- Liberation comes when one has attained spiritual knowledge. Wherever one may be, whether one dies in the cremation ground or on the bank of the Ganges, a person of spiritual knowledge will attain liberation. But the bank of the Ganges is best for a person who has not attained knowledge.
- When one dies in Kashi, Shiva appears before him and says, ‘This form of mine is not real. I assume it for the sake of the devotee. Now look, I am dissolving into the Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute.’ After saying this, the form disappears.
- According to the Puranas, even a pariah will attain liberation if he develops loving devotion to God. According to this belief, only chanting His name brings salvation; there is no need for sacrifices, oblations, tantric disciplines, or mantras.
- As long as one keeps vidyamaya, one has to return. Divine incarnations and other god-men keep vidyamaya. You have to come back even if you have the least trace of desire – you have to return repeatedly. A person gains liberation only when all desires are gone. But devotees don’t want liberation.
- If you die in Kashi, you don’t have to return. Men of knowledge want liberation.
- Everybody will attain liberation. However, a person should follow the instructions of his religious preceptor. If you take a crooked path, it will be difficult to return. Then liberation will take a long time. It’s possible that you won’t attain it in this life, it may take more births.
- Individual souls are like lentils fallen between millstones. They will be ground to powder. Only a few grains stick to the peg and are not crushed. So you have to take refuge next to the peg, with God. You have to call on Him, chant His name. That alone will bring you liberation. Otherwise, you will be ground in the millstone of death.
- Whether a brahmin or a prostitute dies in Kashi, he or she will become Shiva.