By the mind one is bound; by the mind one is freed. If I think I am absolutely free, whether I live in the world or in the forest, where is my bondage? I am the child of God, the son of the King of kings; who can bind me? When bitten by a snake, if you assert with firmness, "There is no venom in me," you will be cured. In the same way, he who asserts with strong conviction "I am not bound, I am free," becomes free.

[Sense of sin.] Some one gave me a book of the Christians. I asked him to read it to me. In it there was only one theme--sin and sin, from the beginning to the end. (To Keshab) In your Brahmo-Samaj the main topic is also sin. The fool who repeats again and again, "I am bound, I am bound," remains in bondage.

[paragraph continues] He who repeats day and night, "I am a sinner, I am a sinner," becomes a sinner indeed.

[Saving power of God's name.] It is necessary to have absolute faith in the Name of the Lord. "What! I have uttered His Holy Name, can there still be sin in me? Can I still be in bondage?" Kristo Kishore was a pious Hindu, a Brahmin of Brahmins, who worshipped the Lord with single-minded devotion. He went to Vrindavan. One day, while visiting the shrines, he felt very thirsty. He went to a well, and finding a man standing there, he asked him: "My man, can you draw some water for me?" The man replied: "O holy sir, I belong to a low class, that of a cobbler." Kristo Kishore thereupon said to him: "It matters not. You say 'Shiva' (the Holy Name of the Lord) and draw the water for me."

By repeating the blessed Name of God, man's body, mind and soul become absolutely pure. Why talk of sin and hell-fire? Repeat but once, "I shall never again do the evil deeds that I have committed in the past," and by thy faith in His Hallowed Name thou shalt be freed from all sins.

I used to pray to my Divine Mother for true

[Prayer to the Divine Mother.] devotion (Bhakti) alone. With flowers in my clasped hands, I prayed: "Do Thou, O Mother, grant that I may have pure and unalloyed devotion. Here is sin, here again is virtue; I lay them at Thy feet; Oh take them both. Here is knowledge (of many things), here again is ignorance; Oh take them both and grant that I may have devotion alone. Here is purity and here again is impurity; I desire neither of them. Here are good works, here are bad; both I lay at Thy feet; Oh grant that I may have devotion alone and love for Thee."

[Example of Janaka.] One living in the world may also see God. It was the case with Raja Janaka, the great royal devotee, who realized while on the throne that the world was a structure of dreams. For a lover of God, however, such is not the feeling. And the Bhagavan sang:

He who has attained to Bhakti or true devotion to the Lord says: