In plain words
When Śuddhodana showed Siddhārtha's horoscope to the seers, they foretold that He would not rule the kingdom, that He would leave the kingdom midway and take up sannyāsa. Their words kept ringing in Śuddhodana's ears. Afraid of how his son's mind might change if He mixed with this child or that, he took care not to let Him out of the palace and not to let Him mix with anyone anywhere. In this way he went on guarding Siddhārtha for twenty years. After that, Siddhārtha was married to a maiden named Yaśodharā. A year later a son was born to them. They named him Rāhula. Delighting in their son, the two of them went on passing their days very happily.
Siddhārtha's search for Satya
One day, when Siddhārtha came outside the palace, He saw a man stricken with disease, an old man and a dead body, and was thrown into deep unrest. One night, all of a sudden, His mind changed. Rising at midnight without His wife knowing, He kissed His son, left the palace and went away to the forest. What the astrologers had said on seeing Siddhārtha's horoscope came true. In the forest He had to undergo many sufferings; He had to face so many hardships. On the path to the realisation of the Ātma, many obstacles came His way. He bore them all, endured them all, and made His mind firm. In the forest a muni came upon Him: ‘My son! To bring an end to the anguish of mind You are suffering, I shall give You an amulet. Tie it round Your neck,’ he said. (Swami, with a wave of His divine hand, created that amulet and showed it to the devotees.) After He tied it round His neck, His sorrow came to an end. After that He began tapas. The tapas went on for a long time. ‘Who am I? Who am I? Who am I?’ This was the question He put to Himself. ‘Am I the body? Am I the Manas? Am I the Buddhi? Am I the citta?’ He asked Himself.