In plain words
God is not seen by our eyes. The Bhakti there is in worshipping those who are seen is something else. First of all you must honour those who are seen. Rāma too tells Sītā, ‘Sītā! Who brought us up? Our parents. Who brought you to this position? Your parents. So, first of all, it is they who are your gods. If you worship those deities called parents, the God you do not see will also appear to you.’ Today you worship the God you do not see, and you neglect what you do see. What use is that? So first of all you must honour what you see. Our parents have given us so much. Your blood, your food, your head: your parent's gift. So first of all you must give honour to your parents. That is our duty. If today we give our parents the honour due to them, tomorrow our children will give us that same honour. If today you fill your parents' eyes with tears, tomorrow your children will fill your eyes with tears. You see! So love your parents well. Honour your parents. Give them joy. Next, there are the daughters-in-law, are there not! Honour your parents-in-law. Because your husbands came from them. For that husband's sake you suffer so much. But we must honour those too from whom that husband came. Let them think what they like, let them torment your heart! Honour them. You will surely win. Good will surely come to you. Some day the parents-in-law who hurt you will honour you. Above all, when the girls who study in our Institute marry: ‘Ah! A girl from the Sathya Sai Institute! A very good girl!’: this must come from the mouths of those they married. From the parents-in-law too you must earn the name, ‘Ah! The children of that Institute are very good children.’ That is what I want. We want nothing! You must earn a good name. If you earn the name ‘a good child’, that is Swami's joy. You need not give Swami anything. You must earn the name, ‘The girls who study in this Institute are very good girls.’ That is the gratitude you owe Swami. If you have the chance, take part in service to society.