Question: A lot of times the souls of great people who have been dead for many years come to visit you, or you invoke their souls. Why have these souls not taken another incarnation already?

Sri Chinmoy: Some really advanced souls want to swim, but when they come to the shore they get frightened. They remember how much they suffered in their previous incarnations, and they do not want to jump into the water again, especially if they were people with big hearts who went through tremendous suffering and misunderstanding. These souls want to remain longer in Heaven, and Heaven is happy to have them. The souls that were unaspiring and did not do anything significant in their previous incarnation are not wanted by Heaven. After six years the authorities say, “Get out, get out!” Then they have to go back, unless they are connected with some God-realised or highly advanced soul and get a recommendation from this soul to stay longer in whatever higher world they are in. Some souls may not be advanced, but because they have tremendous love and devotion for me, they get special Grace. Otherwise, ordinary souls cannot stay longer than just a few years in the higher worlds before coming back to earth.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Sri Chinmoy answers, part 5, Agni Press, 1995
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/sca_5