In plain words
Today I see no one at all who is truly educated. All are crest-jewels of ignorance. They merely read books and write. Not all who have learnt to read and write in this way are educated. Not all who have gained college degrees are educated. Learning that does not give good wisdom and good deeds is not good learning. “If learning is only for making a living, do not the beasts and birds make a living?” Today people gain learning merely for the sake of a livelihood. But we must learn the kind of learning that makes us recognise the supreme goal of life.
Livelihood and the supreme goal of life
What do this supreme goal of life and livelihood mean? Here is a small example: a scientist goes into a Laboratory and teaches the way water is made: “If you mix two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen, water is formed.” This is livelihood. But to teach the equal-mindedness of how all should share equally the little water so formed: that is the supreme goal of life. So making water is livelihood; the equal-mindedness that shares the water so made equally with all is the supreme goal of life. Only through the oneness of these two does humanness turn into Divinity. Even if water is made, what use is it if there is no one to drink it?
Good qualities alone are the true adornment
Embodiments of Prema!
“For the sky, the moon itself is the adornment. For the sea, the waves themselves are the adornment. For a village, its houses are the adornment. For a pond, the lotus flower itself is the adornment. In the same way, for man, good qualities themselves are the adornment.” Without these good qualities, however much adorning we do, there is no use. We must believe that the adornment God has given is itself the true adornment. God is beauty (God is the embodiment of beauty). Why should we put on any other ornament over the adornment such a God has given? Why should those who are fair use “face powder”? Good qualities alone are the true adornment. So, when we have the true adornment with us, we have no need of artificial adornments.
Today the body is most necessary for us. To put this body to good use, good qualities are most necessary. If we have both of these well, we can live an ideal life. We can grow into ideals for this world itself. When we take the body alone as what matters and forget good qualities, our life itself is wasted. Human birth is very hard to gain. That is why they said, “Jantūnāṃ narajanma durlabhaṃ”. Such a precious, holy human birth we are selling merely for “charcoal”; we should sell it for a “ruby”.