On Awareness-Proactivity and Unconsciousness-Ego-Reactivity...

[Ajay0]

Teachings of the Masters on Awareness-Proactivty and Unconsciousness-Ego-Reactivity....



Act. Do not react.

--Sri Ravi Shankar



Sin is never in action. It is always in reaction.

-- Swami Chinmayananda



Virtuous ( proactive) action increases intelligence, while sinful ( reactive ) acts decreases intelligence.

--Vidura Neeti ( Mahabharatha )



If you want to progress in your life and grow, act not to react.

--Harbhajan Yogi Bhajan




Respond. Do not react.

--Osho



Just stay focused. Don't react. Just be a witness and you will see the magic of it.

--Swami Chidanand Saraswati



Be proactive. Do not be reactive.

--Stephen Covey ( Author of 7 habits of highly effective people )




Habitually we react to external stimuli, that is we are generally overwhelmed by retaliatory emotional forces within us demanding appropriate action. But surely this cannot be called 'action' , it is in fact ' re-action' . Discipline of the reasoning mind controls the reactive forces and results in appropriate 'action' rather than 're-action', one should endeavour to establish control and avoid retaliatory behaviour.

--Acharya Mahaprajna



Quality of life depends on what happens in the space between stimulus and response.

-- Stephen Covey



Because of the space between stimulus and response, people have the power of choice; therefore,leaders are neither born nor made meaning environmentally trained and nurtured. They are self-made through chosen responses, and if they choose based on principles and develop increasingly greater discipline, their freedom to choose increases.

-- Stephen Covey



Reaction is unconscious. You do not know exactly that you are being manipulated. You are not aware that you are behaving like a slave, not like a master. Action out of consciousness is response.

-- Osho



You can act in two ways -- one is reaction, another is response.

Reaction comes out of your past conditionings; it is mechanical.

Response comes out of your presence, awareness, consciousness; it is non-mechanical.

The ability to respond is one of the greatest principles of growth. You are not following any order, any commandment; you are simply following your awareness. You are functioning like a mirror, reflecting the situation and responding to it -- not out of your memory from past experiences of similar situations, not repeating your reactions, but acting fresh, new, in this very moment. Neither the situation is old, nor your response -- both are new.

-- Osho



One who is obsessed with worldly pursuits, one who is body-oriented, cannot really go into this. We need to develop a distance from our mind and not give in to impulsiveness. Those who react are the ones who are living mindlessly. So in a way, we can say that living mindfully is being in meditation.

-- Anandmurti Gurumaa




So action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow. Most of our thoughts are the result of the past, of time. A mind that is not built on the past, that has totally understood this whole process of reaction, can act every minute totally, completely, wholly.

J. Krishnamurti



Action which is born of reaction breeds sorrow.

J. Krishnamurti

[Ajay0]

Hi all,

Quoted above are a list of teachings of various masters which I compiled myself for a better understanding and contemplation of the message of proactivity/responsiveness and reactivity.

Through study and analysis of these master's teachings, I had come to the understanding that it is proactive action which is what is known as virtue or good karma while reactive action is what is known as sin or bad karma.

While proactivity or responsiveness is what stems from a state of awareness or mindfulness , reactivity on the other hand stems from the ego .

Living in the present moment generates awareness, while living in the past or future due to desires, craving or incessant thinking is what generates the ego.

The state of awareness generates happiness , while the ego generates pain and sorrow.


This is why the Buddha had said thus ," Mindfulness ( constant awareness ) is the true virtue."

And why Eckhart Tolle had stated thus. " Evil is an extreme manifestation of human unconsciousness."



Writing this in my notebook and constant study and contemplation of these teachings from time to time helped me to become a more self-aware, responsive and less reactive person. This understanding brought a deep sense of calmness, peace, contentment and well-being in my life.

Hope the reading of the above mentioned teachings will do the same for you or help in bringing perspective on the nature of the mind. 

