As to spiritual development, there are different influences which may be considered as spiritual influences, and such we need in our life; such as the influence of kindness, of compassion, the influence of Providence, inspiration, cure, health, wisdom, power, and so forth. These being spiritual influences the mystics have names for them - for each of these influences - and they call them the sacred names of God. There are perhaps a hundred of such names or more which the mystics use, and each of these names has been practiced by them for thousands of years. The effect of these names works sometimes most wonderfully.

In Hyderabad it so happened that a sage wanted to meet the king, and he could not. The secretary said: "The king is too busy to meet everyone who comes." The sage said: "All right. As the king will not receive me, I shall receive the king." By the repetition of a certain sacred name for about six weeks such a condition was brought about that the king came to visit the sage. I have seen this myself.

There was just a few months ago a case where a young man was to be engaged to be married to a princess. But it was all in his mind; nothing was outside. The State was against it, the Church was against it, the family was against it, and the man's own financial condition was against it. So there was no chance from anywhere. This person in utter despair wanted to commit suicide. Then he came in contact with a spiritual teacher; the young man said to him: "There is no other way in the world except suicide." The teacher said: "There is a way. Repeat this word and it will all be well." In three months time all difficulties and troubles fell away. He got his heart's desire.

There is nothing that cannot be accomplished if a person has faith. When he takes that direction, he will know the benefit that comes from the law of repetition.

When a person repeats something to himself, whether a good word or a bad word, whatever it is, he is engraving that idea in his innermost, and that idea is reflected in the akaska, in the space. On every person he meets it will be reflected. For instance, if a person who repeats "kindness, kindness, kindness", meets the most cruel man in the world, the kindness that is engraved upon his heart will be reflected upon the man, and that man cannot but act kindly. Besides, a person who has repeated "kindness" so many times in his life whoever he will meet will say: "That is a kind person", because by saying "kindness" he has become kind.

Of course one may overdo it; one may do it wrongly, and that must be avoided. One may try to experience it before one is ripe enough to experience it. For instance, one may hear this lecture and go before a bank and say: "Money, money, money, money, money", and then come to me and say: "I repeated "money" a thousand times, but money has not come!" That person has not proceeded rightly. Besides that, to make use of such a wonderful thing for the attainment of earthly things is very foolish, because life is an opportunity, and when that opportunity is lost, it is lost for ever. When we use this knowledge for things that are not worthwhile, then the time is lost. Therefore this only proves worthwhile if it is used for the attainment of spiritual knowledge. If we use this secret for the attainment of earthly things, we do not know whether they are good for us or bad. Very often we would love to have this or that, but if it is not good for us we may just as well not have it.