Question: Throughout history people have thought they saw the Virgin Mary. Was it angels they saw and not the Virgin Mary?

Sri Chinmoy: It was not angels who took the form of Mother Mary. Again, it was not Mother Mary as such. It was God Himself. God took the form of Mother Mary. This kind of apparition entirely depends on how much faith people have in Mother Mary. When you have implicit faith in her, God takes that form because He does not want the seeker to be disappointed.

If God takes His own omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Form, people will become frightened. So He takes the form of a particular human body, like Mother Mary. People have a concept of Mother Mary because they have seen so many paintings and sculptures of her. Mother Mary’s face does not frighten us, but if a huge Form comes, we get frightened. If a seeker has faith in Mother Mary, the easiest and wisest way is for God to take the form of Mother Mary. That will be more convincing.