In plain words
Nārada was one who had mastered sixty-four branches of learning. They were not just one or two subjects. Sixty-four subjects. Not only that, he had also studied the six śāstras, the four Vedas and the twenty-four upāṅgas. What use is it to learn so much?
Though you master so much learning, what fruit is there? Who can escape what is written on his brow? If evil thoughts reach your head, the wits go dry as pith, the wits turn to stone.
What was the reason unrest came to Nārada? Ahaṅkāra itself, “I am a scholar, I am a master of all the śāstras,” went on hiding all of this. The root cause of this unrest is Ahaṅkāra alone. Sanatkumāra, who had heard all of it: "Oho! Is the power of your learning only this much?" and curled his lip. This is only a name. All these degrees are only names. It is merely name. There are some things beyond this name. Nārada! Nārada was greatly astonished. "He is calling one who has mastered these sixty-four branches of learning a mere name! He is pushing it aside so easily!" he marvelled. "There is something else greater than this name, Nārada," he said. Speech is greater than name. The mind is greater than speech. Saṅkalpa is greater than the mind. Citta is greater than saṅkalpa. Dhyāna is greater than citta. Jñāna is greater than dhyāna. Water is greater than Jñāna. Tejas is greater than water. Prāṇa is greater than tejas. "Only when you understand this principle of prāṇa will you understand Tat tvam asi," he said. So we must first of all understand the principle of prāṇa.
A small example. If we take no food for a fortnight, fifteen kalās wane in us. When, little by little, we take more food, these sixteen kalās enter into us. That is, what is its inner meaning? The body is made of food. In this body made of food, as the food wanes, the life-force too goes on waning. So the body is what wanes; the Ātma that does not wane dwells in this waning body.