What is japa?

Japa is the repetition of a mantra. If you want purity, then today repeat the name of God five hundred times. Then every day increase the number by one hundred. That is to say, tomorrow you will repeat the name of God six hundred times, and the day after, seven hundred. After one week you will repeat the name of God twelve hundred times. From that day, start decreasing the number daily by one hundred until you again reach five hundred. Continue this exercise, week by week, just for a month. Whether you want to change your name or not, the world will give you a new name. It will call you by the name Purity. Your inner ear will make you hear it. It will surpass your fondest imagination.

Let nothing perturb us. Let our body's impurity remind us of our heart's spontaneous purity. Let our outer finite thoughts remind us of our inner infinite will. Let our mind's teeming imperfections remind us of our soul's limitless perfection.

The present-day world is full of impurity. It seems that purity is a currency from another world. It is hard to obtain this purity, but once we get it, peace is ours, success is ours.

God may be unknown, but He is not unknowable. Our prayers and meditation lead us to that unknown. Freedom we cry for. But strangely enough, we are not aware of the fact that we already have within us immense freedom.