In plain words
We must give, and we must receive. This is our ancient custom. Rising at dawn and taking the oil bath, along with putting on new clothes we must cleanse our inner being too. Viṣu is the very thing that brings purity of both body and mind. We must bow to our elders and make them happy. To keep Viṣu, which holds so sacred an inner meaning, in some outward fashion is a mistake. In Kerala plantain groves and coconut groves are seen everywhere. On festival days the people of Kerala make many kinds of pāyasam with bananas, give them to others and share their joy with them. They give out to everyone a special kind of banana called ‘nendra phalam’. In coconuts a sacred ‘radiation’ is held. It belongs to the power of wisdom.
Physical happiness is no happiness
We begin chanting the Gāyatrī mantra with ‘Oṃ bhūr bhuvas suvaḥ’. ‘Oṃ’ is the sound of the Praṇava. ‘Bhūḥ’ means the earthly world. It is filled with materials. So ‘bhūḥ’ means ‘materialisation’. ‘Bhuvaḥ’ is the principle that belongs to the mind. This has been called ‘vibration’. Then ‘suvaḥ’ belongs to wisdom. This is what has been called ‘radiation’. ‘Materialisation’, ‘vibration’, ‘radiation’: the form in which these three are joined together is ‘bhūr bhuvas suvaḥ’. There is a very great result in this. But man today hopes for physical results. This is a great mistake. What is physical is passing. Physical happiness is no happiness. This is just what Śaṅkara said: ‘Take no pride in wealth, in people, in youth; Time takes all of them away in a moment.’ So we must not run after these passing pleasures. Śaṅkara went on proclaiming to the world that man must seek the happiness that is true and lasting. Being born, dying... is this the goal of life? No, no. Once we are born, we must see to it that we are not born again.