In plain words
What is to be seen is one thing alone. We must see the divinity called oneness. We must behold the oneness, the divinity, that lies in the many. In this way we must develop the vision. Whatever Prahlāda looked at, he saw it only as divinity. Inside, outside, all around, he beheld everything only as God.
This sacred day called Oṇam has come to be today so that we may develop such humanity, and in memory of Bali Cakravarti. Oṇam has another meaning too: wearing new clothes. To rise at daybreak, take the oil bath at once, put on new clothes, bring coconut leaves, set pāyasam on the coconut leaves and eat it with joy: this is the inner meaning of Oṇam. But we must not make our holy days unholy with food and pastimes alone. The reason is this: Bali Cakravarti had won the love of his people. Losing such a ruler, the people grieved greatly. The ruler who had kept guarding them as a mother guards her children was now far from them, and the people could not bear the parting. All the people grieved greatly. Seeing their grief, the king, this Bali Cakravarti, made a promise: "Every year, for your sake, I will keep coming." So today's holy day is the day of the emperor who longed and wished for the welfare of his people, the joy of his people and the comfort of his people. The people of those days had such devotion to their ruler. The ruler of those days too was one who had won the love of his people. Between the people and the rulers of today such close ties of kinship are nowhere to be seen, look where you will. The people of today waste their lives in Ahaṅkāra, for selfishness and self-interest. The rulers of today too scramble to get themselves a position, for their own selfishness and self-interest. Whether in the rulers or in the people, selfishness has grown beyond all bounds. That is why divinity appears to be empty. We must try to recognise that without divinity humanity is worthless. All these perish in a moment. We must not waste our life on these passing pleasures of the senses. However much of this pleasure of the senses we gain, it is not something that ever satisfies. The more wood you put on a fire, the more fiercely the fire blazes up; it does not try to die down. So, as desires grow, bondage only takes firmer hold of a man; neither Mokṣa nor Śānti comes to him. That is why, today, we must keep reducing these desires little by little. The more we reduce these desires, the more Śānti comes about in us. Less Luggage more comfort. Our troubles, our hardships, our sorrows grow through our own delusions alone. Our own desires are the root cause of our unrest.