In plain words
First of all you must know who you are. They say, This is my body, my mind, my senses; but they do not put to themselves the question, but who am I. You are not the body, you are not the mind, you are not the senses. All these are merely instruments. When you say This is my kerchief, kerchief is separate from you. When you say my tumbler, tumbler is separate from you. My body means, body is separate from you; then who are you? We must try to know this principle well. Students! However many books we read, however many essays we write, in however many ways teachers teach us, we must know the one thing we need to know. All these are only learning of the physical world! As long as we spend our life in this world, these learnings sustain us. But life is not merely the body, Manas and Buddhi. It has one more thing, the Ātma. We must know that through the spiritual. There is no way to know it through these worldly learnings. Only the learning that knows it is para vidyā. We must try to know such para vidyā.
Along with a change of mind, spiritual change must come
Students! Your feelings are very sacred. But you must not develop the principle of Prema in a narrow way. We must not go only as far as ‘I and mine’. There is such a thing as society. ‘Because society exists, my family exists. Because my family exists, I exist. I depend on my family. This family depends on society. So the welfare of society is itself my welfare’: this we must know. That is precisely why in ancient times all used to pray, ‘Lokāssamastā sukhino bhavantu’. That is the ancient tradition of the people of Bhārata. That all should be happy: this alone was their wish. The happiness of the individual depends on the happiness of society. Every individual must wish for the welfare of the world. Building man is itself building the world. Only when man becomes good does the world become good.