In plain words
‘Then I must put in this much fresh ginger and dried ginger, boil it and drink it,’ so he thought. But he did not drink it. If the illness is to go, you must drink it and take it in; is it not so! In the same way, you repeat what the books say, but you do not practise it! Only when you do that will you gain the fruit. The five elements are in the hand of God. No one recognises this properly. They are in the hand of the very One who created them. If you recognise that truth well, your sufferings will be removed in a moment. Saying it is in God's hand, you pray, ‘O God!’ But then again there is a doubt whether it is in God's hand or not. In the Bible there is only one doubting Thomas. There is only one traitor to his guru. But now every person is a doubting Thomas!
No Effect Happens without a Cause
Once in Shirdi, in 1916, a great storm came. Būṭī, the son-in-law of Lakṣmībāi, built a mandir. What did he build that mandir for? He built it to install Kṛṣṇa. But Bābā kept postponing it, saying, ‘Not now, not now.’ One day a great storm came. The people could not bear it. Hailstones were pelting down like stones. The labourers and the village people all came running. They took shelter in the maṭhas and the rest-houses. The Dvārakāmāyi is small. Wherever a man could find room to stand, they crowded in there. Everyone cried, ‘Bābā! Bābā! Save us!’ As in the Dvāpara age, when Brahmā rained down a shower of stones and the Govardhana hill was lifted, and the Gopīs and cowherds all went: ‘O God! Save us, save us!’ they prayed; just so, all the people of Shirdi came and prayed to Bābā. Then Bābā said, ‘Acchā dhekhegā! Dhekhegā!’ and went forward. He took hold of the pillar and struck it. ‘Sir, enough now of your fury. Be calm. You have used too much anger. In your anger everyone has become afraid of you. They have come to know your might. You are going too far; cool down,’ He said. In a moment the storm stopped. It is not for the sake of telling it. All of you must recall it once.