In plain words
Give up the company of the wicked; seek the company of the good; do meritorious deeds day and night; keep in mind what is eternal and what is transient.
Embodiments of Prema!
We must keep far away from the company of the wicked. First, ‘bhaja sādhu samāgamaṃ’: we must make friends with good people. ‘Puṇyam ahorātraṃ kuru’: we must do meritorious deeds at all times, without a break. ‘Smara nityam anityatāṃ’: what is eternal? What is transient? What is true? What is untrue? We must make an inquiry of this kind and then enter upon any task whatever.
Man today tries to learn about every matter there is in the world. He inquires intently into what is happening in which country and in which place. But unfortunately every man inquires only about the world, but who is he himself? From that inquiry into his own nature he holds back. What use is it to know the world without knowing who one is? This whole world rests upon what is called ‘oneself’. Whether a man is too poor to eat or a millionaire, before he introduces himself he first uses the word ‘I, I’.
Who is meant by ‘I’?
Who is this one called ‘I’? ‘Who are you, sir?’ Ask that, and it is ‘I’. Another time: ‘Who are you, sir?’ Ask that, and it is ‘I am a doctor’. Another time: ‘Who are you, sir?’ Ask that, and they say, ‘I am a merchant’. Who does the ‘business’? ‘Business’ is an occupation. ‘Doctor’ is a job.