Whatever scriptures you may study, whatever spiritual efforts (sadhanas) you may practise or pilgrimages you may undertake, unless one succeeds in getting rid of the impurities in the heart, life will remain worthless and meaningless. Purification of the heart is the essence of all scriptural teachings and the basic goal of life. No spiritual study or sadhana can help in purifying your heart unless you makes the effort yourself. And when the heart is purified, it becomes a worthy abode for the Divine. Recognising this fact, the Bhagavad Gita has indicated a three-stage path to Divinity: engaging the body in good deeds, using the mind to develop good thoughts and human qualities, and contemplating on God through Upasana (worship of the Divine). Through this, any individual can reach the stage where, like a river joining the ocean, they merge in the Divine (Brahman).

- Divine Discourse, Sep 28, 1984.