Japa steadies the mind and directs it to God

The Mother was seated on her bedstead. The disciple was reading to her the mind the letters of her devotees. Krishnalal it to God Maharaj was also there. The letters contained such statements as “ The mind cannot be concentrated, etc.” The Holy Mother listened to these and said in a rather animated voice, ” The mind will be steadied if one repeats the Name of God fifteen or twenty thousand times a day. It is truly so. O Krishnalal, I myself have experienced it. Let them practice it first; if they fail, let them complain. One should practice Japa with some devotion, but this is not done. They will not do anything, they will only complain, saying, ‘ Why do I not succeed ? ’ ”

A devotee entered the room and asked the Mother about meditation and Japa. She said, ” Repeating the Name of God a fixed number of times, telling the rosary or counting on fingers, is calculated to direct the mind to God. The natural tendency of the mind is to run this way and that way. Through these means it is attracted to God. While repeating the Name of God, if one sees His form and becomes absorbed in Him, one’s Japa stops. One gets everything when one succeeds in meditation.

“ The mind is by nature restless. Therefore at the outset, to make the mind steady, one may practice meditation by regulating the breathing a little. That helps to steady the mind. But one must not overdo it. That heats the brain. You may talk of the vision of God or of meditation, but remember, mind is everything. One gets everything when the mind becomes steady.

“ It is quite natural that man forgets God. Therefore whenever the need arises, God Himself incarnates on earth and shows the path by Himself practicing Sadhana. This time He has also shown, the example of renunciation.”