Thought and Action

Man as an entity has evolved through thousands of years. The journey from once being a single-celled organism, to now being perhaps the most evolved race on the face of this earth has indeed been an eventful one. As man has evolved through time, with him, his thoughts have evolved as well. His thoughts have matured and grown to encompass a broader sense of existence. As the times change, we observe paradigm shift in the way man thinks and acts in his life. If we but self-introspect, we realize that in the journey of his own evolution, man indeed lives through the duality of his own life; the duality that exists between his own thoughts and actions.

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People often say that our actions are an expression of our thoughts, but from what I have seen and observed about most people (and from myself for that matter!) is that often our thoughts and our actions go in completely different directions. At times it so happens that a certain individual think in a very idealistic way. His thoughts are always centered around the principals of ethics and morality; yet we see that in acting he is not quite idealistic. It often happens that people love to bear idealistic thoughts in their minds; they love to think and discuss on wonderful intellectual topics; but at the end of the day when they get out of that zone and get down to being comfortable, they in the end keep on acting like they always have. Essentially, their thoughts have no discernable effects on their actions.

Thoughts are indeed a very powerful medium of expression. Your thoughts can change your life; indeed they can change someone else’s life as well. However thoughts on their own accord can indeed accomplish little in life. It takes a great deal of hard work to translate these thoughts into actions; prudent and deliberate actions that reflect the philosophy that has been willfully established by the thoughts can indeed go a long way in this world. I often say that a great philosophy can make someone else’s day; the realization that it brings in can put a momentary smile on somebody’s face; but great creativity can make someone else’s life. When you translate those powerful thoughts into action, you can indeed accomplish great things.

But to do that your thoughts and actions need to go hand in hand. Many times it so happens that I think good but I act bad. In such cases I try and offset the guilt of acting bad by thinking even more ‘good thoughts’. This in a way creates a delusion within myself, wherein I am content to only remain aware of my good thoughts. The memory of my bad deeds is always something that shames me and hence is kept away until it absolutely necessary to acknowledge it. Such is the way in which many people lead their lives. In thoughts they are pure and in acts they are vile; there can be no retribution for such individuals until they come to the point where they realize the mistake that they are committing in their own lives.

At times it also happens that our thoughts are vile and yet our acts are good. However in general these are rare cases; they usually are a sign of sudden change. Maybe a sinner of the past that takes the path to sainthood… 😉 Nonetheless, in order to make the journey ahead easier and more enjoyable it is always prudent to bear a semblance between our thoughts and actions. In that way there would be no conflict and no resulting despondency; as in no way would we be denying ourselves the satiation of our thirst.
Ultimately, no matter what choice we make, we have to bear it to the end, but in parting I would say naught but this, that in thoughts be passionate, in act be chaste, in fact be prudent and in tact be fast.

That’s all the ‘gyan’ for today. Lol see you around guys…

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