How does Japa cleanse the mind and help in realization?
You know there is butter in the milk. But you have to subject it to the process of turning into curd and then churning it to get butter. Similarly, in the pot of the body, there is the milk of Divinity. You have to churn it using Buddhi as churning rod and Bhakti as the rope. Out of churning comes butter, which is Self-realization. You get it from what is already there inside you.(SSS Vol 26, pg 135)