he has just come out of the animal kingdom?

“As I have said before, it does not help at all if you have had a connection with someone in a previous incarnation. What difference will it make even if you are one hundred per cent certain who were your past brothers, sisters, parents, children? It only creates problems. I know of one spiritual Master who told somebody’s daughter that she was his mother in a previous incarnation, and only created problems for the young girl as well as for the father and for himself. In this incarnation I have seen at least five teachers that I once had. Also, I have seen two of my past brothers, five of my past sisters, and two of my previous mothers, as well as a few cats and dogs that I used to have. But the previous connection has not helped them or me in any way.”

The Master smiled, “Cats and dogs have very good souls. Unlike you people, they don’t create any problems for me. They are far better than you people.”

“Master,” one young man said sorrowfully, “it is true that your disciples create problems for you. But do cats and dogs make very good people when they become human beings?”

“They do if they were very good cats and dogs and if they get special help from a great spiritual Master,” said the Master. “They become very sweet and devoted. In my last incarnation I had a friend who was a dog in his previous incarnation. It was his first human incarnation. He always used to come to my house and I used to go to his. I would always help him because he had problems — problems from everybody and everywhere. We were so fond of each other.

“As a young man in his twenties, he developed cancer and was dying. On his deathbed he told his parents that it was his wish to come to the terminal and garland me when I first returned to my Motherland. I was in Africa at the time. But he died a few weeks before I returned and could not bring me a garland, so one of his brothers, who was a classmate of mine, brought me the garland when I returned. He wanted to fulfil his younger brother’s last wish.

“Shortly after this friend’s death, but before I returned to India, I was still in Africa with some disciples of mine. We were eating breakfast. This dear Indian friend appeared before me. I said to him, ‘You are here; then please have some of our food.’

“ ‘How can I eat your food?’ he asked.

“ ‘You are here and you can’t eat our food?’ I said. ‘I am seeing you so vividly.’

“Then three or four hours later, he came back to the house. He was standing on the porch when the postman came and handed me the mail. I opened one letter and it mentioned that only a week earlier this young man had passed away. I asked him if it was true. Then all his past animal incarnations came before me. He was this animal, that animal. In his immediately preceding incarnation he had been a dog and in this incarnation he was a human being, my close friend.”