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In India, we call it dāna or bhēta—donation. There are many kinds of dāna, but the greatest is nāmadāna: the gift of God's name. If someone gives you the name of God, it surpasses even gifts of diamond mines and mountains of gold. That name of God, that mantra, is Nāmadāna. The one who gives you a mantra bestows upon you the treasure of all three worlds. It becomes your property. However, it depends on whether you are capable of keeping, preserving, realizing, and possessing it. That name, Nāma, is the mantra, and it must permeate our consciousness completely. This prayer expresses it: "I will never forget Your name. O Lord, this is my prayer to Thee, that I never forget Thy name. Ye nām terā din rāt gāūṅ—May I sing Your name night and day, day and night. Govinda Dāmodara Mādhava iti, O Krishna, Thy name. Dehan ṭakale tum śamane ho—I have only one wish, Lord: at the time of my death, may You play Your sweet flute, so its melody attracts my mind and liberates it from all worldly parpañca." I wish to remember nothing else, for there is a story of a ṛṣi who was meditating. He had a beautiful deer he loved dearly. When the ṛṣi went into samādhi and left his body, his feeling remained attached to that deer. In his next life, he was born from her womb as a fawn. Upon opening his eyes and seeing his own ashram, he wondered, "How is this possible?" Such is the power of attachment. Therefore, the moment of death is crucial. Remember nothing but God—the Gurujī Mantra. Yet, it is not easy to remember at the last minute. One may lose memory entirely, or in an accident, cry out in distress. Rare are individuals like Mahatma Gandhi. When shot, he did not curse. He said, "Hey Rām." This tells us two things clearly: he was a Bhakta Brahmā, and second, he was constantly repeating the name of God through Ajapā. There are five steps of repeating a mantra. At the end of this body's time, you manifest it before God: "Bāṅsī bajāte, O Kṛṣṇa, play Your flute. Manako lubhāte—may my attention go to You. Gāte yehī nām tan nahīṁ tyāgū—while singing this name, Lord, I renounce my body." Not "I die," but "I renounce." Gāte yehī nām tan nāḥīṁ tyāgūṁ—while singing this name, O Lord, I renounce this body. Which name? Govinda Dāmodara Mādhava. Krishna, Thy name: Govinda Dāmodara. Govinda Dāmodara Krishna. Thus, the mantra must become one with your consciousness. The first step is to write your mantra daily—Likita. Akṣara is Brahma. It is said, Akṣara Brahma: that Brahman, the Supreme, is that letter. This is why it is called Devanāgarī. Akṣara means everlasting. There is a beautiful ashram in Gujarat, Ahmedabad, built by Swami Parmukh, called Akshar Dham. Dhām means a pilgrimage site, a holy place. So, Akṣara Brahma—the letters. It is not merely a letter; many mantras consist of a single alphabet, like Oṁ, the symbol. Do not think it is just Sanskrit writing; it contains an inner essence. All mantras appeared in meditation. When you write your mantra, it should be such that the writing can be heard like music, and the music can be painted like writing. Become one with it. The second step is called Vaikharī, meaning loud repetition. Nādaḥ parabrahma: sound, resonance, is the Supreme. That resonance is Akṣara, and Akṣara is that resonance. Nādaḥ paraṁ brahma. Now, pronounce exactly what you wrote—this is Kīrtan, from which comes singing. Singing requires no translation. It is something we can all do collectively. We cannot all give a lecture collectively; if I gave everyone a microphone to speak at once, you know what would happen? There would be no harmony. There would be different taraṅgas, different waves. Taraṅg means waves on water. But singing creates the same waves. So, singing unites writing and singing, the conscious and the subconscious, the unconscious. After singing comes the third step: Upāṁśu. The lips and tongue move, but no external sound is produced. Yet, you still listen to that sound internally, as if you are singing. The fourth level is Mānasik. Whenever you need to think of something, you think. Vacate your mind from the mantra when nonsense thoughts arise; it is better to repeat the mantra than to think nonsense. Finally comes the fifth step: Ajapā. Hot jibyā hale nai. Bin japyā jap hoy. Ajapā jisko kyā japāy. Bin japya jap hoy. As Mahāprabhujī said in a poem: "The lips and tongue do not move. Now, what is there to repeat? It is a japa that needs no practice. Bīn japyā jap hoy—it happens spontaneously." When your consciousness reaches this level with your mantra, there is perfection. Then, any wish made with that mantra comes true. Otherwise, you may practice only half-heartedly. While practicing, Swāmījī gave many instructions. You must concentrate; for many, moving the beads (sumaraṇī) has become a mere habit, not mantra repetition. They sometimes become aware: "Oh God, I have the beads; I must do the mantra." Many of you are only moving the sumaraṇī without the mantra. We should not do this; it must be repeated consciously. The benefits are greater. Of course, whether you repeat a mantra consciously or unconsciously, the effect is there—just as the effect of poison is the same, whether drunk consciously or not. But if we practice mantra with full awareness and concentration, the effect is amplified. So, attain the state of Ajapā, but do not fixate on something unworthy. Some people record a mantra on tape, put on a Walkman, and listen for 24 hours. This is a brainwashing technique. In many cases, it leads to disturbances in consciousness. It should not be like that. Love is different. Where there is love, there is no suffering. Where there is no love, there is suffering and attachment. That is a different matter. Thus, mantra is the way. Without mantra, meditation is a body without a soul. Without mantra, this life is a body without eyes. Therefore, mantras have been designed by great ṛṣis, great seers. There are both negative and positive applications—black magic, white magic, curses. If you believe in a curse, you must also believe in a mantra. If you believe in sin, you must believe in karma. It is the same principle. Knowledge is knowledge. God is God. Whether a cow is black or white, the milk is always white. This is the truth we should cultivate. It will awaken you and open your heart. So, mantra is the way to perfection, protection, and liberation, for within the mantra resides the name of the Divine, a divinity. There is a progression: first comes a lecture. The essence of the lecture is prayer. The essence of the prayer is the mantra. The essence of the mantra is the bīja mantra, and the bīja mantra is the origin. Bīja means seed. The great tree under which we sit exists entirely within that tiny seed. You should be able to develop that tree from this seed. We cannot carry the tree, but we can carry the seed. So understand this: the name of God is the mantra, enhanced by certain good words before and after that complete it. This mantra will cure the illness of birth and death. As Mirabai said: "This illness of my birth and death is cured."