O beautiful goddess, know this profound truth: wherever, whenever, by whomever, and in whatever manner worship is performed with true devotion, it surely leads to liberation. Whatever is done with a mind lovingly attached to me—whether the rites are performed perfectly or not, whether the order is followed or not—if it is dear to me and auspicious, I accept it, O lovely one. Yet, for those of my devotees who are not utterly helpless, I have established sacred rules in all the scriptures, to guide them on the path. Now, let me first explain to you the auspicious collection of mantras, for without these, recitation bears no fruit; but with them, it becomes truly effective. A recitation that lacks proper authorization, is performed without the right actions, is done without faith, without clear purpose, without offerings, or is done mechanically and constantly without devotion—such a recitation is fruitless, O fair one. But when the recitation is established by the guru’s command, performed with the correct actions, imbued with faith, and accompanied by offerings, then the mantra attains success and yields great rewards. To begin, one should approach a guru—a learned Brahmin, a teacher who knows the truth, is endowed with noble qualities, and is devoted to meditation and yoga—and undertake the recitation under his guidance. With pure intent, one must strive to please the guru in every way: through speech, mind, body, and even wealth. The Brahmin should always worship his teacher with utmost effort, offering whatever he can—elephants, horses, chariots, jewels, land, and houses. He should also give ornaments, garments, grains, and wealth to the guru with heartfelt devotion, according to his means. One who desires success should not be miserly with his wealth; instead, he should dedicate himself and all his possessions to the guru. Having thus worshipped the guru properly and sincerely, without deceit, he should receive the mantra and the sacred knowledge from the teacher, step by step. When the guru is pleased with the disciple—who serves humbly, is free from pride, pure, bathed, and disciplined—the guru should purify him by bathing him with clarified butter from a full vessel, with water sanctified by mantras, and with auspicious substances. The disciple should be adorned in fine attire, with perfumes, garlands, clothes, and ornaments; auspicious hymns should be recited, and Brahmins should be honored. This sacred initiation can take place on the seashore, by a river, in a cowshed, in a temple, in a pure place, or even at home, provided the time and date are auspicious for success. Under a favorable star and auspicious planetary conjunction, free from all defects, the guru should then bestow knowledge upon the disciple in the proper manner. With a clear voice, in solitude, and a mind filled with joy, the guru should recite and have the disciple recite the supreme mantra of us both. He should bless the disciple, saying, “May there be auspiciousness, may there be goodness, may there be beauty, may there be affection,” and then give the mantra along with the command. Having thus received the mantra and the guru’s command, the disciple should, with focused mind, resolve to recite it daily, following all prescribed rites. Every day, throughout his life, he should recite it one thousand and eight times, devoted to nothing else; thus, he attains the highest state. He should recite one hundred thousand syllables, or four times that amount with devotion; one who eats only at night and is self-restrained is known as a true performer of the rite. He who, after completing the preliminary rites, becomes a constant reciter—there is none equal to him in the world; he is accomplished and becomes a bestower of accomplishment. After bathing, in a pure place, with a serene mind, the devotee should contemplate me in his heart, and then likewise remember his own teacher. Sitting facing north or east, keeping silence, with a concentrated mind, and having purified the five elements through means such as fire and water, he should perform the placing of the mantra and related rites, making the body fruitful, meditating on both our forms, and restraining the in-breath and out-breath. He should recall the seat of the mantra, its form, the seer, the meter, the presiding deity, the seed, the power, and the statement, and then recite the five-syllabled mantra. Of the methods of recitation, mental recitation is considered the highest, muttered recitation is intermediate, and spoken recitation is the lowest, as taught by those skilled in scripture. The highest recitation has Rudra as its deity; the intermediate, Vishnu; and the lowest, Brahma. When the mantra is spoken aloud, with high and low tones, with clear or unclear syllables and words, this is called spoken recitation. When it is uttered only by a slight movement of the tongue or softly, so that others do not hear it or hear it only faintly, this is called muttered recitation. When, with the mind, one contemplates the sequence of syllables, letter by letter, word by word, and reflects on the meaning, this is called mental recitation. In terms of merit, spoken recitation counts as one, muttered recitation as a hundred, mental recitation as a thousand, and recitation with breath retention as a hundred times more. Recitation accompanied by breath control is called “with retention”; even if retention is not possible at the beginning or end, breath control is still highly praised. One should restrain the breath for forty cycles while remembering the mantra, and, knowing the meaning of the mantra, recite according to one’s capacity. Breath control may be performed five, three, or one time, with or without retention; among these, retention is most praised. Recitation with retention, even if only a thousand times, is called accomplished; among these five types, one should choose according to one’s ability. Counting recitations on the fingers is considered one measure; using the lines on the hand is eight times more; with putrajīva seeds, ten times more. With conch or gems, it is a hundred times; with coral, a thousand; with crystal, ten thousand; with pearls, a hundred thousand. With lotus seeds, it is a million; with gold, ten million; and with knots of kusa grass or with rudraksha beads, the merit becomes countless. Thus, O goddess, is the sacred way of mantra and worship, leading the devoted soul ever closer to the highest liberation.