In plain words
The stars are in the sky even by day. Because the light of day is so bright, the stars are not seen. When day passes and night comes, the stars are seen. So there is nothing in the world whiter than the white of day. This white of day is Jñāna. The black of night is ajñāna. What lies beyond both of these, Jñāna and ajñāna, is Divinity; that is God. Forgetting that Divinity, we misuse Time on the crooked path of worldly goods and vehicles and the like, and we take our pleasure in them. If you want to attain Divinity, you must attain it through the divine principle itself.
Saying one thing, doing another
Man today keeps saying that he is the embodiment of the Ātma. But he does the work of the body. He says one thing and does another. How can you call this true? The proper study of mankind is man: that is Thought, word and deed. This is what is meant by thought, word and deed. These three must become one. If you want to attain that oneness, you must understand the principle of the Ātma. That Ātma is Time. Time is God. So we must do the deeds that make Time worthwhile. There is no better sādhana than this. We must make Time worthwhile by good conduct, good thoughts and good deeds.
“From good company comes detachment; from detachment, freedom from delusion; from freedom from delusion, the unwavering principle; from the unwavering principle, liberation in this life”: so good company is essential for this. Without good company, noble feelings will not arise in us. Whatever company we join, we take on that very nature. In keeping with this, Einstein said, ‘Tell me your company, I shall tell what you are.’ By the company you join, one can decide, and you yourself can decide, what kind of person you are. Join the good. Fill yourself with Bhakti for God and with the feeling of God. Grow a bond that is divine and noble. This is the true sādhana.
Realisation of the Ātma
What is Jñāna? It is to know one's own true nature. That is true Jñāna. Constant union with one's own true form is Jñāna. To contemplate that form without a break is sākṣātkāra. Sākṣātkāra means the very form itself, made directly present. What does Self mean? The Ātma. Self-realisation is needed; that I is the Self. Who is it that is called ‘I’? Is the body I, is the mind I, is the intellect I, is the Ātma I? When you inquire into all of these, the Ātma alone is I. So within the world there are two I's: the worldly I and the spiritual I. This worldly I is EYE, a word of three letters. The spiritual I is one letter I. EYE belongs to the body. The single letter I is the Ātma.