In plain words
There is no power greater than Prema
Students! If you would experience eternal Ānanda, you must have steady faith. But people today do not understand what faith is. They say, ‘We believe in God, we love God’, but they do not grasp what faith is, what Prema is. True Prema springs from the heart. It is joined with Dharma. Another word for Prema is Dharma itself. The chief goal of our life is Prema alone. Prema is our Way of life. When we develop Prema we can gain any strength and ability whatever; we can conquer even the mighty, such as Hiraṇyākṣa and Hiraṇyakaśipu. All worldly powers are small. There is no power greater than Prema. The culture of Bhārata has taught a great deal about the principle of Prema. It is Prema that makes us recognise the unity in diversity. Many people write poetry; they write verses by the lakh. For a poem, the principle of Prema is its very life. Our Rāju (A.V.S. Rāju) also writes poetry. Wherever he sits, he goes on writing. By now he has written some lakhs. But the aim within these lakhs is one alone... That is Prema.
Grandsire Bhīṣma on the bed of arrows
Today is Mukkoṭi Ekādaśī. It is also called Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī. In the Dvāpara Yuga, Bhīṣmācārya lay on a bed of arrows for 56 days, waiting for this holy time of Uttarāyaṇa. His whole body was full of arrows. His body rested on the bed of arrows, but his head, with nothing at all to hold it up, hung down. At the end, the five Pāṇḍavas, taking Draupadī with them, went to see Bhīṣma. Seeing him in that state, they were deeply grieved. Then Bhīṣma said that he was not grieving at all over his condition, that he had done his duty. He taught that every person must offer his body for the welfare of the country, for the vow of truth, for the establishment of Dharma.