"If you do anything you can only harm it. You cannot inform it; you cannot be wiser than God. This idea is one of the most basic causes of the whole anguish through which humanity is passing, and perhaps may perish in. Just think: the way I see it, there is no God who is creating the world, who is looking after the world. Don't throw this responsibility onto someone who doesn't exist. It is we who are here – in every way responsible to make or mar the opportunity.

"Remove God and put man in his place, and you will have a totally different world. The suffering is absolutely unwanted. The anguish is our stupidity. Man can live a tremendously rich, blissful, ecstatic life. But the first thing is, he has to accept his responsibility.

"All the religions have been teaching you to shirk your responsibility: Throw it onto God! And there is no God. You don't do anything because you think God is going to do everything – and there is no God to do anything. Then what else can you expect? What is happening and has happened and is going to happen is the natural outcome of this idea of a creator.

"If man was told, 'This is your existence; you are responsible whatever you are, whatever you do, and whatever happens around you. Be mature. Don't remain childish.' But this God does not allow you to mature, his 'godness' depends on your immaturity, on your childishness. The more stupid you are, the more gullible you are, the greater is God. The more intelligent you are, the lesser is God.

"If you are really intelligent there is no God.

"Then this existence is there, you are there; then create. But the Creator does not allow you to become the creator.

"My whole approach is that you are to become the creator. You have to release your creative energies. And this is possible only if this God, who is nothing but a Godot, is removed, absolutely removed from your vision of life. Yes, in the beginning you will feel very empty because that place of God in you has been filled. Millions of years he was there; the sacred shrine in your heart was filled with the idea of God."