Pranaam:

• Always offer pranaam– this way, no matter who you are, and how much impurity there is in you, you will still attain to Me. You will surely reach Me; that’s certain! I give my unfailing assurance that I will appear in your vision, I will surely reveal Myself to you.
• Pranaam means "Na Mam"! (‘Not mine’ or ‘this body is not mine’). ‘Lord! This is your body.’ Sacrificing oneself thus, the sins are destroyed; God’s compassion rains down … Ram! Ram! Sitaram!
• It is our duty to offer pranaam– in the case of those who will not let you touch their feet, bow before them from a distance. (That is why they say it is always good to offer pranaam to everyone from a little distance). It is our duty to offer pranaam, and we must always do it.
• ‘Everyone is a part of the vast body of God, mentally contemplating thus, practice offering pranaam to all. He alone is disguised in everything. Human beings see friend and enemy, good and evil, due to the vision marred by one’s sins.
• If possible, bow down in obeisance to the elders three times daily. ‘Everything is a part of God’s body’— thinking thus, one must make it a practice to offer pranaam to all objects.
• When people look at a holy man and offer pranaam to him, if the holy man returns a glance, the sattvik current in his body purifies the one who offers a pranaam with a mere glance.
• He who obtains a sight of anything holy has his sins destroyed; that is the reason a pranaam is tendered. The sattvik currents pass into him in proportion to the deference he shows (to the holy entity).
• A pranaam that involves full prostration helps a holy man see and bless the entire body. His sight purifies the entire body of the supplicant. The merit and purification are reduced, to the extent body is revealed when bent on knees, and further reduced, when one joins palms to offer pranaam.
• God can be realized easily. Pranaam! Pranaam! If you can offer just pranaam, you need to do nothing more. God declares in the Gita– “maam namaskuru” (offer obeisance unto me).
• To worship and realize God with mere Pranaam– no path easier than this has ever been heard of! (There was a time) I felt like running up to people and telling them: “Listen! You just do pranaam. You will liberate yourself with that alone.”
• All is mine…this is rooted in “I am the body”. Namah na mam namah– one ‘m’ kaar has disappeared. This body is ‘na mam’– it’s not mine! It is only to forsake this body in the spirit of surrender that you must take recourse to namo namah.
• Progressively as bhajan (singing in praise of God) helps build more and more sattvik currents in the man’s body, he evolves; his mind is turned inwards and he enters the realm of Anahata Shabda. Then properly communing with it, by His advice ‘Aham-Mam’ i.e. the awareness of ‘I-Mine’ is at once dispelled. This is to be reckoned as mukti (liberation).
• Say what you like, but all the Shastras proclaim that a holy man, sight of the Guru, touch, pranaam, service, drinking the water from Guru’s feet, eating the remains of the food offered to the deity– all these help grant peace even to the gravest sinners.
• The place where the holy men and the devotees of God live is surcharged with sattvik vibrations in great concentration. Whoever visits these places experiences the flow; these sattvik vibrations enter into their body, waves of joy permeate their being.
• Trinadapi sunichen taroriva sahishnuta amanina manadenkirtaniyahsada Harih. Forever committing the meaning of this shloka in one’s heart, one must try to act accordingly.

Nature of Mantra & Japa:
Purpose/ Nature:

• Japa is the sole expedient for this Yuga. Drown yourself in God while doing  japa.
• There is no simpler way than this. No matter which state you are in, sleeping or awake, standing or sitting, pure or impure, by doing japa a human being can achieve perfection. Can there be a better hope than that?
• Those who are forever engaged in internal or external japa are indeed jivanmuktas– free of worldly existence.
• The extent to which a person can undertake japa is the extent to which a person can be submerged in God. The purpose of japa is to increase the divine touch. Increase japa, you will be able to gain more of the divine touch; if you don’t forsake japa, you will stay submerged in God.
• The fruit of a host of spiritual practices is gained through conscientiously pursuing oral japa alone.
• On the foundation of japa stands the palatial building of Brahma Jnana. If you try to raise the palace of Jnana without making the foundation strong, you will merely turn into a hollow prattler of profundities.
• The purpose of japa is to still the mind. If the body keeps moving around, how could the mind become still? Therefore, doing japa while strolling and walking makes the mind still. Similarly, japa while sitting still on the asana gives joy.
• As long as there is a stock of evil deeds done earlier, no joy may be derived in japa; even so, it is not to be considered futile. Keep doing japa whether you derive any pleasure or not– I am sure you will experience the grace of the Divine Mother!

Japa Considerations:

• All mantras spring from Shiva. To utter anything out of one’s own sweet will or fancy does not make it a mantra.
• If the Gayatri mantra comes to your mind as you are chanting Ishta Mantra, repeat the Gayatri Mantra. Every day you must chant one thousand-count Gayatri Japa. Regularly observe the sandhya worship.
• If there is a tendency to pass urine or stools during japa, one must go and relieve oneself first and then pursue japa.
• There is no harm in performing mantra japa at any time or any place. Ceaselessly engage in mantra japa, peace will dance inside  you and on the outside; there will not be even  a trace of unrest.

