Question: Is there a limited number of great souls? It seems that the great souls keep coming back in different lifetimes.

Sri Chinmoy: New great souls are coming. Old great souls are coming, too. The old ones are coming back and coming back. Let us say that they were once upon a time spiritually great, and now they want to be great in some other field. They may want to become scientists or generals. Some great souls do want to change their fields, as we change our jobs.

At the ashram, I changed my job eight times! The Mother did not approve of anybody changing jobs. For the others in our family, she was dead against it. But in my case she said, “Go ahead and work in another department.” That is how in one incarnation I changed my job so many times.

Some souls were great in one incarnation, and then in another incarnation they entered into another field where they were absolutely beginners, beginners, beginners, beginners!