There are some who take the path of resignation, neither doing good to themselves nor to another. It is a kind of attitude they have taken to say, "It will come from somewhere. Somebody will do it. If I am hungry somebody will come and feed me, " or, "If another person is in need, somebody will come and help him." Their wish is inactive, they do not let their wish become a will, they remain where they are, they are passive. No doubt, an intelligent passiveness and resignation can also bring about a wonderful result, but many of these people do it unintelligently.

The quality of the saints is to be resigned to all that comes-but then they do not even form a wish. They take all that comes, flowers or thorns; everything that comes, they take it. They look into thorns and see that they are flowers. With praise and with blame they are contented. They are contented with rise and fall; they take all that comes, they take life as it is. That is the intelligent way of doing it. The unintelligent way is to say of anything that is difficult, "Somebody will come and do it." This is a kind of laziness. They may think it is passiveness, but it is laziness to think, if one has to do something, "Somebody will come who will do it."

In India it is told that a man was lying under a cherry tree and some ripe cherries were falling near him. But he was just lying there. A man came from a distance to whom he called out, "Please come here, will you please put this cherry in my mouth?"

There are many to be found like this who out of a feeling of helplessness, of laziness, give in, who have no enthusiasm, no courage. In this way their willpower is broken down and in the end they are helpless. There is no comparison between the saintly spirit and the spirit of the helpless. Although both become resigned, the latter is not truly resigned: he would like to have the cherry in his mouth, but another person must give it to him. The saint does not care if he eats it or if he does not eat it; it is just the same to him. In that case it is allowable.