In plain words
You may have read it. In the Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇa was 86 years old and Arjuna 84. They were young men. With what courage, what daring, what valour, with sturdy bodies, they fought in the war! Who led the army on the side of the Kauravas? Bhīṣma. He was 116 years old. He was commander-in-chief. Today a man of 116 would be lying trembling on a sagging cot. He fought a terrible battle for nine days. What is the reason for this? They had strength of mind. They had the strength of their food. The strength of the Ātma. Today there is no strength of the Ātma at all. Self-confidence: bumps, jumps from moment to moment. There is no steadiness at all. If one's wish is fulfilled, one day they put up ten photos. If the wish goes otherwise, he takes all the photos down. But this is not true steadiness. You may worship a picture of God as God but not God as a picture. If we keep changing this kind of feeling from moment to moment, what firmness will our life have? However many troubles, losses, sorrows and worries there may be, we must make the effort to face them with courage. Today people call themselves 'believers, believers', but it is only through these believers that unbelief has kept growing in Bhārata. These very believers are not following the right path. What they speak of is Bhakti. What they practise is bhukti. That is not true Bhakti. We must be ready for everything.
Will the sugarcane give jaggery if you call it and ask? Not unless you crush it to pulp and draw out its juice. Even a diamond of the finest kind must be put to the grindstone.
Without cuttings its value goes down. Without suffering, even this sugarcane will not give its sap. So only when troubles, losses and sorrows churn a man does the true essence in him come forth. That is why they said, 'Bhakti, Bhakti, Bhakti': this Bhakti is the very treasure of nectar, churned out of the essence of the many Vedānta texts and the Upaniṣads, and given to us. There must be no wavering at all in Bhakti. Only when we hold it steady, only when we have firm faith, will we be worthy to receive the fruit fully.