In plain words
secret and the highest good, and merely journeys on with a veil drawn over their eyes, following blind custom alone — how can the truth of the Ātma ever be attained? How can the form of bliss ever appear to them?
To grasp the purport of the Śruti, mere worldly intelligence is not enough. It is easily known when, in a spirit of Bhakti and self-surrender, one wins the grace of the Lord and receives His compassionate glance. Only those who are Divine in form are able to determine what is good for human beings; for anyone else this is impossible. How can today's gurus, who are unable even to save themselves, ever help others cross over? Because today's gurus, who rush into public dispute without setting their own house in order, have grown so numerous, mischiefs arise in abundance; people attach all manner of other meanings to them as mere appendages, and act, rendering the true meaning utterly incomprehensible. In fact, they even invent meanings for the scriptures to suit their own convenience, and use them for their own selfish ends. In such a state of affairs, it is divine grace alone that is the true ideal — that itself is the shining light that shows the way, the nectar of compassion that blesses — the dense, sturdy boat of Dharma that carries one safely to the shore.
Many elders say that inquiring into oneself is the path to liberation. But in this matter, do they themselves examine it independently? What does the saying 'self-examination is liberation' actually mean? That very thing is the Ātma; that very thing is 'I.' 'I' and the Ātma are not different. The thread called 'I,' running everywhere as warp and weft, interweaves to take shape as that very fabric called the Ātma. Within this thread of 'I,' 'I' — each strand distinguished by its own limiting condition — the very fabric of the Ātma becomes invisible. Well then, this thread called 'I' and the fabric called the Ātma may each separate on their own; but in both of them, unbroken and one, is the cotton — that is the Paramātma. Without the cotton called Paramātma, the thread called 'I'; and without the thread called 'I',