In plain words
As we rub a piece of sandalwood again and again, a fragrant scent comes to us from it. As we go on chewing and chewing sugarcane, we come to taste the sweet juice in it. The more we put gold in the fire and burn it, the more its dross falls away and it shines as pure gold. In the same way, the more troubles come to a noble man, the more the sacred faith in him must grow; it must not wane. Does Prema for God shrink in troubles, in sorrows? Such a man is wicked indeed, a demon indeed! In troubles above all, Prema for God must grow. It is like this: the more we burn gold, the purer it becomes; it does not become impure. We ourselves can judge our own Bhakti by this measure.
The young must become ideals, endowed with noble character
Today we are spreading our whole gaze in many directions. The Rāmāyaṇa too has shown such an ideal life in many ways. Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā led a hard life in the dense forests. If we look at their age, it was very young indeed! Twenty and twenty-one years, for Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Sixteen, eighteen years, for Sītā. These three lived in one and the same hut. But for all the years they lived together, Lakṣmaṇa never once looked at the face of Sītā, his brother's wife. While things were so, one day Rāvaṇa carried Sītā away. Then Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa set out searching for Sītā, in the forest. Later, after they had made friends with Hanumān and Sugrīva, while talking with them, Lakṣmaṇa told them of the grief of losing Sītā. Then, remembering, Hanumān brought a bundle and gave it. ‘While a demon was carrying Sītā off through the sky, she let this bundle drop down. See whether any of her jewels are in it,’ he said.