Question: What does the soul do in the body before birth?

Sri Chinmoy: The soul remains absolutely silent in the body. It is like a witness. It just observes the physical organs. But what it sees when it comes into the world for the first time at birth will give it a kind of fear and frustration. The soul is a spark of the Divine, but when it enters into the world, immediately it sees ignorance. The soul has accepted the world, but the moment the child is born, the soul sees through the eyes of the child and what it sees creates fear within the soul. The soul at that time does not see anything wonderful; it sees something ferocious like a lion that wants to devour it. Then the soul says: “It is I who have taken this body. I have to fight. Why should I act like a coward? Why should I leave the body? In this body, with this body, I shall have to fight for God and establish His Kingdom here on earth.”

From:Sri Chinmoy,Eternity's Soul-Bird, part 1, Agni Press, 1974
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/esb_1