Disciple: “Well, Mother, what is the necessity of taking initiation? What if one should merely repeat ‘Kali’, ‘Kali’ without being initiated? Will he not realize the Divine Mother by so repeating Her name?”
Mother (Sri Sarada Devi): “Initiation is necessary It purifies the body. By repeating the mystic syllable of the Lord, man becomes purified. There is a Paurânic story about this. Nârada had been to Vaikuntha, the heaven where the Lord resides. At that time Nârada was not initiated. Nârada left after a short talk with the Lord. When he left the place the Lord asked Lakshmi (the divine consort) to sprinkle Ganga water where Nârada was sitting and thus purify the place. Lakshmi said to her Lord, ‘Why do you ask me to do this? Nârada is a great devotee.’ The Lord replied, ‘He may be a great devotee, but he is not yet initiated.’ Unless one is initiated his body is not purified. For the purification of the mind and the body initiation by a Guru is necessary.
“The Vaishnavas after initiating one say, ‘Now this mind is yours.” The mind is everything. Unless the mind is purified nothing can be accomplished. In spite of the grace of the Guru, the Lord’s devotees, and the Lord Him-self, the soul went a-begging for want of the grace of the mind.”
Disciple: “Well, so many people receive initiation, what do they get thereby? One seems to be the same man before and after.”
Mother: “The Guru imparts spiritual power to the disciple through the mystic syllable at the time of the initiation. The spiritual powers flow from the Guru to the disciple or vice versa. That is why after initiation of a disciple one gets ill, for one has to take the sins of the disciple. That is why Rakhal (Brahma-nanda) is reluctant to initiate people. He says that immediately after initiating people he gets ill. But if the disciple is good, the Guru is benefited thereby. Some people get a sudden spiritual awakening immediately after initiation, but that depends upon one’s Samskâras (past tendencies).” (Source: Spiritual Talks by the First Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)
Disciple: “Maharaj, is it necessary to receive a Mantra from a Guru? Cannot one practise whole-heartedly according to one’s spiritual mood ?”
Swami Brahmananda: “Initiation into a Mantra helps concentration of mind. Otherwise your mind will change and fluctuate: today you will like the form of Kâli, tomorrow that of Hari, and next day perhaps the formless aspect of God. And thus your mind will not be concentrated upon any one….” (Source: Spiritual Talks by the First Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)