In plain words
Birth is sorrow, old age is sorrow, a wife is sorrow, again and again; at the time of the end, great sorrow; so awake, awake!
He said. Live in the family, but do not take the family into yourself; as long as we live, we must keep our body healthy. As long as we live, we must keep our mind steady. We must develop a mind that does not waver, a mind that is not deluded, and dedicate our life to the aim of experiencing the eternal Ānanda of the Ātma. We must not let this body break down so that we fall into others' hands and suffer hardships no one should have to suffer. As long as we live, we must also build up the strength to do our own work by our own strength, without depending on others. The body is like a boat. This world is on this side, the world beyond on that side, and in between, life itself is a river. To cross this river called life and reach the goal called the beyond, God has provided the boat called the body. But if some mishap befalls this boat midway, there is great trouble. We cannot reach the goal. However long it stays in this water, there is no danger at all; but if the water gets into the boat, danger comes. So stay in the family, but take care not to take the family into yourself. If you live your life in this way, you yourself are the embodiment of the Ātma. You yourself are the embodiment of eternal Satya. You yourself are pure by nature. So that we may experience that supreme principle, Śaṅkara, in this śloka, put the question ‘Who is the son, who is the wife, who are you, where are you from?’, a question that grips the mind and presses it hard, and drew the whole secret of life out into the open.