Manas Japa:

• Contemplating upon the syllables of the mantra, one after the other, and writing them mentally in the heart or in the region of the third eye, and uttering them mentally, is called manas japa.

Process Experiences in Mantra Japa:

• By tying the rope of japa to the pot of Guru-endowed mantra and then dropping it in the well of one’s heart, one must draw it up uttering ‘Jai Guru’; this can yield excellent spiritual water. It is a way in which human efforts are sure to be crowned with success.
• As one keeps doing  japa, the mind is purified. The tendencies of sattva, rajas and tamas are transcended; trembling, tears, thrilling of hair, Naad-Jyoti etc. appear, the soul is filled with joy, and there is tremendous eagerness for vision of God.
• While doing mantra-japa bestowed by one’s Guru, when Naad and Jyoti appear, then the disciple is able to clearly discern ‘I am not the body,’ one sees the continuity of embodiment, and attachment to the body is dispelled.
• Women and men of other varnas (other than Brahmins) will decidedly experience the rise of Shakti after they complete one lakh japa count of Ishta Gayatri Mantra at the rate of thousand Japa count daily. Those who complete twelve lakhs will see fulfillment (of their desires). After that, it is their duty to take up Naam Samkirtan, the great sadhana of Kaliyuga, every day.
• While chanting ‘Guru’, ‘Guru’, ‘Guru’ –God’s ambassadors appear in the form of sattvik bhavas (divine sentiments) – tears, thrilling of the body hair, rapture etc. Thereafter, God appears in the form of Jyoti and Naad.
• Shastras state that ten billion varieties of Naad and one billion kinds of Jyoti play within, either manifested or unmanifested. Once the Naad is awakened it is sure to drown in Param-Naad.

Stillness in Japa:

• To be able to count japa on the palm is a rare blessedness. Every day, after accomplishing a predetermined count of japa sit down with palms joined for as long as you can.

Mantra Shesh/ Realization:

• When the (inhalatory) breath is in the left nostril, Kundalini is asleep. She is regularly awakened when the (exhalatory) breath flows through the right nostril. Special awakening happens through japa-dhyana etc.
• How can one realize the Atma (Soul)? Guru bestows a mantra, doing japa of that mantra regularly, the Atma in the shape of Naad and Jyoti is revealed in the heart. Then the awareness that ‘I am the body’ is progressively dispelled. Jiva is immersed in delight. One is freed from samsara.
• As soon as you have fully realized the mantra by chanting it until it is drowned in its original sound body, you will realize you are not a creature imprisoned in the mortal cage and afflicted by disease, sorrow, sins and burning pain. You will realize you have become as unfathomable as the ocean, as vast as the sky. On your left and right, front and back, above and beneath, happiness is dancing. All around you, in all the ten directions, a wave of delight has risen. You are immersed into the ocean of bliss.
• No matter what, don’t waste the rare human birth! Listen! Sense-gratification is available in the womb of even a dog and a pig, but mantra cannot be gained in any other birth. You have received it. “Mananattrayate” – it is through the mind (mana) one is delivered.
• O Traveler! Do not cry! Put an end to this. Take the mantra to its logical conclusion (mantra shesha). Just once, try with all your might to merge your mantra in its original sound-form. I pledge this under oath – as soon as your mantra ceases, you will derive supreme bliss – you are sure to obtain it!
• Let the mantra attain chaitanya (be instilled with life), may the (divine) experience dawn; it is then saguna samadhi will be possible. The five transcendental objects of the senses will present themselves– transcendental sound, touch, sight, taste and smell. By adopting any one of these you will attain samadhi. It is only after this, that all talk of jnana is valid. There are several penalties for a fake jnani. Be Shiva; don’t impersonate Shiva.
• The Shastras are endless, several are the subjects worthy of knowing, there is limited time and obstacles abound. In this very brief interlude, it is only appropriate for every well-meaning devotee of the Lord to work towards fructification of the Ishta-Mantra bestowed by his or her Guru, rather than debating over so many Shastras.
• Mantra is peace– take the mantra to the culmination point with constant repetition–then you will realize what a great gem Gurudeva has conferred upon you.
• To bring about mantrashesha is to dissolve the mantra to its original state; it means mantra will come to an end. It will cease to exist. The mantra will help you realize God, and cross over birth, death, old age and sickness, and eventually join the joyous ocean of its essential nature.
• You won’t have the power to pronounce the mantra. As soon as your mind beholds the mantra, your prana will internally become still. You will see God; the mantra will cease. Leave alone uttering it, at that time you won’t even be able to remember it.
• I affirm this on pledge, and proclaim it at the top of my voice, if you can take the mantra to the point of culmination, repeat it till it’s dissolved it in its source (mantra shesh); you will attain liberation. You will surely attain it, yes you will!
• Those who are able to get a glimpse of the supremely blissful One, thrice a day (at Sandhya hours), soon get established in the realm of delight.