Three processes go together in Spiritual Discipline as laid down by the sages; Yajna, Dana and Tapas - Renunciation, Charity and Self-control. (SSS Vol.8, p. 117)

The mind of man is as a blank sheet of white paper when he is born. As soon as thinking, feeling and acting starts, the process of tarnishing the mind also starts. (P.Vah, p. 6)

Vyasa said that if you want the love of God, you must give up love for other things. It is easy to acquire the love of God and you will not find any trouble at all. When you are bound down by several other forms of love, you will meet with a lot of difficulties if you want to acquire the love of God. This process has been described as surrender. When certain insects look at a bright light, they are attracted by the brightness and even lose their lives. The deer, which is attracted by music, comes close and gets trapped. The bees attracted by the honey inside a lotus get trapped. In a similar manner, when you want the love of the Lord, you should be fully prepared to completely surrender yourself to the Lord. You should have no attachment to your body nor pay any attention to your own honour or respect. You should completely detach yourselves from all these. Only then, can you get close to the Lord. Your mind should be fully concentrated on the Lord. Until we rise to this high level of surrender, we should participate in divine and sacred activities such as Bhajan or Dhyana and develop the aspect of Prema. When you are in a state of bliss, and when your love of God fructifies and bears fruit, then His grace will be on you. (SSB 1978, p. 94)

Eating is followed by elimination; inhalation has to be followed by exhalation; blood has to flow in and flow through, to circulate and maintain health. Taking in has to be succeeded by giving up, they are the obverse; and reverse of the same process. This is true of individuals, societies nations and the human race. Progress and peace depend upon sacrifice, renunciation and ‘service’. (SSS Vol.9)

If your smallness as a human being is joined together with the vast power of the Lord you become infinite and all-powerful; you become one with God. In the scriptures it says ‘Brahmavid brahmaiva bhavati’, know Brahman and you become Brahman. The process which joins God and you together is called Bhakti, the path of devotion. (DBG, p. 10)

The process of gradually cleansing the mind of its impurity or dirt called Mala. It should, however, be borne in mind that the complete removal of mala cannot be done in a day or a month. This requires persistent and prolonged practice. If raw gold or ore is to be converted into pure gold, it has to be melted on fire repeatedly to remove the impurities. So also the impurity of man’s mind, called “mala”, can be eliminated only by constant practice over a period of time. (SSB 1990, p. 41)

Fear, anxiety and such other distortions of human behaviour are the result of external influences. But, man is essentially the Embodiment of Truth, which is external in nature. He is like the pure gold which undergoes several purificatory processes of melting in fire, cutting, hammering etc. It looks as though the pure gold is reasoning with the goldsmith saying ‘Oh! Goldsmith! You are putting me to a lot of troubles like putting me in fire, melting and cutting and hammering etc. O.K. I am happy to undergo all these troubles. But, the more I undergo this ordeal, the purer I become. The impurities in me are being removed by undergoing these processes. I am becoming more and more lustrous and brilliant. Ultimately, I am getting transformed into pure gold. In this process, however, the dust and impurities are affecting your eyes and you suffer. That is the fruit of your labour and this is the reward I get for undergoing all these troubles. (M&M, 1999)