Part I: Questions and answers

• Editor's note
• Question: When one sees through the light of the soul, does he see through hundreds of lifetimes?
• Question: When we see through the light of the soul, is it always with the feeling of joy?
• Question: When the soul chooses a new body, does it have a blueprint laid out as to its mission, or does the soul's mission evolve during one's lifetime, depending on circumstances and environment?
• Question: Does the soul have many missions, or just one, in a lifetime?
• Question: Does the vital have a mission separate from the soul's or is it related to the soul's mission?
• Question: How does one know if he is attending to his soul's mission or simply satisfying his vanity?
• Question: It is often said that the soul needs certain experiences even though they may seem adverse at the time. How are we to distinguish between the experiences the soul needs and our own desire to forge ahead through egoistic stubbornness?
• Question: In this age of Kali Yuga, are more people becoming aware of their soul's mission, or is this kind of awareness for future generations?
• Question: Does our soul have contact with the mind of the so-called higher planets like Venus and Saturn?
• Question: There is always talk about this world destroying itself; then people become personally alarmed. Would the end of the physical world as we know it be a threat to the soul?
• Note
• Question: I understand you to say that some spiritual figures in India claim that today you are here, tomorrow you are not here, that the world is an illusion. But aren't those so-called spiritual figures actually corrupting the pure teaching of Shankara on the question of Maya? Shankara never really disavowed the existence of this phenomenal world. Am I right in saying this?

Part II: Sri Chinmoy's first television interview

• Editor's note
• Interviewer: Master Chinmoy, I have just introduced you in Spanish and explained some of your works that I have read in Spanish. What is your mission now in Puerto Rico, and how long will you stay here?

Part III: Question and answers

• Question: How can one reach God in one's lifetime?
• Question: God could have made man perfect to begin with. What was His reason for putting us to all the trouble that we are going through to attain perfection?

Part IV: Questions and answers at the Puerto Rico Centre

• Note
• Question: Sometimes in my meditations, I come to think about the feeling of Eternity, you know. I come to feel that human beings have lived forever and will live forever. This feeling, instead of causing me pleasure and a good sensation, on the contrary causes me great anguish and pain. I feel then that I am all alone, that I am living a life of my own, different from everything. I feel that I have no world left, that by the power of my mind, I have destroyed the world and am alone by myself. This thought causes me a great deal of pain and I have wanted to mention this state of mind. I want to know if I am taking a wrong path.
• Question: I have been reading the minor Upanishads and I want to ask you something about them. If they are "minor," why are they so profound in the script and in the meaning?
• Question: Another question about the Upanishads: why was the King of Death, Yama, not there when Nachiketa arrived?
• Question: When the soul is going to reincarnate, is it forced to do so or does the soul have the privilege of making this decision?
• Question: I wish to ask something further, regarding the previous question. Religion has told us that we have come from the Spirit and we go back to the Spirit at the end of our present incarnation. Now if we go back to our Father, then what is the use of reincarnation, realisation and so forth?

