In plain words
that day he turns into a brahmarṣi.
A ṛṣi does not mean learning many kinds of knowledge. It does not mean practising tapas. Changing the qualities within us is itself the fitting sign of being a ṛṣi and of divinity. The good qualities that should be in man must be there in full. That is: love of God, fear of sin, morality in society. These three qualities give humanness a fine value. The day man forgets Satya, the day he cannot walk in Dharma, that very day man's value goes tumbling down. In the world, the value of all things goes on rising just the same. What is the reason? They go on following their own natural quality. Man has rooted out his natural qualities and goes on following made-up ones. Sva-Dharma and para-Dharma. Sva-Dharma means the Ātma's Dharma. Para-Dharma means the body's Dharma. All the paths that belong to the body are paths of pravṛtti. The whole of the Ātma's Dharma is the Dharma of nivṛtti. Today's man has forgotten both sva-Dharma and para-Dharma, and practises a made-up Dharma. Today the value of brinjals and lady's fingers goes up, but the value of man keeps going down. What is the reason? He has forgotten Satya. He has forgotten Dharma. Because he has forgotten these two, Dharma has forgotten him. Dharmo rakṣati rakṣitaḥ. Dharma itself protects the one who protects Dharma. Dharma itself harms the one who harms Dharma. This is the root cause of man's value shrinking today. Man must speak Satya. He must practise Dharma. Today he speaks of Dharma; he does not practise Dharma. How long will words spoken without practice keep their value? We speak so much about Dharma. That Dharma does not last until we step down from the platform. How will Dharma protect such a man? Today they teach Dharma and they preach it, but there is no practice. Preaching and teaching are not what matters. However many sweet dishes we read of in a book, will our stomachs be filled? Only when you put it in your mouth once do you understand sweetness. In the same way, man utters "Satya, Dharma" from his acquaintance with books. He must put them into practice with the body. By remembrance, by teachings, by practice, Ratnākara, a tāmasic man, was transformed into a ṛṣi. He did not only listen. He put it into practice.