Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

Afterwards we shall consider the question of abandoning
them,” said Bhagavan. He could not reply and so kept quiet,
crestfallen.

Bhagavan’s heart was full of compassion. With a look
full of tender kindness he said, “Supposing you leave your
wife and children. If you are here this will become another
kind of samsara. Supposing you take to sannyasa. Another
kind of samsara comes into existence in the shape of a karra
(walking stick), kamandalu (water bowl) and the like. Why all
that? Samsara means samsara of the mind. If you leave that
samsara, it will be the same thing wherever you are. Nothing
troubles you.”
Poor man! He mustered up some courage and said, “Yes,
that is it, Swami. How to give up that samsara of the mind?”
Bhagavan said, “That is just it; you said you were doing the
japam of Rama Namam. During the train of thoughts, you said
you were sometimes reminded of the fact that you had
forgotten the japam of Rama Namam. Try to remind yourself
of that fact as often as possible and catch hold of the name of
Rama frequently. Other thoughts will then slowly decrease.

For the japam of nam (repeating the name of the Lord) several
stages have been prescribed.

%ÄmStvaÊ1⁄2mNdt>,
icÄj< jpXyanmuÄmm!.

It is better to repeat the name by the mere motion of the
lips than by repeating it aloud; better than that is to repeat
it in the mind, and the best is dhyanam.

Upadesa Saram, verse 6