In plain words
Only the thought of God is worthwhile. Only good karmas are worthwhile.
Only when all karmas are done as service, in the feeling that they are for the pleasure of God, does it become worthwhile. In Bhār…, from time without beginning, it has gone on setting forth such ideals. Through the influence of its spiritual…, the land of the Hindus has from generation to generation given every country lasting peace and well-being. … then and now, the aim of the Bhāratīyas has been just this: 'Lokāssamastā sukhino bhavantu'. To nourish such …, the kings, ṛṣis, paṇḍitas and pativratā mothers of those days gave up all… and kept it safe. The paṇḍitas of those days did not live merely for their bread. They lived to proclaim oneness… among the people. They went on … the oneness that is in the manyness. Through such spreading and teaching they made their learning worthwhile. The …s of those days were just the same. They believed that the welfare of the people was the welfare of the ruler. All the people are like the limbs of the body…. The ruler is like the heart in that body. Without the heart there is no body; the heart in … we do not see. Heart and body, the two depend on each other, an inseparable bond…. In those days they taught well the close bond and kinship of ruler and people. Reaching … spiritu…, they made their lives worthwhile.
But people today do not set learning or wealth, riches or strength on the spiritu… …; they set them only on the worldly path, gone in a moment, and make their …, their powers and their all of no use. A natural life …: that has to be there. But we must keep spirituality as the goal. The life of nature we lead…; the goal is spiritual. The karmas are worldly. Only then do the karmas too become worthwhile. But today they go on doing … karmas with a worldly goal. Which karmas, if we do them, will … us happiness in the world? Which karmas, if we do them, will bring us profit in the worldly realm? For how long can you … enjoy these worldly things?
In what way did the paṇḍitas of those days teach the people? Punarapi jananaṃ, punarapi ma…: being born and dying, is this your life? To be born in a mother's womb, to die… in the world: … how long are you living in … way? What is your learning? At the last moment of your life, learning such as … will not save you. That is why Ādi Śaṅkarācārya