In plain words
Oneness must be fostered. That truly is the main strength the country needs today. Sunk in these petty attachments, attachment to language, to country, to region, to caste, to religion, we are drifting away from attachment to the Ātma. What we must foster is attachment to the Ātma alone. The Ātma principle in all is one. So realisation is not a gift won by some sādhana. He is simply himself. I have told you many times: what must we do to see our own heart? When I look at myself, I see the cloth I wear. But my heart is not seen. Only when this covering cloth is taken off can the heart be seen.
But man today, unable to bear the cold of this world, has wrapped himself in three thick garments. On top a thick, heavy coat; inside a shirt; underneath a light vest. Because of these three coverings, we do not see our heart. This thick coat is the guṇa of tamas. The shirt inside is the guṇa of rajas. That light vest is sattva. Only when these three are taken off do we see our heart. So only when you go beyond the guṇas will you take on the form of the embodiment of Saccidānanda. Keeping so many guṇas within you, saying "Saccidānanda, Saccidānanda", how will it come to you? You will not see this Saccidānanda even if you die trying. All the guṇas must be rooted out. Every fault must be wiped away. Only then can we behold our own true form. Embodiments of Saccidānanda! To go on only listening, however long, is only to waste our time. Reflect on what you have heard. Hold what you have reflected on in nididhyāsa. That is, we must try to put at least some of it into practice. We only repeat like parrots what we have heard; like parrots, we never taste it.
We are all taking shape as devotees. We look like devotees. But they do not understand what the principle of Bhakti is. What is Bhakti? Is it doing dhyāna, doing bhajan, doing japa, doing yajñas and yāgas? None of these are the marks of Bhakti. They are only the work a washerman does. What does that mean? He washes and washes all the clothes and makes them clean. Śravaṇa, kīrtana, Viṣṇu-smaraṇa, pāda-sevana, vandana, arcana, dāsya, sneha, ātma-nivedana. All of these are only for purifying our mind. We wash our clothes clean, but we do not wear them. That is the great failing in us. This failing turns into greed. The mind must be made pure. The purified mind must be worn. Only then can you recognise the one who is your own true form. You can stand as yourself. Become a human being.
Do all green birds talk like parrots? Do grubs that crawl over flowers become bees? Does a donkey wrapped in a tiger's skin become a tiger itself? Does a pig grown as fat as an elephant become an elephant, my friend?
But we have taken on human form.