In plain words
You may master every branch of learning and win over the assembly; you may fight as a hero on the field of battle; you may be born a king of kings and rule a kingdom; you may give gifts of gold and of cows; you may count the stars in the sky; you may tell the names of every living creature; but to curb the body and the senses, hold the mind still, turn it within, and ceaselessly stand firm with a mind unmoving and even: this they cannot do.
Control of the mind alone is the way to good; control of the mind alone is strength on earth; the power of control is the ocean's pearl: do not forget this good word.
Students, embodiments of the divine Ātma! Teachers! Lovers of learning!
Life is very precious. It is sacred. It is worth living. In life, chances as good as this are very few. To fulfil the aims he longs for in his life, man goes through many kinds of suffering. It is not man's nature to be content with a single aim. He hopes to fulfil many longings, to show an ideal, and to render service to the nations. From ancient times until today, at auspicious ceremonies and on sacred, happy occasions, lighting a lamp, worshipping the lamp and bowing to the lamp has been the ancient tradition of the people of Bhārat. There is a special power in this lamp. We may well say that no other thing in the world has the power it has. It is the nature of this lamp to drive away darkness and give light. That is precisely why the people of Bhārat must recognise the truth that such customs as lighting the lamp, bowing to it and worshipping it are not blind superstition, and act by it. There are many inner meanings in this. People today cannot grasp its sacred inner meaning; they invent all manner of meanings for it, take up only what is harmful, and forget what is true.