In plain words
Only the right to action is ours. ‘Karmānubandīni manuṣyaloke.’ So we must perform actions. What kind of actions must we perform? We must first enquire when, where, how and in what way to act, and then enter into the action. Today no one rightly understands the Divine. You believe yourselves to be very clever, but you can see for yourselves how worthless that cleverness is. God can do anything. There is no doubt about this. God Himself gave the lamp its light! And God Himself gave the wind the power to put it out! The wind has the power to put it out. The lamp has the power to burn. But to set a lamp in the wind and say, ‘O God! See that it does not go out,’ what folly that is! Truly, this is not what a sensible man does. We must guard the divine power as it should be guarded, when and how it should be. Once a certain man asked Me: ‘Swami! They say you once turned water into petrol! Today the price of petrol in Bhārata has shot up. The government is spending many crores on this petrol. In our Bhārata, at Bombay, Madras and such places, there is a big sea (as much as is wanted). Why should you not turn this whole sea into petrol?’ Then I said, ‘Very good, My dear! You are very clever indeed! But your cleverness is not working properly.’ ‘What! Surely this is a question that would help the world; what fault has come over my cleverness?’ the man marvelled. ‘Very well! The whole sea along the coast of Madras and Bombay could be turned into petrol. But if a fool like you, strolling along the seashore for fun, lit a cigarette and threw the match into it, what would become of this sea, of this country? What would be the fate of the world? Have you thought about this welfare at all? Have you kept the welfare of the country in mind at all? With a petty notion you ask Me to turn the sea into petrol. This is a foolish question,’ I said. Today the world is full of people with cleverness of this kind. Delighted with their own cleverness, they believe themselves great.