Question: If a seeker does not realise God in this lifetime, does this mean all his efforts will be lost?

Sri Chinmoy: If a seeker does not attain to spiritual perfection in this life, that does not mean that he will lose everything. When he does not complete his journey in this life, in his next incarnation he starts the journey where he left off. Nothing is lost. But unfortunately, for the twelve or thirteen years of his childhood, he will be captured by ignorance. Ignorance will stand right in front of him and devour him like a wolf. He will have to take strength from the inner world and then fight like a warrior in the battlefield of life to conquer ignorance once again. But one who has realised God and attained perfect perfection in his previous incarnation does not have to wait all these years. So it is better to conquer everything in this life, so that in our next incarnation we can travel forward from the very beginning.

From:Sri Chinmoy,The summits of God-Life: Samadhi and Siddhi, Agni Press, 1974
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/sgl