In plain words
One may be proud that one has greatness, wealth. How long does this wealth last? One may be proud that one has learning, but if that learning is not put to use, what is its worth? So man has no ground at all to be proud in this way. Ahaṅkāra is nothing but the very form of ignorance! So first of all we must try to root Ahaṅkāra out. Only when Ahaṅkāra has been rooted out does our back bend in sevā. As long as there is Ahaṅkāra, the back does not bend. We do not bow our heads. On the day we bend our backs, bow our heads and work, that day Ahaṅkāra stops. So, to take part in sevā, Ahaṅkāra must first be given up.
Only when Ahaṅkāra is rooted out does pure Bhakti begin
The second, devotion: what is it? Doing japa, singing bhajans, keeping vratas: we think that this alone is devotion, that is, Bhakti. We must love the universe, whose form is Viṣṇu. What does that mean? Viṣṇu-hood means being present everywhere. That is, we must recognise divinity in all human beings. ‘Viśvaṃ viṣṇu svarūpaṃ, bhaja sevāyāṃ’. That is the derivation of Bhakti. Only when Ahaṅkāra is rooted out does pure Bhakti begin. When this Bhakti makes us grow, then comes discipline, that is, kramaśikṣaṇa.
Discipline (kramaśikṣaṇa) must be a part of our life
What is discipline? A rule. Without a rule we can carry out no work. If we go beyond the rule in that way, we fall into dangers of some kind. Some hardships, too, may come about. A rule is essential. ‘Na śreyo niyamaṃ vinā’, it has been said. Without a rule there is no good. Everything needs a rule. In truth, our very life grows within a rule. Without that rule it turns into disease. Now look at our temperature. It stays at 98.4°F. We call it perfectly normal.