Edited September 6 by Ajay0

[rachMiel]

See the Taoist wu wei. Both wu wei and "responding rather than reacting" promote mindful, effortless action arising from the present moment. 

[Ajay0]

On 9/6/2024 at 8:02 PM, rachMiel said:

See the Taoist wu wei. Both wu wei and "responding rather than reacting" promote mindful, effortless action arising from the present moment. 

Thank you for this. This is indeed a new concept for me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_wei

Quote

Wu Wei is the main principle of Dao philosophy, which speaks of the importance of achieving the Dao or the Natural Way in all actions and development of things. Without forcing or rushing against the natural order of things to avoid false development and mistakes. 

What I am understanding from here is that action in Awareness enables one to be in the Tao or Natural Way in all actions and holistic development of things.

Reactive unconscious actions on the other hands can lead to a false lopsided development and errors that is bound to take its toll in the long run and is bound to be regressive instead.

[Ajay0]

A similar thread I have created in this regard...

 

[Ishanga]

I've been promoting this forever on this forum, its one of Sadhguru's tenants if You want to call it that, Responsibility or the Ability to Respond, vs being reactive, as Osho said Response ability is Consciousness in Action, Reactivity is Unconsciousness in Action.  

The basics is that everything that is happening to You, You are Responsible for. Responsibility in this context is not a moral context, its about your ability to Respond, if You say I am not Response Able towards what is happening, then Your disempowered, uninvolved, unable to perceive it, so in essence You are not participating in that aspect of Life, and therefore it disempowers You overall.

You can Respond to Life in many ways, for humans its mostly in 4 main areas, Body, Mind, Emotion and Energy. whatever is happening Respond to it in these areas, it brings back to You Your Free Will, which is why we are here...

[Ishanga]

This is one of his best videos, its on Responsibility and the questioner is asking how is one responsible for being abused and such things that happen in ppl's lives, the response is priceless, "If Your Ability to respond is not there, then life is not there, life is based on how You Respond to it"

 

[Ajay0]

18 hours ago, Ishanga said:

its one of Sadhguru's tenants if You want to call it that, Responsibility or the Ability to Respond, vs being reactive, as Osho said Response ability is Consciousness in Action, Reactivity is Unconsciousness in Action.  

Yes. To respond consciously or unconsciously is a choice available to any human being. The general population opt for the latter as the mind's tendency is to perceive the negative in any situation. 

So it takes a bit of effort and practice to be aware and mindfully respond rather than unconsciously react, and this is a quality of a trained mind as opposed to an untrained mind.

Quote

 

I've been promoting this forever on this forum,

 

It is said that the gift of wisdom is the most sacred gift of all. Hopefully this message will come across to all human beings .

[Ishanga]

4 hours ago, Ajay0 said:

Yes. To respond consciously or unconsciously is a choice available to any human being. The general population opt for the latter as the mind's tendency is to perceive the negative in any situation. 

So it takes a bit of effort and practice to be aware and mindfully respond rather than unconsciously react, and this is a quality of a trained mind as opposed to an untrained mind.

It is said that the gift of wisdom is the most sacred gift of all. Hopefully this message will come across to all human beings .

Yes!!

[Ajay0]

Quote

Guruji, please comment on this: Act, don’t react.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: It is very simple. When you react, what happens? You regret afterwards. Reaction happens through an emotional upsurge. When someone says something you don’t like, your emotions swell up. Anything you do in an emotionally disturbed state, you repent afterward. When emotions are on peak, the intellect goes in background. Your actions are from the intellect and your reactions are from emotions.

Emotions when properly employed can bring happiness and creativity in life, while improperly employed through lack of discrimination or discretion can result in reactions leading to regressive conflict and strife .

Through Awareness, one goes beyond the realm of conditioned likes and dislikes, attain better self-mastery, and cultivate a progressive positive attitude in all situations and circumstances in life.