Question: How quickly does a mantra remove desire from the mind?
Sri Chinmoy: It depends on the individual seeker. If he has established abundant purity in his being, then it is a matter of months. But if the seeker is not pure enough, the mantra will take a very long time to produce the necessary effect.
Sri Chinmoy, Prayer-world, mantra-world and japa-world, Agni Press, 1974