In plain words
We thought He had a soft, sweet heart. But we never thought he was so hard-hearted, so stone-hearted,” they reviled him. This reviling is the reaction opposite to the praise. That is precisely why the parts of things are made up of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, blame and praise. To Divinity, the good and the bad alike both cause pain. Believers and unbelievers alike both revile. The good and the bad alike torment Divinity. What is the inner meaning of this torment? How can we think of this as torment? When we enquire like this, separation from the good is itself the root cause of sorrow. Company with the bad is itself the root cause of sorrow. In the end, company and separation are both root causes of sorrow. That is precisely why Divinity has blessed both. What is the inner meaning of this blessing? “May there be no company of the bad and no separation from the good.” So He blessed them. To increase the company of the good and to cut off the company of the bad is man's chief sādhana. Company and separation both arise from one and the same heart. From one and the same ocean both nectar and poison arose. The nectar gave Ānanda. The poison caused pain. The nectar won fame. The poison earned ill fame. That is precisely why we must nurture the good for the sake of whatever good fame humanness can earn. Man today longs greatly for the fruit of merit, but he does not step forward to do meritorious deeds. He will not accept the fruit of sin, but he steps forward to do sinful deeds. This is the root cause. ‘Puṇyasya phalam icchanti puṇyaṃ necchanti mānavāḥ, na pāpa phalam icchanti pāpaṃ kurvanti yatnataḥ,’ they said. When you reject the fruit of sin, saying you do not want it, do not enter into sinful deeds. When you long for the fruit of merit, set about doing meritorious deeds. Within humanness there are two kinds of nature. In some persons good and bad are mixed together. Crows eat the bitter neem and enjoy it. The cuckoo eats the sweet tender shoots of the mango and is happy. In the same way some men long for worldly objects and sensual pleasures, believe that Ānanda lies in them alone, and strive hard for them. The good, craning their necks to experience the Prema of Divinity, strive hard for it. In the nature of these two, good and bad are contained. Nothing but troubles ever pursue the good. In the worldly view people think of it as a lowly state. The one that gives the fruits one wishes for is the wish-fulfilling tree. The ocean that gives precious gems has become salt water.