_Question:_ Why don't people have awareness of their soul while living, as much as between one lifetime and another?

Sri Chinmoy: This world is the physical world. Inside the physical body is the soul. It is like a bird inside a cage. If the bird is outside the cage, it can fly, it can do anything it wants to. But when it is inside the cage it cannot function the way it wants to. Very limited scope it has, unless the owner of the bird allows the bird to come to the fore, to come outside the cage.

In the soul’s world the soul can function most powerfully, because there is no obstruction. But here in the physical world there is constant obstruction. Here we are wallowing in the pleasures of ignorance, and the soul has to tolerate it to some extent. The soul does not approve of our shortcomings but, being compassionate, it tolerates them. But when the soul is in its own world, it enjoys freedom. There it does not have to wait for our stupid human life. There it enjoys full freedom.

If we pray and meditate, we can become fully aware of the soul’s divine activities. The more we pray soulfully, the sooner we will become aware of the soul’s divine activities. The soul constantly listens to the dictates of its Supreme Pilot, but for us this is almost impossible. Only when we become spiritually conscious, will we become automatically conscious of the soul’s activities in the inner world.

From:Sri Chinmoy,AUM — Vol.II-5, No. 9,10, September-October 1978, Vishma Press, 1978
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