Question: What is the best way to feel closer to the dear ones who are in the soul's world — in my case, my dearest mother, who passed away many years ago?

Sri Chinmoy: First of all we have to know for sure whether the particular soul — let us say, the soul of your dearest mother — is in the soul’s world or not. The soul may have taken another human incarnation. Granted that your mother’s soul is still in the soul’s world, you have to dive deep, deeper, deepest in your meditation and feel you are right on her affectionate, Elysian lap, where you can feel you are the lord of the universe. You have to feel that your entire being is inundated with her infinite fondness for you. In this way, it is not only possible and practicable, but also inevitable that you will feel not only your closeness but your oneness with your mother, who is not physically with you anymore.

Unfortunately or fortunately, your dearest mother’s soul is no longer in the soul’s world. She has taken a new incarnation.