Question: In one of your books you say that the really great spiritual Masters have their own worlds in the inner world. For example, you describe Sri Krishna's world as very vast and soulful. Could you describe your world?

Sri Chinmoy: Each spiritual Master in the inner world, which you can call Heaven, has a few worlds of his own. They are not like ashrams; they are planes of consciousness. A few of my disciples have passed away. Now, in the inner world, all of them are not on the same level of consciousness. They are placed according to their merit. Some of them are on a very high plane and some of them are on a slightly lower plane.

I have one funny story in this connection. It is funny and painful at the same time. There was one particular disciple in Puerto Rico who used to massage me, sometimes for eight hours a day or even more, when I went there to visit. I was very, very fond of him. He was also very fond of me. Everybody liked him and made fun of him because he was a little bit crazy.

One day I said to him, "No matter what kind of life you have lived in the past, I do have the capacity to keep your soul on a very high plane when you go to the other world. This is called grace, not your merit. I am going to do it." His answer was, "No, Guru, I want to be on a lower plane so that I can come back into this world and enjoy my life."

I wanted to lift him up, to elevate his standard, but he did not want it. I could not believe it! Other souls, when I helped them, were so grateful. Even many, many of the disciples' parents and relatives whom I helped after their passing were so grateful. But this particular disciple only wanted to come back. He did not want to go to the higher planes. He wanted to come down again and enjoy life.

Like that, some disciples are terribly afraid of good things. Can you imagine? They are following the spiritual path because they want peace, love, light, bliss and other divine qualities. But as soon as I try to offer them a little bit of peace, they get frightened, believe it or not. I want to give them something very special, some divine quality, but they feel, "O my God, if I get real peace, real light, then my vital life will suffer!" They are ready to stay in their vital life, emotional life, so they do not accept my offering. While they are in the emotional life, they will pray for peace, light and higher things, deeper things. But when I bring it to them, then they think of their other life and they do not accept what I want to give. It is so painful.

From where to where I am going! But this applies to many who are here also. You are praying and praying to give up your former life. You want something higher and God brings it down in and through me to offer you. Then some of you go back to your old life. You prefer the other life, the life that you are already leading.