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Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Religions & Faiths > Hinduism

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  #1  
Old 21-02-2014, 10:16 AM
ajay00 ajay00 is offline
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On Awareness-Proactivty and Unconsciousness-Ego-Reactivity....

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
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  #2  
Old 21-02-2014, 10:19 AM
ajay00 ajay00 is offline
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Hi All,

I am Ajay.

My humble pranams and well-wishes to all of you here.

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 and reactivity.

Through study and analysis of the 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 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, proactive and less reactive person. This understanding brought a deep sense of calmness, peace, contentment and well-being in my life.

The study of the works of spiritual masters helped me a lot in increasing my self-knowledge and 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.
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  #3  
Old 21-02-2014, 01:39 PM
kris kris is offline
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Nice quotes! I can use them. Thanks for posting.
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  #4  
Old 22-02-2014, 12:59 PM
Luv To Be Spiritual
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Yes, nice quotes.... I like them Thanx for posting..!! :)
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  #5  
Old 08-11-2014, 01:45 PM
Miss Hepburn Miss Hepburn is offline
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Excellent, thank you for taking the time, Ajay.
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*I'll text in Navy Blue when I'm speaking as a Mod. :)


Prepare yourself for the coming astral journey of death by daily riding in the balloon of God-perception.
Through delusion you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles.
Meditate unceasingly, that you may quickly behold yourself as the Infinite Essence, free from every form of misery. ~Paramahansa's Guru's Guru
.


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  #6  
Old 23-10-2017, 05:01 PM
ajay00 ajay00 is offline
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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.
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When even one virtue becomes our nature, the mind becomes clean and tranquil. Then there is no need to practice meditation; we will automatically be meditating always. ~ Swami Satchidananda

Wholesome virtuous behavior progressively leads to the foremost.~ Buddha AN 10.1

If you do right, irrespective of what the other does, it will slow down the (turbulent) mind. ~ Rajini Menon
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  #7  
Old 31-10-2017, 11:41 AM
Bindu* Bindu* is offline
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Thanks for posting these quotes. I like them....

Cultivating the inner witness, like one learns to do in meditation, is
a great aid in developing the ability to not jump into reactive mode.
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  #8  
Old 03-07-2018, 03:12 AM
ajay00 ajay00 is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 1,291
 
Guy Finley on stepping back from one's reactions...

An insightful article by enlightened master Guy Finley on stepping back from one's reactions....

Quote:

Question:Being around other people seems to put me into some kind of negative trance. I become an uptight collection of ego, shame, anger, and fear that forgets everything I have learned. What can I do that might help?

Answer: Your comment shows you are beginning to come awake to yourself. Stay in the middle of the battle. It is never the people we are around that cause us negative reactions. These reactions arise out of what we secretly want from people. As your inner conflict becomes increasingly conscious to you, you will have to choose whether or not to continue being "you" or to give yourself up in order to learn the lessons in these relationships -- inner and outer -- that await you. ~ Guy Finley
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When even one virtue becomes our nature, the mind becomes clean and tranquil. Then there is no need to practice meditation; we will automatically be meditating always. ~ Swami Satchidananda

Wholesome virtuous behavior progressively leads to the foremost.~ Buddha AN 10.1

If you do right, irrespective of what the other does, it will slow down the (turbulent) mind. ~ Rajini Menon
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  #9  
Old 03-01-2019, 08:45 AM
ajay00 ajay00 is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2014
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Quote:
"Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom. You don't have to be swept away by your feeling. You can respond with wisdom and kindness rather than habit and reactivity." ~ Bhante Henepola Gunaratana

It is common for us to react emotionally and instantly to sensory stimuli or our inner likes and dislikes, rather than think patiently and then act intelligently.

This is due to the influence of our vasanas or unconscious impressions which determine our likes and dislikes, amplified by habit as cravings and aversions.

Where there are cravings and aversions, there is no mental equanimity and awareness. Regression in one's professional and personal life,disharmony, crimes, conflict and war all stem from one's cravings and aversions which prompt an emotional reaction rather than a intelligent response.

Present moment awareness or mindfulness helps one to override any regressive emotional reaction, and instead respond with wisdom and intelligence. This brings about intelligent actions that create balance and overall progress in our lives.
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When even one virtue becomes our nature, the mind becomes clean and tranquil. Then there is no need to practice meditation; we will automatically be meditating always. ~ Swami Satchidananda

Wholesome virtuous behavior progressively leads to the foremost.~ Buddha AN 10.1

If you do right, irrespective of what the other does, it will slow down the (turbulent) mind. ~ Rajini Menon
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  #10  
Old 31-07-2019, 04:52 AM
Tara5 Tara5 is offline
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Awesome, thanks for sharing the wonderful teachings
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