Question: Does the soul ever make a mistake in choosing a particular physical body, mind or vital in order to fulfil its mission?

Sri Chinmoy: Some people say that it does, but I am of the opinion that the soul does not make a mistake. On the highest plane the soul makes a decision according to its capacity, but it may have the same experience as a human mother. A human mother wants to have a very good son, but if the son becomes delinquent, the mother says, “I made a mistake by bringing this particular person into the world.” In the case of the soul, it is not a mistake. The soul sees the potentiality and possibility. It may expect the body, vital and mind to accomplish something by a certain date, but if the body, vital and mind are not aspiring at all, they delay. The soul is very beautiful, but the body, vital and mind may be very undivine. At that time we human beings say the soul made a mistake, but the difficulty is that the body, vital and mind are not as spiritual as the soul. If the members of a particular family are very undivine, we may feel that the poor soul came into a bad family. Again, we have to remember that the soul itself chose to take incarnation in that family. If I make a choice, I have to be fully responsible for that choice. The soul expects someone to be very good, spiritual and divine. It is not a mistake; it is only that the soul starts its journey with a kind of hope. It is we human beings who make mistakes with our constant insecurity, jealousy and impurity. The soul does not suffer in that way. The soul says, “I brought this body, vital and mind into the world to do something great and good,” but owing to ignorance and many wrong forces, the body, vital and mind are not able to comply with the request of the soul.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Sri Chinmoy answers, part 13, Agni Press, 1999
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/sca_13