In plain words
‘As soon as the cock crows “cock-a-doodle-doo”, get up from sleep, brush your teeth and bathe. Remember God. Only after that should you take food,’ they would teach. But children today do not get up in the early hours before dawn. They get up long after the sun is high, at eight o'clock or at nine. The moment they are up, without even washing their faces, they drink coffee and tea. At any hour they are thinking about their bellies; they do not think about the way to make life blessed.
Jñāna alone is the true wealth
However much learning he acquires and however much wealth he earns, sacrifice is not to be seen in man. Still the cravings keep on growing. Even when he has built ten buildings, he longs for an eleventh. Even those who have earned crores of rupees in business are looking to expand their business further. When, then, are they to cross over? We were born to cross over, not to waste human life scrambling after riches and wealth. Life passes, one way or another. For man, the true wealth is Jñāna alone! Ātmajñāna is most necessary. For one without Ātmajñāna, however much learning he has, it is all of no use! Jñāna does not mean coming to know things that were unknown. You must recognise the feelings that are in your heart. That itself is true Jñāna. However many crores you earn, in the very end you must leave them all behind and go with nothing but empty hands. So we must strive to carry this birth across. For the jīva to be joined in oneness with Brahman, Ātmajñāna is needed.
For the past twelve days the ṛtviks have been remembering the Name of God with great joy. You must reflect whether such a good opportunity will come to us again. Property and possessions come and go. But Jñāna, once it comes, is not something that goes away again. It comes, and it grows. We must try to gain this Jñāna that grows in this way.