In plain words
When Manas, word and deed are one in a man, he becomes a man of Satya, in due course; the man of Satya, the presence of God ever attains, and ever attains the Supreme.
When iron breaks, twice or three times the smith can heat it and join it; once the Manas breaks, can we ever join it again?
Embodiments of Prema!
‘Jantūnāṃ narajanma durlabham.’ Of all the creatures that are born, birth as a human being is the hardest to win. The causes that make humanness blossom, or bring it to light, are three. Manas, word and deed. These are what have long been called the trikaraṇas. When these three are set on the right path, a man can become a complete human being. When these same three are set on a crooked path, he turns into a beast. The difference between humanness and beastliness comes about through these trikaraṇas alone. The first is the Manas. ‘Saṅkalpavikalpakātmakaṃ manaḥ’: that is the root meaning of the word. ‘Mananān manaḥ.’ The Manas is that which reflects without ceasing. This Manas, once given to another, does not come back. Man must try to recognise the nature of such a Manas. The Manas is forever sunk in inner conversation and in the power of thought. Of the two, there is more conversation, carried on in many ways within a man's Manas, than there is thought. Above all, thoughts and conversations are very different. Thoughts are what resolve our problems. Conversations are what swell our problems beyond measure and throw a man into turmoil. So, first of all, a man must try to tread down these inner conversations. He must try to give the Manas rest. By letting the affairs of others into the Manas in many ways, the Manas grows still more impure. Whatever we brood on, all of it presses into our heart as if printed on carbon paper. Through this, our spiritual growth takes a contrary path. It clouds our spiritual strength to some extent. It keeps a man forever sunk in thought. First of all, we must try to lessen, little by little, the inner conversations in the Manas. It is because these inner conversations run beyond all bounds that even the reason goes astray.
How are we to check this? For this there are three ways. One is prāṇāyāma. When we make the in-breath and the out-breath follow a proper course and fix our attention on them, the inner conversations die down. The second is service to society. Only when we take up some work or other can we tread down the conversations of the Manas. When the Manas is fixed on the sacred work of teaching, on serving the sick, or on any other work that makes life worthwhile, these inner conversations die down. The third is the wealth of sādhana. Be it kīrtana, bhajana or āsanas: when we follow paths like these, the Manas can stay subdued to some extent. Or, when the Manas is restless all the time, or when the conversations run to excess, japa of the Gāyatrī mantra has the power to tread these inner conversations down.
But man today keeps thinking of others all the time, sorting out the good and bad in others, and dwelling all the time on the wickedness of others. Because of this the Manas grows dirtier still, like a smeared cloth. Man is making his Manas into a newspaper. The Manas of man today is no more than a newspaper; he does not turn it into a sacred human heart. Since the Manas is what matters most for man, they said, ‘Mana eva manuṣyāṇāṃ kāraṇaṃ bandhamokṣayoḥ.’ The Manas alone is the cause of bondage and of Mokṣa. So it is with this very Manas that we must develop humanness. The Manas is nothing but a bundle of saṅkalpas and vikalpas. Little by little we must practise the right sādhana to tread down our desires and saṅkalpas. If others wound this Manas, it does not heal. If this Manas breaks, it cannot be joined together. So we must try to see that the Manas does not break. Today man's Manas breaks at every single moment. He cannot hold on to courage and patience even in the smallest matter. If the Manas is thrown into turmoil over the most trifling matters, how then can it be fitted into sādhana? To give this sādhana the strength it needs, we must bring far more rest to the Manas.