Part II

//These questions were answered by Sri Chinmoy at the San Francisco Sri Chinmoy Centre on 30 May 1973.//

Question: My cousin and I have meditated a couple of times, or at least we have just looked into each other's eyes, and we see different faces, and the hair changes and everything. I wondered whether these changes are real?

Sri Chinmoy: It is very true. These are past incarnations. You are seeing his past incarnation, and he is seeing yours. But it is not at all advisable for you to do this right now. If you are seeing your past incarnations, there may be tremendous difficulties. When you enter into the past incarnation, you may see some undivine forces. Even in this incarnation, as long as you have not realised God, there are many undivine forces inside you. When you meditate on each other this way, the undivine forces of one can enter into the other. It is very risky.

We have to keep progressing and progressing. If we dig into our past, until three or four incarnations ago, we will see that we were all animals, although in the human body. Even in our first human incarnation here on earth, we were animals in human form. There are many, many people on earth who are absolutely animals, although they have human bodies. In Jamaica, in Canada, in Puerto Rico, in New York, when I walk along the street, I see people who have just entered the human kingdom. What can you expect from them? Their consciousness is more animal than human. If you look into your own past incarnations, you may consciously be bringing forward your animal consciousness. If you were a saint in a previous incarnation, then naturally the saint consciousness will come forward. But if you were a saint before, then in this incarnation you will be a greater saint. In this incarnation, if you become a saint, next incarnation you will be greater, and in the next, you will be still greater. The past, I always say, is dust. Has the past given you realisation? No. It did not give you realisation. If it had given you realisation then you would not be here struggling. From the past you did not get what you actually want now.