In plain words
No one can grasp the power of Manas. Language is not enough to describe it. Without Manas we cannot achieve even the smallest task. Yet Manas has no form. It works only through the power of the Ātma. To recognise the nature of Manas, even several yugas are not enough. The second is Buddhi. It is radiant, it unfolds, it is endowed with the power of enquiry; it enquires with no room at all for selfishness or self-interest. Then the third is saṃskāra. It shows its effect not only in the present birth but in the births to come as well. To drive out the bad and foster the good: that is saṃskāra. To shape the actions we perform in daily life until they are free of fault: that is saṃskāra. Manas, Buddhi and saṃskāra cannot be learnt from books. That is why I resolved to teach the children about them.
One without the knowledge of the Ātma is a fool, however much he has learnt
Some fools, resting on nothing but an acquaintance with books, pride themselves on being greatly learned. Such people are not learned at all. One without the knowledge of the Ātma is a fool, however much he has learnt. Go to a man renowned as greatly learned: “Sir! Who are you?” Ask him that. Even so learned a man cannot give the right answer to this. “Sir! I am Rāma Śāstrī”, he says. “Rāma Śāstrī is the name given to your body; it is not you. Who are you?” Ask him a second time. “I am a scholar”, he answers. “Scholarship belongs to the learning you studied; it is not you. Who are you?” Ask him again. “I am from Bhārata”, he says, making known his nationality. Though he is greatly learned, in answer to the question “Who are you?” he gives the name of his body, the name of his profession, the name of his country. He cannot see that none of these has anything to do with his true nature. The reason? Forgetting the principle of the Ātma, he keeps only the body in view.