In plain words
The laughing and the weeping are only the fruits of karma, are they not! They are only the wonders God works, are they not! We must develop the faith, ‘Whatever happens is God's will alone.’ When happiness comes to them in the world, people think, ‘It came from God.’ For their hardships, sorrows and griefs they keep laying the blame on the person beside them. Comfort, happiness, comfort, joy, sorrow, hardship, loss: all these are only boons from God! All these are only passing clouds!
Students! First of all, restrain your thoughts. These very clouds called thoughts are roaming the sky of the heart. Little by little, drifting on and on, these clouds cover the moon called Manas and the sun called Buddhi. ‘The moon was born from the mind’: the moon is the principle of Manas. Buddhi is the reflection of the sun. These two move about in the sky that is the heart. At certain times our feelings form into dense clouds. And in youth above all, thoughts are very thick. Dark clouds are laden with water. That is, they are filled with desires. Only when they come do the sun, the moon and the rest disappear from view. But in the summer season all of these pass away. Then the sun and the moon are clearly seen by us. In this very time of youth thoughts come in abundance. At this age all kinds of untold troubles befall you. Sinking wholly into that, little by little you forget your very humanness. So, first of all, you must drive those ‘clouds’ away. Where do the clouds come from? They are only the work of saṅkalpa and vikalpa. So, first of all, bring your thoughts under control. Only then will Buddhi and Manas both keep shining. The mind is a bundle of clouds of thoughts. When you rein in your thoughts, the mind is ‘clear’. Narendra (Vivekānanda), at your very age, made great efforts to control these ‘clouds’, these ‘thoughts’. Only when he had put those ‘clouds’ far away did the heart become pure. “I am very proud to have been born an Indian. How sacred Bhārata is! How pure!” So he kept reflecting within himself. Whatever country he went to, he would tell its people of the greatness of Bhārata, saying, ‘I have come from Bhārata.’ Thinking of the sacredness of Bhārata brings great nobility. So we must keep thinking of our country. Children today do not read at all the lives of great ones like Vivekānanda and Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsa. They read silly novels. Just this is what they consider great. You must push these ‘cheap’ books aside.
God is in all. God is everywhere. “The one Ātma, the indwelling Ātma of all beings.” One Ātma alone dwells in all. But you may say, ‘Why should I not make friends with so-and-so?’ When his age, his feelings, his conduct and his ‘thoughts’ are not right, if you join company with such a one, you become just like him. Tell me your company, I shall you what you are. So we must keep company with good people. With this very point in mind Śaṅkara said, ‘In good company, detachment; in detachment, freedom from delusion; in freedom from delusion, the unmoving principle; in the unmoving principle, liberation in this very life.’ Join good people. Speak good words. Cultivate good vision. When your looks are good, your deeds good and your feelings good, only then do you become good. You must not read bad books. Reading bad books is like falling into bad company.