In plain words
Only one who has a good mind is a good man. At times, though a man works with a good mind, it seems as if a bad result has come. Whatever the result may be, the mind keeps changing from moment to moment. When his thoughts are sacred and firm, it cannot change like this. When he has a mind that does not waver and a vision that is not deluded, no pains of any kind will hound him. For this there is no other way than to win God's grace. When the feeling itself is not pure, neither wealth nor goods and vehicles nor anything else can help. Whatever else is lacking, if there is a sacred heart, everything will come. If the feeling is pure, even clay turns to gold. If the feeling itself is not right, if the effort itself is not right, the very stick becomes a snake and bites. “Saṅkalpamūlam idaṃ jagat”: the world rests on thoughts. All of man's good and bad lies in his thoughts alone.
Fortune does not change just because the numbers change
Today the new year 2001 has begun. Next year this will turn into 2002. To think that fortune changes just because the numbers change in this way is a great mistake. Along with these numbers, man's actions too must change and become sacred. Only then will a sacred result come to him. Only when students study hard all through the year do they pass the examination with good marks. If they do not study hard, there is no chance at all of getting good marks. As the thoughts, so the actions; as the actions, so the result. Many people think, “We are doing good works, yet why does a bad result come?”
Even a mango of a fine variety is sour while it is still unripe. Only when it comes to ripeness does it gain sweetness. To cut it before it has ripened and think, “I planted the seed of a fine variety, and a sour fruit is what I got!” is surely a mistake! In the same way, it is a mistake to think that good works have brought a bad result. Good works never bring a bad result.