In plain words
“My teachers had me taught; I studied the chief śāstras of Dharma and of wealth; I have studied many things besides; the whole secret of all learning I have learnt, father!”
Hiraṇyakaśipu was delighted and said, “Tell me what that secret is, my son!” Then Prahlāda: “Father! I have recognised that divinity alone pervades everything. Wherever I look, nothing but divinity appears to me,” he said. The father grew angry. “Is this what you have learnt? Instead of learning about artha and kāma, which belong to the world, why have you learnt about divinity? Where is this God of yours?” he thundered. “That He is here and not there, have no such doubt; the Wielder of the Discus is everywhere; wherever you search for Him, there He is…” said Prahlāda. “Then is He in this pillar?” asked the father. “He is,” he said. His Bhakti and faith were unwavering. That is why, however hard anyone tried, they could not change his mind. When Hiraṇyakaśipu smashed the pillar, God appeared from within it. What is its inner meaning? Only when we shatter the delusion of the body does divinity come into view. But man today, however highly educated, however strong and able, lies sunk in the sleep of ignorance. Unwavering Bhakti, a steady citta, firm faith: only when these three are present can we see God face to face.
Material desires are the root of foul smells
We turn milk into curd and take butter from it. We boil the butter and make ghee. Here we may compare the milk to the principle of Brahman and the butter to the principle of the jīva. When we boil butter, there must be no water in it at all. If there is even a little water, a foul smell rises as it boils.