Question: Does the law of karma bind the soul and make the soul suffer?

Sri Chinmoy: The law of karma does not actually bind the soul; through karma the soul gets experiences. If I do something good, as a result I will have some deep, inner experience. If I do something bad, then my consciousness will go down. Though the law of karma can never bind the soul, it can delay or expedite the soul's progress. If a particular person does not follow the dictates of the soul, but constantly makes errors and Himalayan blunders, then naturally the progress of the soul is delayed. At that time you can say that the soul is suffering from the law of karma. But actually the soul does not suffer; it is the human being, the being which takes human form, that suffers. Again, if the person does everything according to the dictates of his soul, the law of karma will never bind him, for he will do only the things that are divine.

It is the physical, the vital and the mind that compel or motivate us to say and do the wrong thing, never the soul.