The Mahabharata has taught us a lesson that we should regard our actions as being responsible for our sorrows or joys. But as a human being, you should perform whatever actions you have to perform. Do not think that you will achieve this or that, and do not think that you will be able to do great things without the grace of God. Do not get tired out in that process. The kind of seeds which you have put in, which have brought you to the position in which you are today, will determine the results that you will get later on. You may be very intelligent and clever. However all your intelligence and cleverness will not enable you to get over your own Karma. Brahma, the Creator, prepares a garland of all the good and the bad that you have done as they are and He puts this round your neck when you are born. It is necessary for us to recognise this causal relationship. We are responsible for the good and the bad that we do, and our desires are in fact merely consequences of this.

- Summer Roses on Blue Mountains, 1976, Ch 8.