In plain words
Every man is indeed an Emperor Aśoka. Aśoka means one who has no śoka. He alone becomes fit to hold sway over the empire of the Ātma. From birth until death, from daybreak until he falls asleep at night, every man performs many karmas for the sake of Ānanda. Whatever small task he does, every man enters upon the work with the longing for Ānanda alone. Having children is itself Ānanda. Studying is itself Ānanda. Doing a job is only for the sake of Ānanda. Marrying is only for the sake of Ānanda. In every way he performs karmas for the sake of Ānanda. But though he goes on doing so many things, he cannot attain Ānanda. He cannot even enquire into the matter of where Ānanda is.
For every man, Ānanda is inside and outside, below and above, all around, everywhere. Though this Ānanda is all around him, man cannot recognise it and sinks in sorrow. What is the reason? Ānanda is a treasure. To guard a treasure, every man arranges many kinds of measures. If there is some treasure in the house, he appoints a Gurkha as a watchman at the gate and tries to protect the treasure. In just the same way, Ānanda is a treasure. But to guard it, it too needs some protections. What is it that guards it? The serpent called Ahaṅkāra guards it. Only when you root out this serpent called Ahaṅkāra do you become fit to obtain this treasure without fear. As long as it keeps circling round the treasure, you cannot obtain this treasure at all. So first of all we must root out this Ahaṅkāra. As ash covers a fire, the ash called Ahaṅkāra and mamakāra has covered this Ānanda. When we blow on this ash, the fire becomes visible to us. But where did this ash come from? It came from the fire itself. The ash that came from the fire covers that very fire. Blow on the ash, and the fire is seen. In the same way, in every man this "I" arises from the Ātma itself. This ash called "I", which has arisen from the Ātma, we must root out by sādhanas.
What is the sādhana we must do? What is it that we gain by sādhana?