In plain words
First of all, believe the truth that Divinity is in us ourselves. Without this faith we cannot win success in any work. Now this building is in view. What is the support of this building? The foundation is the support. But while we give this building many decorations, we are not giving any to the foundation. We make the building attractive. We make many kinds of changes and additions to it. To the foundations, which are not seen, we give no decoration at all. On the strength of this very foundation the building stands. On this building we went on to raise walls. Without walls we cannot put on a roof. Without a roof we cannot live here. So: self confidence foundation, self satisfaction walls, self sacrifice roof, self realisation life. One within another, they are contained in self confidence. For everything we say I, I. Who is this I? This is my body, this is my head, this is my hand, my leg. Who am I? You are someone apart. This is my body means: I am not the body, the body is separate from me. Here you must ask yourself the question. This is my body itself: it is two. My..body. Having said my body, you turn round and say I myself am the body. In Vedānta we must enquire into the two kinds of I. The one-letter I. Eye, the I of three letters. The one-letter I is the Ātma. Do not put it to use for the body. I is the Ātma principle itself. You are the master. Body, mind, senses: all these are instruments. We must make use of these instruments. The body is an instrument. Do the deeds that bring it honour. The mind is an instrument. Set it to work in a way that gives right and good understanding. Everything enters from the mind. This mind takes its form from thoughts. It is a cloth. In the language of Vedānta, this is bundle of threads. Not threads, cotton. Cotton, thread, cotton. In the same way, you are not one person but three. The one you think you are is physical body. The one others think you are is mental body. The one you really are is Ātma. This we are forgetting. Today we are attracting the artificial. That is why negative thoughts come into our heart. We must drive away these negative thoughts. We must cultivate positive thoughts. Then humanness becomes fruitful. How should we take this? In English they say MAN. M means mind, Māyā. A means you must recognise the Ātma principle. N means Nirvāṇa. Mokṣa. When we enquire into humanness and master Māyā, when we understand the Ātma principle, it is fulfilled in Nirvāṇa. For this Nirvāṇa the Buddha went on doing many sādhanas. At the very end, what did he think? It is all within me. He grieved, ‘I have wasted all this time!’ Everything is in man himself. Even animality is in humanness. But man today has forgotten his own principle. Whatever country in the world you go to, the price of every article is rising. Even a small article has become very costly. Today in which article has value been lost? Value has been lost in man. Because man has lost his value, the value of man is nowhere to be seen in the world.
The five prāṇas...the five values...the five elements
Man has five prāṇas. What are these five prāṇas? Prāṇa, apāna, vyāna, udāna, samāna. These they think are the five prāṇas. But those are not our prāṇas. Satya, Dharma, Śānti, Prema, Ahiṃsā: these alone are our five prāṇas. The five prāṇas are not physical. Every person must regard Satya, Dharma, Śānti, Prema and Ahiṃsā as the five prāṇas. If Satya is not in us, we must think that one prāṇa has gone. If right action is not in us, we must take it that the second prāṇa has gone. If one prāṇa after another goes in this way, what is left? You become a dead body. In the world, one thing after another must become very light. Only then can it come to pervade everything. Here is an example. There is the earth. In the earth there are sound, touch, form, taste, smell and the rest: the five elements. Because these five elements are there, the earth is heavy and lies in one place. Of these, one element moved a little to the side. What was it? Smell. Then water came forth from the earth. The moment water was formed, movement began.