In plain words
Man is a pilgrim in the field of karma. He has come in this body so that, through karma, he may cross over the suffering of birth and death that is born of karma. The world is a factory. In it, you must take up the duties allotted to each of you as your share, as an offering to God, for the pleasure of God, without craving the fruit of the work; you must put your strength and skill into them without any deceit, and so fulfil all that is yours to do. From the man too poor for his next meal to the millionaire, all human beings are striving for Ānanda alone. But man is a social being. He is born within society itself, he grows up within society itself, and he leans on society's ideals alone and toils for them. What we should earn through society is not prosperity, name and fame, nor goods and vehicles; we must long for the Ānanda of the Ātma alone, which is eternal and true, and attain it.
Animals, birds and the rest also keep on with their journey through life, for the sake of food and of roaming about. But though man has been handed great gifts of grace, Viveka, discernment, Vijñāna, Vairāgya and the rest, he does not put them to good use; he follows after the senses and wastes his time on physical comfort, pleasure and satisfaction. Man does not understand the community and society, their worth, or the good that comes through them. What we call society is not a gathering of a few individuals. What is to be gained through it is not physical happiness. The spiritual itself is society's capital. Spiritual progress, the sādhana to be followed by means of it, one's own good: these are for the good of society alone; they are not separate from it, not different. You must come to see yourself directly in all living beings. From within the many you must realise the One. You must experience what ‘Sahasra śīrṣā puruṣaḥ’ says, and rejoice in it. You must merge your own welfare in the welfare of the universe. Only when we live out our duties for that end does life become worthwhile.
The individual does not notice the truth that there are many people, in front of him and behind him and on either side of him, travelling to the goal he himself has recognised. He imagines that he is journeying all alone. This is a mistake; it is unnatural. If you dedicate your life to self-interest, reaching the target is impossible. The welfare of the world is itself your own welfare. If you labour for it, that itself is the path that makes your life worthwhile. Understanding of this kind must grow. The purpose of the prayer the Vedas lay down, ‘Lokās samastā sukhino bhavantu’, is just this too. To behold that form of the whole: that itself is the highest purpose of life.
Only when every limb of the body does its work with strength and with health does a man have zest, contentment and vigour. In the same way, when individuals, the limbs of society, recognise their duty and come to know their own svarūpa through the search for Satya, virtues grow. Wealth is put to good use. Words become pure. Vision becomes full of Jñāna, and creation becomes full of Brahman.
Now every kind of condition has come, air condition and all, but mind condition has not come. Control has come for everything, but mind control has not come at all. Even if lakhs of people take hold of a speeding train and pull, they cannot stop it. But one small button in the engine: the driver has only to press it gently, and the train comes to a stop. In the same way, through sādhana you can stop the running of the mind and gain the Śānti of the citta. You can go on through life with no harm coming to yourself or to others. Now you rejoice over victories that do not matter, and take great satisfaction in them. But the riches we need are not the things of this world; they are the Highest. What we must ask for is Praśānti. That itself is the treasure that matters most.
Today a new disease has broken out; it has entered every field and is spreading. It has become a great agitation. That disease is this very thing: strikes, stoppages. For what reasons, who, out of what need, why they are doing it: none of that counts. A strike at every turn. The cook at home: strike. Those who work in the factory: strike. Even the high officials in the cities: strike. Through this, hatred, unrest, hardship and loss only grow; the problems are not resolved in an atmosphere of calm and contentment. Problems between the individual and institutions are only natural. But the employers and the others who work in their concern can settle their problems with Viveka and discernment, with friendship and goodwill. Just as the heart and the limbs of the body are bound together so that neither can be without the other, so the welfare of the employers and the welfare of the workers do indeed rest on each other. If, instead of hankering after power, there is the zeal and the earnestness to toil for the doing of one's duty and for the good of the concern, there is well-being for the individual and blessing for the people.
Individual against individual: hatred and envy. One society against another: hatred. Between state and state: hatred.