Question: A friend of mine, a lady who was very spiritual, passed away recently. Will her friends come to meet her in a beautiful Heaven?

Sri Chinmoy: If her friends were also spiritual and highly developed, naturally they will come to receive her if they, themselves, are still in Heaven. But if her friends left the body long before she did, who knows where they are now? They may be in the region of Heaven, or they may be still loitering in the vital plane, or they may have taken human incarnation already. But if they have passed through the vital world, the mental world and a few other worlds, and are now enjoying the blissful rest of Heaven, and if the souls still maintain their same sweet feeling for your friend, then naturally they will come to receive her and help her enjoy a life of bliss in Heaven.

I would like to tell you about my own mother, who happened to be a very, very spiritual woman. When my mother was leaving the body, a very close relative of mine saw in a dream that my mother’s friends were coming in a golden chariot to receive her. When my father died, one of my uncles, who was away in the city, saw another uncle of mine and a few other people coming to take my father in a golden boat. There were many to receive my father and mother because both they, and many of their friends and relatives, were very spiritual.

In the case of almost all religious and spiritual people, the relatives do come. It is easier for spiritual people to come, because they have almost a free access to this world. When ordinary people, who are not spiritual and aspiring, leave the body, they do not go immediately to God. They stay in the vital world and suffer a great deal. When one disciple’s father died, he went to the vital world where he was not treated well. He was having quite a few problems there until one of the vital beings asked him if he had known any religious or spiritual people in his life. He said, “Yes, I know my daughter’s friend,” — who happened to be me. When my name was said, immediately the vital beings knew whom he was connected with, so he was released immediately. He was then able to leave the vital world, the world of torture, and go to a very good higher world.

When another disciple’s father died he went to a very high place, but he was not satisfied there. Her father had seen me only once, in Canada, but when he had, his whole body had been thrilled from head to foot with ineffable joy. So when he left the body and was not satisfied with the plane he was in, his soul came to me and said, “I want to go to a higher world.” So I called on one of my friends, Jyotish, to take him to the plane where he was living. Now he is extremely happy there, in this very high world. He sometimes comes to me and expresses his deepest joy. When he takes his next incarnation I will know about it. Most probably he will take incarnation in an Italian family, but it depends absolutely on the Will of the Supreme. And of course there will be a little bit of my interference if he wants to go somewhere which I do not approve of. Sometimes souls make mistakes when they decide upon their next incarnation. If the souls are very close to my heart, I do not allow them to do this. Right now as I am talking to you, believe me, I am now getting an inner vibration from her father that he wants to come into the family of one of our disciples. For the first time now, he sees an inner link. Before this he wanted to come into an Italian family, but now, as I am speaking, in the inner world he is sending me the message that he wants to come into one of our disciples’ families. Nothing will give us greater joy than to have him with us. And let us see what the other father does after taking a little rest.