In plain words
Sādhana without control of the senses is futile
Man today, grown used to physical and worldly sādhanas, forgets the divine and noble powers that are within himself. He thinks that through these sādhanas he is gaining something. But there is nothing he can gain through them. First of all you must restrain the senses. Only when you keep the senses under control will the sādhanas you do bear good fruit. Do not look at evil; look at good alone. Only then will your eyes gain sacred power and be able to behold the vast Cosmic Form. Do not listen to bad words. If ever a situation arises where you have to hear bad words, you must leave that place at once. Do not speak bad words; do not look at bad sights. In this way, you must make the effort to stay far from what is bad. Only then will the power of sādhana in you grow day by day.
The ancient sages could keep their senses under control only because they went to the forest and lived in solitude. Control of the senses alone is the right sādhana. All the sādhanas done without control of the senses come to nothing. By misusing the senses you are tying up a bundle of many sins. But you do not see that bundle. Hidden behind you, out of your sight, it torments you in many ways. “The unseen is what makes you eat: that is the secret of the fruits of your karma, O jīva!” What stays unseen by you is precisely what makes you eat the fruit of your karma. Only when you restrain the senses can you experience Śānti in life. The words you speak should be Short and Sweet. You must speak in measure and speak what does good. There is great power in words. So you must use them in a sacred way.
Vālmīki, Vyāsa, Potana and others wrote sacred books and made their time worthwhile. You must read the sacred books that such ideal men wrote. You must not read bad books. Whatever you read, whatever you write, whatever you see, whatever you say, all of it must be pure.