If you do not get into a stage of service to the Master early then you must perform austerities and penances, to come out of the clutches of sensuality.

Tapamu is neither a person performing penance on one leg nor a pious person sitting in ashram. Both can not be considered as Tapamu. Tapamu is a meditation on something, it is actually meditation.

Austerity word if we need to exactly apply the right word is Tapamu. Japamu means meditation. Austerity and Penance always comes together. We cannot differentiate both words Austerity and Japamu. We do Japamu, what is that we are doing? We are doing Ramchandra's Japamu. In Japamu there is no heat producing element. Tapamu means it produces heat. There is no heat getting developed in Japamu, the matter of Tapamu is that it produces heat. When the horses are whipped, naturally they are all work with full vigor against that. When we are tying to control it, we may resist more, in that suppression, we may kill our efforts.

So Japamu is all satvik. In Tapamu there is some element of rajasik, but no element of tamas. If per chance Tapamu is taken to the level tamas then it is asuric. We do in a rajasik way with a kind of determination and discipline. So Japamu is meditation where as Tapamu is equal to Austerity and Penance. Tapassu means it should generate heat in the body. This must have been your experience too. When we do meditation for long hours enormous heat gets generated from mooladhara. If we pursue further, this heat will be there upto head. In between mooladhara and head it may not be showing up, except the vibrations at heart. So is the case whoever practices meditation, it is customary/traditional to give milk or almond (badam) milk to reduce heat. Rev. Babuji Maharaj used to take milk with almonds and even Dr. K.C.V garu too. If some one substitutes with almond chocolate, glucose, it is not substitute for that. Our attitude is to substitute. If we follow as advised it would be good instead of substitutions. Chavanprash also can be taken along with milk. I don't take that.. Heat will be there, enormous heat will be there. The heat will be produced even in the eyes.