In plain words
The bad qualities within us are the very things that hurt us. The reason is this: if those bombs are dropped once, we may be burnt to ash and be free of care. There is no pain. But these bad qualities keep us alive and torture us. This pain is greater than that pain. So if we want to scrub away these bad qualities in us, envy, jealousy, pretence and show, we must get these brushes called Satya, Dharma, Śānti, Prema and Ahiṃsā. Along with worldly learning, we must go on nourishing these human qualities, which are spiritual and chief, all the more. Oil gives life to a lamp. But our Prema gives life to life itself. So we must take Prema as the oil for our life.
There is a lamp, oil and a wick; will the lamp's light come of itself?
So there has to be someone who lights it. There are flowers and there is thread; will the garland make itself? There has to be someone who strings it. There are gold and gems; will the jewels make themselves? There has to be someone who makes them. In the same way, these five jewels that Sathya Sai has given remain five jewels only. But there have to be some people who give them out. To give them out, we have to form some ties with the government too. If we form no ties of kinship with the government, those municipalities and corporations will not send those teachers here. Unless they send them, there is no chance at all for us to teach them. But whoever we form ties of kinship with, we must not move away at all from Sathya Sai, to whom we are bound. For that reason we had to make it a registered body. If just anybody goes to the corporation office and wants to talk, they will say get out. But if we hold authority, the other side will welcome us well and take the action fit for it. So we must not think of this in any other way merely because we have some ties with the government. As I said at the very start, our everyday experience is one thing and the true experience is another. We must bring these two into close touch. So by the oneness of these two we must make the effort needed to develop this humanness.