Question: What do you mean when you say that somebody is an Eastern or a Western soul?

Sri Chinmoy: The soul is neither Eastern nor Western. But some souls take many of their incarnations in a particular part of the world and they absorb the vibration of this place. You live in a house. You are giving vibrations to the home and you may also receive a certain vibration from the home. When the soul enters into different states or countries, the mental, vital and physical vibrations enter into the soul. Then, either the soul has to illumine these vibrations or the soul is covered by the imperfections of the body, mind and vital in layer after layer.

If the soul takes quite a few more incarnations in the East, then it tends to be peace-loving. If the soul takes many incarnations in the West, then it tends to be dynamic. A Western soul is aware of its dynamism, vital dynamism, and it tries to manifest its reality through dynamism. An Eastern soul, which embodies a peace-loving heart, tries to offer its capacity primarily through peace.

Today there are quite a few sincere spiritual seekers in the West, quite a few. Many of them are Eastern souls. Here they are not getting proper spiritual nourishment and they are sad. Again, they know it is the Supreme who has planned it. Otherwise, they couldn’t have taken incarnation in the West. The soul can’t do anything without the sanction of the Supreme.

From:Sri Chinmoy,The soul and the process of reincarnation, Agni Press, 1977
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/spr