MASTER: Pushkar told hell-dwellers:-

— Why have you not remembered that God, who is knowledge personified and ever kind and who liberates every human being and who feels grateful to a ‘Bhakta’ if the latter even once sings his ‘Naam’ or remembers Him?

SEEKER: What is the significance of being grateful?

MASTER: If a ‘Bhakta’ sings His ‘Naam’ or even remembers Him, God thinks that the ‘Bhakta’ is doing good to Him.

SEEKER: One who sings ‘Naam’ does good to himself; how will God be benefitted that way?
MASTER: A living soul is a part of God Himself. If the person goes the wrong way, he suffers and then he does harm to God within himself. On the other hand when he sings ‘Naam’, God feels benefitted as he benefits himself. Thus God is grateful to him who sings ‘Naam’. Another aspect of gratefulness is to do good in return. God gives ‘Param Ananda’ (great bliss) to the person who sings ‘Naam’ out of gratefulness.

SEEKER: I do not understand the significance of the saying that ‘God’ gives ‘Mukti’ (liberation) to one who utters Krishna or Ram ‘Naam’ even once.

MASTER: If a person utters the name Jagananth once, even with disdain, he is liberated from the sin of even killing a Brahmin; about this there is no doubt.

SEEKER: I do not understand how one is relieved of the sin of even killing a Brahmin by uttering ‘Naam’ of Jagannath once.

MASTER: Hear me further —

If a man with, the right frame of mind, utters the Naam of Narayana even once, he attains ‘Nirvana’ i.e. complete liberation. Here the term, 'the man with the right frame of mind,' really applies to one who is full of ‘Satwik Gunas.’

SEEKER: May be it is possible for such a man to gain it, yet I cannot conceive how by uttering ‘Krishna’ but once, one can attain ‘Nirvana Mukti’ (i.e. complete liberation from birth and death).
MASTER: Very well, hear me further:-

In Kali Yuga, those, who utter ‘Hari Naam’ even once, are Mahatmas who have attained God; one should do ‘Pranam’ to them every day.

SEEKER: He becomes a Mahatma by uttering ‘Hari Naam’ even once?

MASTER: Yes, hear further:-

Even the thousand faced Ananta and four-faced creature Brahma cannot describe the result of uttering even once ‘Naam’ which is pure consciousness.

SEEKER: ‘Naam’ is consciousness? How is that?

MASTER: Yes, of course; ‘Naam’ and He whose ‘Naam’ it is are not different entities. ‘Naam’ is God, the consciousness.

SEEKER: Alas, when will my Gurudeva give me the enlightenment to understand that the word of the Shastra is infallible?

MASTER: I am telling you again:-

Those who with Bhakti even casully remember Keshava once, get delivered from all their sins and attain Vishnu’s ‘Param Pada’.

SEEKER: But the Shastra is talking here of remembering Keshava with ‘Bhakti’ - not casually.
MASTER: Alright, hear further :-

This Krishna ‘Naam’ is sweeter than honey, is more beneficial than good itself and is consciousness, the fruit of all the Vedas. If this ‘Naam’ is properly sung even once, either with or without faith, then oh the best among the Bhrigus, this ‘Naam’ will purify the person who utters it whoever he may be.
SEEKER: Will you kindly explain to me your statement that the fruit comes even if ‘Naam’ is uttered without faith?

MASTER: The ‘Shastras’ have further said :-

In this Kali Yuga, those, who even once utter ‘Hari Naam’, become realised; there is no doubt about it; though those, whose minds have not cleared of sinful thoughts, cannot achieve this state.

SEEKER: How is it possible for the great sinner to get benefit of the ‘Hari Naam’ which you say is scarce for even persons who have not realised themselves?

MASTER: He gets it by God’s unbounded grace. Hear further: —

Consider him, who has uttered ‘Hari Naam’ even once, to have tightened his belt and to have started on his journey on the way to ‘Mukti’ (liberation).

SEEKER: If one utters ‘Hari Naam’ once, he starts on the journey towards ‘Mukti’ — is this true?
MASTER: Hear what God Himself says:-

In the Vayu Purana, God told the Vaishnavas — “Hear the truth spoken by Me today; that man, who utters my ‘Naam’ even once, becomes my equal.”

SEEKER: I have heard the words of the ‘Shastras’ Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has also said “He, in whose lips there is ‘Krishna Naam’, is to be worshipped; he is the greatest of all”. I have also heard that ‘Krishna Naam’ uttered even once destroys all sins and gives a man all the nine types of ‘Bhakti’; but I cannot yet comprehend how ‘Krishna Naam’ once uttered can destroy even the sin of killing a Brahmin and lead to the attainment of ‘Mukti’ (liberation). Can you explain this riddle to me? I cannot understand properly the teachings of the ‘Shastras’ as my mind is gross.

MASTER: Suppose you have a huge heap of straw and you touch it with a lighted match-stick, what will happen to it?

SEEKER: It burns away.

MASTER: How is it possible for such a big heap of straw to burn away by applying one single lighted matchstick? Will you require dozens of match-boxes?

SEEKER: No, if you set fire to the heap of straw with one lighted match-stick, the fire spreads and consumes the whole heap.

MASTER: Then you accept that one match-stick is enough for burning a huge heap of straw?

SEEKER: Yes, I do.

MASTER: Suppose you set a lighted stick to heap of cotton wool. What will happen ?

SEEKER: Even then the entire heap will be reduced to ashes.

MASTER: If one lights a match-stick in darkest cave of a hill, will the darkness be gradually removed?

SEEKER: No, the darkness will be removed at once.

MASTER: If one lighted match-stick can reduce to ashes huge heaps of straw and cotton-wool, if a single match-stick can lighten up the darkest cave of a hill, then why should it not be possible for a person to attain ‘Mukti’ by once uttering ‘Naam’ — which is consciousness itself. ‘Naam’ itself is God.

SEEKER: I am getting completely confused; let me sort out my thoughts.

MASTER: Yes, please do think, but with Naam on your lips.

Sitaram, Sitaram, Ram Ram, Hari Hari,
Sitaram, Krishna Krishna.