In plain words
Going to ruin is very easy. Reaching the higher level is very hard. Hard though it is, man must set himself to reach the higher level. Man joins bad company, turns his feelings into evil feelings and his actions into evil actions, and in the end falls into wretchedness.
Saṅkalpas alone are the root cause of everything. These saṅkalpas must be right, pure, meaningful and sacred. But, unfortunately, even in his tender years man takes part in wicked thoughts, evil ideas and evil deeds, and lays this age of his to waste. Iron too turns to rust through the company of dust. Because it turns to rust, all the strength in the iron bursts away. When it has burst like this, it has to be put to the test. Only when it is tested does it find rest. This rest is a high place for us. That is, we must first wipe away the dust that has settled on it. What is this dust? We must wipe away the rust of the evil feelings that form in bad company. All these form in bad company. As our company is, so we become. There is no harm even if we take our time; we must inquire a little and make friends with good people. When we are well placed, when we stand high, everyone comes close to us; but when our circumstances decline, when we sink to a low state, when we fall under influences of one kind or another, everyone moves away. This is not true friendship. What is friendship? In times of danger, in times of grief, in times of sorrow, when troubles come, they must not leave us but must follow us like a shadow. They alone are true friends. While there is water in the tank, frogs gather there in their thousands. But the moment the water dries up, not a single frog stays there. So we must take our time, find out who is a true friend, and make friends with such people. To fall in with people who merely say "Hello" when you say "Hello" is wrong. We must first look well into the whole background of those we mean to befriend. What their habits are like, what their behaviour is like, what their discipline is like: these we must find out first of all.