Question: Is it possible for a soul to go directly from the plant incarnation to the human incarnation, and skip the animal incarnation entirely?

Sri Chinmoy: Yes. If a particular plant or tree is blessed by a spiritual Master and its soul is very receptive, the soul may beg the Master to allow it to skip the animal incarnation. Some spiritual Masters have granted these kinds of requests. If a child is at the bottom of the stairs and he wants to get to the top, he may beg his father to take him. If the father is very strong, he can just lift the child over the intermediate steps. Similarly, if the soul begs, a Master may help the soul skip some of the steps.