Mr. George Riddell: We have one question from our radio audience. Someone has called in with a question. Her question is: "What do you think of the communication between the living and the dead? Do you think there is a communication?"

Sri Chinmoy: There is a way to communicate with the dead. As a matter of fact, there are various ways. If one has occult powers or spiritual powers, one can easily communicate with anybody living or departed. What we call “death” is not the extinction of consciousness. It is only a transition. Today I am here; tomorrow I will be in New York. Similarly, now I am here on this earth; after some years, I will be somewhere else in one of the other worlds. On the strength of our self-realisation, we can enter into the soul of a person who is either here or elsewhere; either in Heaven or in hell.

On earth we can make either a short distance call or a long-distance call to any part of the world. The telephone is the medium. Similarly, our conscious oneness with God or, we can say, our self-realisation, enables us to commune with anybody, whether here on earth or there in heaven.

Mr. George Riddell: In your answer you have mentioned something that has disturbed my mind. You said something about “Heaven and hell.” How does Yoga relate to Heaven and hell?

Sri Chinmoy: Heaven and hell are two planes of consciousness. With our human mind we feel that Heaven is elsewhere and that it is full of joy; whereas hell, we feel, is full of torture. This is not the case. Heaven and hell are two planes of consciousness into which we daily enter. When we do good things, we are in joy, we are in Heaven. When we do wrong things, we are in hell. Each moment we are experiencing Heaven and hell. Heaven is right here, deep inside us. It is up to us whether to live in our inner Heaven or in our outer hell.