In plain words
It is the fire of the burning-ground. We perform a yajña. There they make offerings, saying keśavāya svāhā. That too is fire. They look on that fire as equal to God. They call it Agni the god. In our home we cook. That too is fire. But we use it only for cooking. Someone else is smoking a cigarette; there too it is fire. But does anyone bow down to that fire? Another lights incense sticks. That too is fire. He waves these incense sticks before God and bows down himself. In the same way, though fire is one, the ways it is put to use are different. But the Godhead is one. Divinity is one. Good and bad take shape according to the way we use it.
God abides with five attributes: asti, bhāti, priyam, rūpa and nāma. In Sanskrit they called this Sat, Cit, Ānanda, rūpa and nāma. Only forms and names are visible to us. But asti, bhāti, priyam, Sat, Cit and Ānanda: these we do not know. Every single object too has Sat, Cit and Ānanda. Even in this table there is Sat, Cit and Ānanda. Even inside this mike there is Sat, Cit and Ānanda. But Sat and Cit can be seen. But the Ānanda is not visible to us. Sat means: this is. The mike is. It can be seen. Cit: it can be heard. These two are both Satya. But whether it is in Ānanda or not is not visible to us. These we call inert things.
Now Narasimhan is here. He has Sat and Cit, body and name, both. But his Ānanda too is visible to us. He is listening to Swami's talk and is in Ānanda. That is why Ānanda shows only in man. In all the rest there is Sat and Cit, but Ānanda does not show. In every object there is nothing but the form of God. The aim of sādhana is simply to turn this worldly object into the Supreme. We must regard this divinity as the principle of Prema. Without Prema, divinity cannot be understood by us at all. If we go on looking at everything as new, as new, we gain no claim at all. When we want to gain a claim, we must also earn a right. Only when we have earned this right do we treat him in our own way.
Here is a small example. If a new friend has come, or a relative has come, he sets out a chair and everything, says, “Come, please, be seated,” gives coffee and tiffin, and honours him with courtesy in every way. Who is it that receives this honour and courtesy?