In plain words
Be he one who has gathered up all the śāstras and the Purāṇas, a brahmin who is versed in Vedānta; in lovely mansions, brimming with delight, be he a moon among kings who takes his pleasure there; be he one who has routed his foes on the field of battle and shines as the one hero of the world; be he one who languishes at the mercy of the goddess of poverty, a servant who is a store of ill fortune: if there is no Prema, he is of no use at all. Rather than this lord of the world who is without Prema, the servant given to Prema is the one to be revered. What else than this shall I make known, O members of this assembly, counted among the good and the virtuous.
Embodiments of Prema!
The mind of a man who has Prema is serene, pure and steady. No defeat, no humiliation, no hardship shakes it in the least. For this, it is Prema for God that is the chief power. Self-confidence is itself the chief beauty of men. Self-confidence gives an endless inner strength. Every man must make the right effort to develop such self-confidence and to attain the Ānanda of the Ātma.
Prema means this: where it is merely for the sake of the fruit one hopes for, we must develop certain kinds of feeling and through them shape it into a Prema that is untainted. Prema that springs up with some reason in view is not true Prema. We must develop a Prema without cause, one that has no reasons of any kind. That itself is man's natural Dharma.
We must not pray to God in the least, asking for that, asking for this. The reason is that no one knows what precious, great and divine things there are in the treasure-house of God's Grace. Nor does anyone know what He has resolved to give. Not knowing this, man asks for petty things and playthings, and loses his own divine power.