In plain words
When this decision had been made, one deer was giving the vote of thanks. While these thanks were being given, a dog was heard barking. Not one deer was left there. Who knows where they ran off to. See: the decision itself they made …, but they could not put it into practice. That is just how things are today. We must conquer Manas. We must restrain the senses. We make decisions, … we are unable to put them into practice. In just the same way Manas too thinks, 'I am the Ātma's power of resolve.' But it forgets. Giving no room to the feeling of the Ātma, it goes into the feeling of the world.
There are some people. Beside the ministers, the secretaries. They honour the secretaries more than the minister. Because it is they who see to all those files. Even when one … to see a god, one must first bow to the priest. In just the same way, Manas puts aside its own divinity, the Ātma principle, and depends on itself. It is precisely because man follows this Manas that he falls prey to many kinds of sorrow and grief.
Man, with Manas as his support, sinks lower than a beast and falls; the wise one, with Buddhi as his support, becomes Paśupati: so spoke the Lord of Parti.
If we take Manas as our support, we turn into beasts. If we take Buddhi as our support, we turn into Paśupati. So we must bring our life, to some extent, into a feeling where Manas and Buddhi are blended. We must not let Manas go travelling wherever it fancies. Along with this: O Manas! You must not go this way. Buddhi, you decide whether one may go this way or not! A small example. Manas says blindly, 'Let us go to Puttaparthi.' Then Buddhi speaks. Sir! Have patience; find out whether Swami is in Puttaparthi or not. Then it says, 'He is there.' Yes, He is there. You must find out how you will go, and whether there is any bus or train at this hour or not. If you look into everything properly in this way and then make the journey, you will reach the goal without suffering any trouble on the way. If someone gets up at some midnight meaning to go to Puttaparthi or wherever, and goes off just as he stood up, where will he …?