Dear Sri Ramana 1359,
Q: What about the people who cannot find their Guru must do?
Ans: Just do whatever is familiar and capable by one in his pursuit – reading spiritual scripts, chanting sthothras/ names, visiting religious places etc. One’s entry into this forum/ similar ones will initiate him.
Guru need not be a different physical body. There was no such physical Guru for Bhagavan as told by him. Further, if required and destined so, Guru will come to you at the appropriate time. One need not search for a Guru. Since the guru is the grace of God, it has its own way.
Ultimately, there is only one’s self and no Guru apart from that. Another person, book, incident, emotion etc may help and direct one to that self- that’s known as God’s grace.
Q: Or they who follow a Guru who is not physically present?
Ans: Still you reach your goal. We have the example of Sri Ramana Bhagavan.
Q: Do they have to forget about japa practice?
If you are able to proceed in the path as Bhagavan advised, there is no need for such practices. But if you are not ripe enough due to acquired Vasanas, it will help.
Q: Is mantra japa something like concentration practice or there is something more?
It depends on the approach. The major effect is that it helps to concentrate. But for that purpose you may use simple Nama mantras. There is much more, which is even beyond our imagination. You create your own Deities in a form of your liking and with their help go beyond to Advaitha. One also gets Sidhis and immense power through them which can be used for good/evil. Just for understanding it is like generating electricity. The world of Mantra is like world of music and there is no end if one goes on exploring.
Bhagavan had not given much importance to these things. Yes, it has not much effect on Jnanis. Hence we need not explore much in this area. If one is already initiated and doing Sadhana, it is OK.
Personal: I believe that my Sadhana before and after initiation led me to Bhagavan. I got the direction to Bhagavan from my Guru. Hence it is my suggestion that one may not bother about all these things once he is within the grace of Bhagavan. The discussion is good only for the purpose of information.
Om Namo Bhagavathe Sri Ramanaya