Today, I reached the hall at about 3 p.m. Bhagavan was at leisure, answering questions asked by some devotee.

     One of the questions was: “Swami, they say that japa (repetition of the Name of God) and tapa (repeated spiritual practice) performed in the presence of Bhagavan yield greater results than usual. If so, what about bad actions done in your presence?”  

     Bhagavan replied, “If good actions yield good results, bad actions must yield bad results. If the gift of a cow in Benares yields great punya (virtue) to the donor, the slaughter of a cow there result in great papa (sin). When you say that a little virtuous action done in a holy place yields enormous benefit, a sinful action must likewise yield enormous harm. So long as the feeling that you are the doer is there, you must face the consequences of your actions, good or bad. There is the desire to discard bad habits but the force of the vasanas (habitual tendencies from past lives) is very strong."

     "What are we to do?” that person continued.

     “There must be human effort to discard them. Good company, good contacts, good deeds and all such good practices must be acquired in order to eliminate the vasanas. As you keep on trying, eventually with the ripening of the mind and with God’s grace, the vasanas get extinguished and efforts succeed. That is called purushakaram (human effort). How could God be expected to be favourable towards you without your striving for it?” said Bhagavan. *
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* Letters from Sri Ramanashramam, from Suri Nagamma, Sri Ramanashramam 2006, Letter 93, page 187.