In plain words
From olden times a ‘village elder’ has been a very great man. He was called the lion of the village, and he must be a lion. What does that mean? Not settling scores with everyone. Not killing everyone. The mark of the lion is to protect everyone! That is the duty of the king of beasts. He must be a king to all the people in the village. Our Divākara Reḍḍi said it. The Collector is the officer over the whole district. The Minister is the officer over the whole state. But the village officer is the officer over the whole village. He too is a Collector! It is true! He is a Collector for that village. In collecting all the revenue due, in spending it in the right way and in collecting it properly, in these he must show an example. We must set our strength and abilities and our senses, all of them, on the path of putting them to good use. Every sense is there. But we must set the experience of each sense on the right path. If we set it on the wrong path, we fall into wickedness.
Today everyone fights for rights, but no one tries to recognise duty
Embodiments of Prema! It is the good fortune of the village officers, a great good fortune. By the merit earned in some birth, we have become officers of the village. So, now that we have become officers, only on the day we shape our village well will our office find its fitting fulfilment. If we merely take up office and fail to carry out the duty that goes with it, we become traitors to the country and to the village. Today man has two things. One is duty, the second is a right. But all the people of today labour for rights; they do not try in the least to recognise duty. This duty and this right are both like two wheels. Both are also like two wings. Without these two wings we cannot fly up at all.