Passage 1

Tap any word for its meaning.

In plain words

The many heaps of śāstras, the Vedas and the Vedāṅgas cannot tear the curtain of the jīva's mind; on this side of the curtain is the jīva, God is beyond it; the effect on this side, on the far side the cause.

You think that ‘the young’ means merely Young boys and girls. But this is not the right meaning. I shall point out a few of the chief qualities the young must have. Above all, the young must have holy feelings, valour and daring; they must develop a wealth of good character; they must cultivate good conduct; they must enter satsaṅga. People keep saying that satsaṅga means Good Company. But that is not the right meaning. ‘Sat - saṅga’. ‘Sat’ means Satya, which nothing can negate in the three times. ‘Sat’ is the name of that divinity alone which does not change in the three times, in the three worlds or in the three guṇas. So satsaṅga is nothing other than forming a bond with divinity. For good conduct, satsaṅga is most necessary. The one who chiefly taught the greatness of this satsaṅga was the Emperor Manu. He is the ṛṣi who composed the Dharma śāstra and spread it through the world. “Bhadraṃ śruṇvantu, bhadraṃ paśyantu, bhadraṃ kurvantu” (hear what is good, see what is good, do good deeds): these are the very principles the Emperor Manu chiefly taught the young. Not for the young alone: this wealth of good qualities is most necessary for all mankind. You think it is hard to acquire these good qualities.