Question: You say that if we do something really bad, our souls will disown us. But if we are our souls, then what will our souls disown?
Sri Chinmoy: Think of it this way: your mother will try to show the neighbours that you are an excellent girl. If you do something wrong, the neighbours will forgive you, because they are not connected to you or responsible for you. But your mother will not forgive you; she will feel truly miserable that you have done something bad, because you are her very own. The aspiring soul feels that it is beneath its dignity to have this kind of unruly or unspiritual vital, mind and body. If it is really displeased with your actions, then the soul will no longer try to inspire you — your body, vital, mind and heart — or encourage you to lead a spiritual life.
Sri Chinmoy, A life of blossoming love, Agni Press, 1992