In plain words
Embodiments of Prema!
The divine life of man rests on his own qualities alone. The transformation of man must be seen as the transformation of the universe. Only when man changes will the world change. Only when the individual becomes good will society too take shape as good.
We take only the outer conditions of society as our basis. Politically, economically, socially and physically too, we have been following the influence of outer conditions. These transformations alone are not enough. Transformation of the mind and spiritual transformation are most urgently needed.
What man must long for today is not a long life. He must long for a divine life. What has to be lengthened is not life; it is quality that must be lengthened. The life that one lengthens is subject to time. What has to be strengthened is quality. So the whole of a person's activity rests on his qualities alone. Forgetting this truth, we long for outward transformations and changes. When the Yakṣa asked who is the refuge of the world, Dharmaja said that the good man alone is the refuge of this world. If good people of virtue were not in this world, the world would become a world with no refuge. So today disciples must be better still than their gurus. But today's disciples and gurus do not behave in this way. Selfishness and self-interest fill today's disciples. In keeping with this, selfishness and self-interest dance wildly in the gurus. Disciples seek out gurus only to get their own wishes fulfilled. When their wishes are fulfilled, they are satisfied. When they are not fulfilled, they go through changes contrary to this. They get ready to bring a resolution of no confidence against the gurus. In this way no close bond between guru and disciple grows. Above all, today's disciples look only for their own progress; they pay no heed at all to changes of the mind and look only for physical changes.
Vairāgya does not come merely from another's teachings or from another's urging. However many talks one hears, however many books one reads, however many teachings one gives, it must spring up from within; it does not come from outside. Śuddhodana had many restrictions put in place so that Vairāgya would not come to his son, the Buddha. But Vairāgya could not be kept from coming.