Question: Did any of your disciples know each other in past incarnations?

Sri Chinmoy: This is not our first and this cannot be our last incarnation. Previously I used to speak much about past incarnations, but recently I have stopped because it only creates confusion. On rare occasions when the Supreme tells me to make disciples aware of their past incarnations, I do so. When the Supreme asks me to do it, that means it is going to help the persons concerned and also others who are present. There are two disciples here who are close friends in this incarnation. When I was meditating on them, I saw that they were physical brothers in their previous incarnation. They were physical brothers in their immediate past and were very close to each other. In their last incarnation, they had two more brothers, and in this incarnation they will see them. When the other brothers come to me, I shall show them both to you. I cannot say that all four brothers will stay with me as disciples all of this life. But when they come, I will definitely be able to show these friends that they were their brothers in the past. I believe the last two brothers are going to come in six or seven months' time. Either these two friends will bring them or they will come in some other way. Then it will be up to them to follow my path or not.

The past doesn't end with this. In their previous incarnation the two friends here were brothers but, prior to that, they were son and father. Nothing can eclipse my third eye's vision. I see that one was the father and one was the son. In this incarnation, the father and the son, the two brothers, have come to my path. In this incarnation both of them will also be one on the spiritual level. Human brothers and human fathers and sons come and go. But when you have established real spiritual oneness, that feeling cannot disappear. When a spiritual father unites two spiritual brothers, they are bound forever. When I say that they are bound, that doesn't mean that they will be so completely bound that they want to kill each other. No. They will only have the feeling of true inseparable oneness. Both will help each other immensely.

Indeed, it is a great joy to see the members of our family coming back to us from past incarnations. In this incarnation if the relationship is based on spirituality, then the members can really help each other considerably. However, if one is following the spiritual path and the other is following an ordinary path, it is usually hopeless. The spiritual one will think the other is still in ignorance, and the one who is leading an ordinary life will think that the spiritual one is of no use because he has given up the world. They will misunderstand each other. But if both follow the spiritual life, it is a real divine blessing.

If the dear ones, the brothers and sisters, come back again together and they are conscious of what they were, that does help them make real progress. Their progress will be very fast because they will get some benefit from the past. I always say that the past is dust. Yes, the past did not give the disciples realisation but, if in the past they had a feeling of oneness or closeness with someone, then when they learn of their past association, they recover that closeness and that oneness. It is not actually the past, but only the disciple's sense of oneness, only their larger self, that I am bringing back into the disciple's own consciousness.