Look at the other type, the bee! It will have contact only with sweetness; it will approach only those flowers that possess nectar; it will not be attracted to other places; it will not proceed there at all. Similarly, one has to give up all inclinations towards the sensory attraction, towards the rubbish cart of the untrue and the impermanent; and as far as possible, one has to direct the mind to all holy things which yield sweetness and the joy associated with the Lord. For this, time is needed, of course. How long that time will be is dependent on the activities of thought, word and deed as well as on the motives that impel those actions.

The main things to be considered are not at what expense one has prayed to the Lord; nor the number of years one has been engaged in it; nor the rules and regulations one has followed; nor even the number of times one has prayed over; but with what mind one has prayed; with what degree of patience one has been awaiting the result; and with what single-mindedness one has prayed for Godly Bliss, regardless of worldly happiness and delay, with no lassitude, and with constant attention to oneself, one's meditation, and one's task. If one examines deeply how much he has succeeded in getting rid of all idea of self, he can himself gauge the progress he has made. Instead, if one is engaged in counting the rules, and adding up the time spent and the expense incurred, such Dhyanam can belong only to the objective world; it can never come into the subjective and spiritual fields.

Japam and Dhyanam should never be judged on mere external standards; they are to be judged by their inner effects. Their essence is their relationship to the Atma. The immortal experience of the Atma should never be mixed up with low activities of the temporal world. Such activities deserve to be avoided. If room is given for these and if one sways between impatience and sloth, and if one always worries oneself feeling, "Why has it not come yet? Why is it still away?" then it all becomes simply Japam and Dhyanam done with intent to gain, with an eye on the fruit thereof.

The one single fruit of Japam-Dhyanam is this: the conversion of the out-faced into the in-faced; the turning inwards of one's eye, the inward eye seeing the Reality of Atmic Bliss. For this transformation, one has to be always active and hopeful, regardless of the time taken and the difficulties encountered. One should await the descent of the Lord's Grace. This patient waiting is itself part of the tapas of Dhyana. Sticking unfalteringly to the vow is the tapas.