Part I

RF:94-117. On 30 August 1999, Sri Chinmoy spontaneously commented on these spiritual words offered by his disciples.

Reincarnation

According to some spiritual Masters, to talk about reincarnation is the height of stupidity. Again, according to other spiritual Masters, knowledge of reincarnation is of tremendous help. In my case, I subscribe to both views.

When you meditate on your previous incarnations, if you see or feel that you were not an important person, that you were most ordinary, then you can easily be doomed to disappointment. You will say, “Oh, I was so ordinary! There is no hope for me.” Again, if you take a positive view of your life, you will say, “That was just my beginning. Now, in this incarnation, I have got such a great spiritual Master and I have such sincere inspiration and aspiration! I must go forward, I must go forward!”

If you can take the right attitude, then knowledge of reincarnation and your past incarnations can be of tremendous help. But if you take the wrong attitude, if you feel doomed to disappointment because you were an ordinary person or even a thief, it will only discourage you.

We have to be brave to know about our past incarnations. If our past was bad, then we shall go forward right from today. And if our past was good, then we shall march forward at top speed.

The message of one of the prayers I offered this morning was, “By Your infinite Grace, I am paving my progress-road by sprinting, not by walking or running.” You can see how this message applies to the question of reincarnation. With Grace we sprint and sprint, no matter what we were or what we did in the past. Let us not be curious to see what we ate in the past. If we ate spicy food yesterday and it gave us trouble, then we will simply say, “I am not going to eat spicy food again. From now on I will eat fruit and other nice food.” In this way we will go forward, always forward, without thinking about the past.

So, some spiritual Masters say that to talk about reincarnation is simply a waste of time, while others say that, if it inspires you to go forward, you can know about your past incarnations. I belong to both categories. My philosophy is that if you want to know, if you feel you have to know, then go forward from your previous standard. If you were good, then become a better person. If you were bad, then become a good person right from this very moment.