In plain words
When he sees a thatched hut, he thinks, ‘This must be some poor man.’ That is, by looking at the house he decides the greatness or the smallness of the one who lives in it. Likewise it has been said, “Jantūnāṃ narajanma durlabham.” The human body is very hard to come by, and supremely holy. Why so? Within it dwells the God called the Ātma. That is why such worth has been given to the body. We must make this worth bear fruit. But man thinks the body is all that matters; he does not let go of his attachment to the body. A wire without current, a crop without water, a school without a teacher, a temple without God: what use are they? Does anyone worship in a temple with no God in it? No one does. It is because this body is a temple with God in it that everyone loves it.
“Ekaṃ sat viprāḥ bahudhā vadanti”
The daughter-in-law comes up to the master of the house and calls him, “Father-in-law!” The son comes and calls him, “Father!” The wife comes and says, “My lord!” All of them call him by different names, but the person is only one, is he not! In the same way, God is one alone. “Ekaṃ sat viprāḥ bahudhā vadanti.” The wise, yogis, devotees and sādhakas have each been worshipping Him by a name of their own. One calls, “O Embodiment of the Ātma!”; another calls, “O Embodiment of Light!” As each one's feeling is, so does God give him darśan. God is without form and name; only for the satisfaction of devotees does He take on forms and names. Only in keeping with your feeling does God bless you.
The body is not ‘I’
Many a time I tell the children this. When I think, “This is my kerchief,” the kerchief is something other than me, is it not! In the same way, when you think, “This is my hand, my leg, my head, my stomach,” this body must be separate from you. So you are not the body. Then who are you? If someone asks you, “When did you come?” you take the body to be yourself and say, “I came yesterday evening.” But if you get a stomach-ache, you say, “My stomach is aching.” When you say ‘my stomach’, the stomach must be separate from you, must it not! That is, here you are saying indirectly that the body is not ‘I’. Then who is ‘I’? Each one must put this question to himself. First of all we must recognise that the body is only an upādhi. “Bhikṣānnaṃ deharakṣārthaṃ, vastraṃ śītanivāraṇaṃ”: for this the body must work. Not content with this alone, we must enter into the work of God.
The root of Ahaṅkāra is attachment to the body
Only when the current and the bulb come together do we get light, do we not! In the same way, only because the current called divine power enters the bulb called our body are the eyes able to see, the ears able to hear, the hands able to work, the mouth able to speak. If that very divine power were not within, not one limb could work. But man swells with pride, thinking that he himself does everything. Ahaṅkāra is a great Ajñāna! There are medicines for any disease, but for Ahaṅkāra and envy there are no medicines at all. A fall is the only right medicine for them! What use is it to open your eyes after the fall? The root of Ahaṅkāra is attachment to the body!