In plain words
We ourselves are the world. The five elements are such that one is lighter than another. The principle that holds sway over all of them is the Ātma principle. Water is far subtler than earth; it is not only subtle but very wide. Air is wider and subtler than this water. And wider and subtler than air is space. But the Ātma is subtler and wider than space.
Have gratitude
What people need today is gratitude. Without this gratitude, man cannot live. He cannot experience comfort or joy. They tell us to express our gratitude to mother, father, guru and God. Why do they use these words in this order? Mother, guru, God. Why should one not say “father”? What is the meaning of these words standing in this order? She who has protected, fed and guarded us since childhood, cleaned away our filth, and raised us up is the mother. That mother we must honour first of all. That mother must show us the father. With the wish to shape the child into an ideal person, the father takes the child to the true guru. What must this true guru do? He must show God. He must demonstrate God. He must teach Godhood. This alone is true. So the mother must show the father. The father must show the guru. The guru must show God. Therefore we must express our gratitude to them. But today we do not do so. We do not even honour the mother and father who bore us. We do not even love our mother and father. If we love something or other that has come in between, this is artificial love. This is artificial Prema.
A good example of this is in the Mahābhārata. By Kṛṣṇa's protection all the Pāṇḍavas lived. Of Gāndhārī's hundred sons, not even one lived. Gāndhārī wasted away with grief. Unable to bear the sight of Gāndhārī's grief, many people blamed Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa came to Gāndhārī wishing to give her peace. The moment she saw Kṛṣṇa, Gāndhārī flared up with anger.