In plain words
That is why I sometimes say: See no evil. Hear no evil. Talk no evil. Do no evil. Think no evil. See what is good. Hear what is good. Talk what is good. Do what is good. Think what is good. This is the way to GOD. Only when we do it in this way will this path become a Royal Road for us. But today we are travelling on a narrow Road. Man today looks for the Short cut first. In this Short cut there are many dangers. One has to go through many kinds of trouble. Even if it is a little longer, it is good; the Royal Road is much better. In certain matters, they say, even on this spiritual path it is a Royal Road. Yama's path, the road to hell, they say, is very wide. The road to heaven, they say, is very small. What is the inner meaning of this? Those going to heaven are only one or two, so they walk along some small road. Those going to hell are lakhs and lakhs. The road has to be wide for so many to walk on it.
So we must develop the highest thoughts. But today it is low thoughts and higher study: what is the use? What we must do is higher thoughts, general study. If we are in this way, that itself will become steady for us. study for steady. We must develop a steady mind. But how is study today? Always bumps, jumps. We are afraid to write even what we have studied. We keep doubting even what we have written. That is, one has no faith even in one's own self. That is why it was said, ‘In the great, mind, word and deed are one.’ The Proper Study of mankind is man. Thoughts, words, actions must be one. In the language of Vedānta this is called the purity of the three instruments. Only when we make the three instruments pure does purity of mind come. Only when there is purity of mind is purity of Jñāna gained. So Jñāna does not mean mere book knowledge. It is knowledge of the Ātma. It is knowledge of Brahman. Such Jñāna does not dwindle. Any thing may be spent, but Jñāna is never spent. If we feed many people, this heap may melt away. If we give money to many, the money in our bank may dwindle. But Jñāna only grows the more it is given; it never dwindles. So we must develop the Jñāna that grows and never dwindles. We must not run after degrees. How should learning be? It should come like lightning in the midst of dark clouds.
As the clouds gather in the sky and move on and the lightning flashes beside them, so Jñāna must shine behind learning.
This Jñāna is behind learning like a kind of electric power. That is what they meant by ‘shining like a streak of lightning in the midst of a dark rain-cloud’.