In plain words
Which god was he to worship now? The Mother has great Prema. He thought, ‘The male gods have no Prema at all.’ He put up a picture of the Devī. He worshipped. Again he went to the examination. He could not even see the question paper, this fellow. He came home and took away the Devī's picture. The next day he put up a picture of Vināyaka and worshipped. He lit an incense stick. Its smoke goes to the pictures in the cupboard. Thinking that the others were breathing the scent of the incense lit for Vināyaka, he tied a cloth over the pictures of Sai Bābā, Rāma and the Mother. Then Sai Bābā appeared before him in person and said,
‘So that it should not reach the nose, you tied a cloth over the nose. It is not because of these pictures. If you take pictures as pictures, there is no use in it. You may worship picture as God, but not God as picture. You are taking it as ‘God as picture’. Today you did not take it as a picture. You tied it up as the very form itself. That is why the vision came at once. All the worship you do, you do to a picture. You must not take them as photos. You must take them as the very form itself. Only then will all your wishes be fulfilled.’ Many people today take a picture as a picture. Study well. Put your head into the book. Then you will surely pass. That is the teaching I gave. In the same way, what does it matter what form you keep? What does it matter what Name you think of? All names and all forms belong to the one divinity. All are embodiments of God. If there is no one else, worship your own mother and father. They too are the form of God. Mātṛdevo bhava, pitṛdevo bhava, ācāryadevo bhava, atithi devo bhava. In that situation, why should doubts come to you as to whether it is this god or that god? You must give no room at all to doubts about God. God is God. Do not make criticisms over forms and names. So keep any picture. Think of any Name. God is one. Keep this truth in your heart. Do not make distinctions and change pictures. Do whatever you like. What ever you like you do. That is the true path.