Question: When a soul picks a mind or vital, does it already know what kind of life it will have?
Sri Chinmoy: It deals with possibility. God knows everything, but He covers up the future. Even God does not use His Ultimate Vision all the time; otherwise, there is no game. In forty-five minutes, let us say, the game will be over. God can bring forty-five minutes in front of His Mind immediately. Today, let us say, He will count from one to forty-five, going through each number: one, two, three, four, five, six and so forth. But the next day, if He says “one” and then goes immediately to “forty-five”, people will say, “What is the use of playing with You when You can go from one to forty-five immediately and we cannot?” That is why God does not play the game in this way.
Sri Chinmoy, The soul and the process of reincarnation, Agni Press, 1977