Part V: Interview on WHOA radio station

• Editor's note
• Interviewer: This morning we have Sri Chinmoy here in the studio. He will give us an example of a prayer chant in Sanskrit to start the program.
• Mr. George Riddell: Do you meditate or do you pray? In Yoga, how do you communicate with God?
• Mr. George Riddell: Some of the other members here may have some questions that they wish to ask, and I think we should start with the ladies first. Miss Carmen Suro may have a question.
• Mr. Jim Knight: One question has interested me. Everybody in all religions tries to relate himself to God, and I wonder, Sri Chinmoy, if you could give us a short explanation of what Yoga says of God. What is God and what is the relationship between God and man?
• Mr. George Riddell: Now, according to Yoga, when your physical being ceases to exist or when you do what we call "die," what happens to your spiritual self?
• Miss Dorothy Eisaman: Master, am I correct in saying that we who are believers in God must grow in Grace daily?
• Mr. George Riddell: Does anyone else have a question? Mr. Casanova!
• Mr. George Riddell: In Yoga, do you have a Scripture, as we have the Bible?
• Mr. Jim Knight: One of the great, perhaps the greatest Indian political leader of all time was the Mahatma Gandhi. How did he relate to Yoga?
• Mr. Ed Belville: Sri Chinmoy, the question in my mind is: why do we need a teacher or guru? Or is it important to have a teacher to follow the spiritual path?
• Mr. Ramon Torres Pena: Master Chinmoy, what do you mean by "concentration"?
• Mr. Jim Knight: I have another question deviating just a little bit from what we have been talking about. Most of us in the Western world who are ignorant of Yoga have a tendency to think of a Yogi as someone, let us say, sitting with his legs crossed, or someone standing on his head, someone doing particular exercises or things that seem strange to us. How or why does a Yogi perform these feats? How does it relate to his religion?
• Mr. George Riddell: Are you a vegetarian?
• Mr. George Riddell: Are you married?
• Mr. George Riddell: Do you practise celibacy?
• 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?"
• Mrs Sarah Casanova: Some persons are disturbed by the problems surrounding them. They think they can find escape in suicide. Do you think this is a door that we can open at our sweet will to escape from responsibility and suffering?
• Mr. George Riddell: There are many people in the United States who claim that with the use of certain drugs they are able to get closer to God. Of course the Chinese have been using opium for centuries and centuries. How do you feel about using stimulants, drugs, etc., to stimulate the mind in order to get closer to God?
• Mr. George Riddell: We are just about coming to the end of our time now. We have time for one more question.

Part VI: Questions asked at the University of Puerto Rico

• Editor's note
• Question: Please explain what will be the first step for an ordinary person who has not been in contact with spiritual teachings and wants to enter into the path of self-realisation.
• Question: The body is mortal while the soul is eternal. What is the importance of having a body?
• Question: What results would we have in our society if a large number of persons in the society accepted Yoga?
• Question: What happens if a person wants to enter the spiritual life but has to adjust himself to the material life?
• Question: You explained that the soul needs the body. I understand that the soul is the one that is in union with God. Will we retain our individuality or shall we lose our individuality when we realise that union with God?
• Question: If a person practises Yoga, what kind of life will be led in his daily activities?
• Question: Does a person who has not practised Yoga have the same grade of unity with God after death as one who practises Yoga?

Part VII: Questions asked at the Inter-American University, San Juan, Puerto Rico

• Editor's note
• Question: What is the best point we can use to fix our gaze for concentration?
• Question: Is Yoga considered a religion or a philosophy?
• Question: When you speak, you close your eyes. Is this a kind of concentration or what is it?
• Question: Is there any difference between one religion and another religion? Does Yoga demand renunciation of all religions?
• Question: Is it easier for you to concentrate while you are standing?
• Question: Is reincarnation an entity in itself or is it a religious belief of Hinduism?
• Question: What is meditation?
• Question: Is life after death a reality or just a belief?
• Question: Is life after death a sort of consolation?
• Question: That humming that I heard from you ... I want to know if it is a kind of meditation.
• Question: Recently I read about a person who was buried alive for eighteen days and then he was able to come back alive. Is there any relation between this sort of thing and what you are doing?
• Question: So what that person did has nothing to do with Yoga?

Part VIII: Questions asked at Yale University

• Editor's note
• Question: What role does the vegetarian diet play in your teachings?
• Question: It seems to me that it takes a certain amount of energy and desire to follow the path of your teachings. And what about the rank beginner on it? Sometimes you can't muster enough energy to get yourself going!
• Question: My mind wanders and I would like to know how I can better my concentration so that I can keep my mind focussed on one point or on one thought without lower thought-structures wandering around.
• Question: I am studying to be an actor at the Drama School here at Yale. Is it possible to follow the spiritual path and also have this earthly value, or must I totally devote myself to the spiritual path and be devoid of everything else?
• Question: There are many books on reincarnation on the market that you can buy. But is it something that can be understood by the intellect, the laws of reincarnation?

