The purpose of reincarnation
We can truthfully say that we existed on earth, we exist, and we shall exist in the future. Why do we exist? Because we have been unable to fulfil ourselves, or God has not been able to fulfil Himself through us, in us and for us. At the beginning of our journey in this life, as young men and women we have or we had many, many ordinary earthly desires. Then what do we see or what will we see in the evening of our lives? We will see that some of the desires of our youth have borne fruit, but most of them have not. Instead of desire, if we have aspiration to grow into divinity, into our highest height, this aspiration will unmistakably bear fruit, either little or much, according to our sincerity. But if it takes fifty or sixty years just to fulfil an ordinary earthly desire, then we have to know that it will take quite a few lives for us to grow into our highest divinity, our highest and deepest fulfilment. What we are doing here on earth is participating in an eternal journey. This journey has no beginning and no end. In the process of cosmic evolution, we are fulfilling or unveiling our inner divinity and that is why we need reincarnation. One incarnation can never fulfil us either materially or spiritually.
Sri Chinmoy, AUM — Vol. 8, No. 8, March 1973, AUM Centre Press, 1973