In plain words
Embodiments of Prema! What can I tell you today! As I look at this sight, My heart is filling with Ānanda. I am the one so many people hold in their Prema, and My Ānanda knows no bounds. I did not invite you. It is the Prema in Me that has brought you here. Prema is the chief message I give. All of you must be well; you must be happy; you must develop the spiritual principle. You must uplift the world. You must lead your life with the feeling that the divinity in all is one.
The Whole of Human Life Is ‘Reaction’, ‘Reflection’ and ‘Resound’
Embodiments of Prema! If others are to love us and respect us, we must first love others and respect them. The whole of human life is made up of ‘reaction’, ‘reflection’ and ‘resound’. So we must love all. Only then do we become worthy of the Prema of all. We must respect all. Only then will all respect us. Whatever we hope others will do for us, we must first practise that ourselves. The government appoints a number of policemen and a number of soldiers. What for? To protect the country. The police punish those who have done wrong. If no wrong at all has been done, the police have no way even to punish. In the same way, God has appointed certain powers to give a good result to those who do good, and to give a bad result to those who do bad. But, unable to recognise this truth, some people keep reviling God. This is a great mistake. First keep away from evil deeds. Put evil feelings far from you. Then no one will punish you. Even those whose work is to punish will come and protect you.
Recognise That You Are the Principle of the Ātma
Man, I have said, is the embodiment of the Ātma. The Ātma, I have said too, is eternal. Vedānta has taught, ‘Know yourself’. Man today asks others, ‘Who are you?’, but does not ask himself, ‘Who am I?’ On the strength of his form and name he says that he is so-and-so. On the strength of his country he says that he belongs to such-and-such a country. On the strength of his calling he says that he is one who does such-and-such work. But none of these is the right answer. To the question ‘Who are you?’, the right answer is ‘I am the Ātma’. Body and mind are impermanent. To think of them as yourself is a mistake. You must recognise that you are the principle of the Ātma, which gives power to mind and body. Every person is the embodiment of the Ātma and the embodiment of nothing else. His true form pervades everywhere. That is the ‘cosmic power’ pervading everywhere. You must try to recognise it. You think it very hard. But nothing is easier than that. It seems hard to you only because you keep fostering your attachment to the body.
This World Is a Hall of Mirrors
They said, “Sarva bhūta namaskāraḥ keśavaṃ pratigacchati.” To whomever you bow, it amounts to bowing to God alone. For divinity is in all. “Mamaivāṃśo jīvaloke jīvabhūtas sanātanaḥ,” said Kṛṣṇa.