Part IX: Questions asked at Yoga of Westchester, New Rochelle, New York

• Editor's note
• Question: Could you tell us what an aspirant's duty to society is, if he has one, and how he should relate to his total society? Should he be withdrawn or should he contribute, and if so, what should be the nature of his contribution?
• Question: Do you feel it is important for the aspirant to follow the vegetarian diet?
• Question: My question concerns Karma. I would like to know what is the best way to get rid of bad karma.
• Question: Do you think that the aspirant needs a living Guru for realisation?
• Question: What you said before about denying the animal in man troubles me. I feel that as the inner life and the outer life are two sides of the same truth, that the animal and the pure wisdom in man are also two sides of the same truth and two sides of God and I can't understand why one must run away from one side of oneself.
• Question: What is self-realisation?
• Question: You spoke of a Guru as someone to help make a short cut in the search for realisation. I find it hard in myself to channel myself in the search. Could you recommend or direct me somehow in a channelling of my energies toward self-realisation, because I find it hard to direct myself in that way.
• Question: Should we understand that the extent of self-realisation that we can achieve is subject to our effort and our will, which is what I did understand from your last response, or is it ultimately determined in some way by something beyond our own will?

Part X: Questions asked in 1969

• Question: How can we teach ourselves to love humanity, not just as a collective whole, but also specifically, when a person's defects and bad qualities are so obvious?
• Question: How can we tell if our love is vital or pure?
• Question: Is it possible to prevent oneself from giving off impure vital love and to substitute the heart's pure love for it? How can we consciously give pure love?
• Question: In what way does love for one's Guru differ from devotion to him? Is it possible to have one without the other?
• Question: When we concentrate on love and devotion, should we direct it mainly to the Supreme or to our Guru?
• Question: Do the words "psychic" and "spiritual" mean the same thing?
• Question: What is devotion? Just a desire to do everything possible for one's Guru?
• Question: What are the manifestations of devotion?
• Question: If we feel that we are not devoted enough, how can we increase our devotion?
• Question: If one has aspiration, but not devotion, does this hinder his spiritual progress?
• Question: What is the difference between spiritual strength and spiritual power?
• Question: In the spiritual life, the importance of purity is always stressed. Are pure actions worthwhile if thoughts are impure? How can we purify our thoughts?
• Question: Should husband and wife try to feel the same kind of love and devotion for one another as they try to feel for their Guru or should it be of a different kind?

Part XI: Questions on surrender

• Question: Is there any relationship between surrender to God and progress in the opening of the chakras?
• Question: Does the achievement of complete surrender assure that one will have the possibility of accomplishing self-realisation in this lifetime, or are there other factors that enter the picture?
• Question: Am I correct in assuming that surrender necessarily precedes realisation, or may it occur at the time of the first realisation experience or later?
• Question: Having once surrendered completely, is there any possibility of backsliding, or will the strength of the disciple's aspiration and oneness with the Guru's consciousness prevent this?
• Question: Realising that the ability to surrender is 99% dependent upon Grace, I have been using part of each meditation time to pray for the Grace of God and my Guru. In view of the fact that you have said that prayer is a lesser form of devotion than meditation, I wonder whether what I am doing is a worthwhile effort.
• Question: At times, when praying and meditating on surrender, I am moved to copious tears. I feel these tears as different from those tears of soul's joy which I have experienced at times. The anguish which accompanies them, makes me feel that these are not even tears of aspiration, but merely of frustration, and this disturbs me. How can I aspire for, and concentrate on surrender without becoming so emotional? Even writing this question, I find myself moved to tears.
• Question: What is involved in the surrender of the vital and of the physical body? Having surrendered with the heart and the soul, how can we best help the other recalcitrant members of our being to surrender?
• Question: I have the feeling that when our heart and our soul have surrendered, we can know it ourselves, in fact do know it in our heart, but, other than being told by the Guru, are there any ways in which we can know positively that our vital and physical being have surrendered?
• Question: As one may consciously feel that one deeply wishes to surrender and may in fact do so intellectually, without yet ridding oneself of the fear within the physical mind, this would seem to indicate that the different levels of mind each have an independent relationship to surrender. Would you please explain what the relationship is?
• Question: When fear holds back the physical mind from surrender, it operates like an invisible enemy. This fear, being subconscious, is something of which we may be totally unaware, and even when told that it exists and is holding us back, it remains a fear that we do not feel. I daily offer my fear to the Supreme, but this offering has a feeling of unreality. How may we overcome an invisible obstacle such as this?
• Question: How does surrender affect rebirth into our next incarnation? Does it in any way assure that we will be able to pick up where we left off without the loss of time which often occurs?