Question: Guru, if we have a dream in which you appear to us and tell us something very clearly, is it the same thing as your telling it to us face to face?

Sri Chinmoy: Certainly! If you see me vividly and if it is something very solid and distinct, then if I give you some message it is as good as my giving you the message on the physical plane. But the only thing is that if it is a serious matter, it is better that you clarify it on the physical plane. Otherwise, it may create real problems. It may be wishful thinking. It is true, as I have told you people before, that no hostile force can take my form, but you may create me with your own imagination.

It has happened a few times that a spiritual Master will say something in a dream which the disciple really likes. Then, when the Master on the physical plane says it was all false, the disciple will not believe him. I know of a case where a very sincere seeker wrote to his Master, "Master, you came to me and it was so vivid. You told me that in this incarnation there is no other way for me to get realisation except by committing suicide." The Master said, "Impossible! I have not told you that." But the disciple said, "Here on the physical plane you are jealous of me. If I realise God, I will be equal to you. That is why you are denying this. But on the inner plane you are not jealous; that is why you have told me the truth. So the best thing is for me to commit suicide, and then I will realise God."

It is always advisable to listen to the Master on the physical plane. If you have a dream, wonderful! Tell the Master, and if it is genuine, the Master will immediately say so. If you feel that he has said something on the inner plane, he can easily tell you on the outer plane if it is true. The Master is the same person. He will definitely know whether he has said something to the particular disciple. But if he denies it, then it is not to be accepted.

When a spiritual Master finds it difficult to offer a message to a disciple on the physical plane, it may happen that it is easier for him to offer the same message on the inner plane in a dream. It has happened in hundreds and thousands of cases. When the disciple comes to the Master on the physical plane, the disciple immediately sees the physical in the Master. At that time, he cannot think of the Master as the Highest for him. But in the inner plane, where there is no mental barrier, the disciple sees the real height of the Master, or at least he sees more of his height than he can see on the physical plane. So the disciple has more faith at that time in the Master's words. If the Master says something, the disciple believes it.