Contemplation Is The Foundation Of Action Without It What We Do Is Not Action But Reaction

Contemplation is the foundation of action without contemplation what we do is reaction not action sometimes action and contemplation are thought of as two opposite things you see some people people feel that if they have to be active then they can't be contemplative and sometimes spirituality also is divided into two sides that there is active spirituality and there is contemplative spirituality now for analytical purposes to characterize a particular path such divisions might be useful but essentially every action requires the foundation of contemplation otherwise what we do is not action it is simply a reaction and often it is a programmed reaction that we do not consider that we do not desire and that we regret later the Bhagavad Gita explains that we all are souls who are residing in physical bodies that are machines so the body is like a hardware the mind is the software and we soul are the users and the body mind machine is programmed to give certain responses to certain actions so when we see a tempting object we immediately get the desire to eat or enjoy that object when we see somebody who has irritated us in the past then immediately we feel the emotion of irritation and this way we become largely driven by our past programming and we don't really live as conscious beings who are choosing consciously so most of our what we call as action ends up being reaction if there is no contemplation so contemplation doesn't necessarily mean that we leave our jobs and families and go and sit in a cave in a mountain to contemplate the truths of life contemplation can also mean just becoming more thoughtful about what we do recognizing that our thoughts are the basis of our actions and if we can choose our thoughts then we can act more wisely so if for example we see a tempting object that we have habitually indulged in and then we need to get the desire as soon as we see it to indulge in it then if we are contemplative then we will be able to put a break between the stimulus and the reaction the word reaction is often used in biological or mechanical systems where a particular stimulus produces a particular reaction so we too may become like those mechanical units without any conscious consideration if we do not contemplate so rather than seeing contemplation as the opposite of action we need to learn to see it as the foundation of action and this is demonstrated in the Bhagavad Gita in the most dramatic of settings on a battlefield a few places urge for action as urgently as a battlefield and yet at that time Arjuna pauses and asks Krishna Krishna questions about Dharma the right thing to do and Krishna responds by speaking the profound message of the Bhagavad Gita and then he concludes by calling for contemplation before action in 1863 he says that Oh Arjuna, deliberate deeply and then do as you desire so Krishna is saying calling for deliberation or contemplation as the precursor or the foundation of action and when we learn to see contemplation positively then our actions will be better chosen and they will help us to create a better future for ourselves thank you.