Dr. Vijai S Shankar MD.PhD. Published on www.acadun.com The Netherlands 1th November 2013
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What does reaction mean?
Reaction is implied in certain branches of science, as well as in daily life. In everyday life, for every action a reaction is usually expected, but never certain. The reaction in daily life may be by an act, words or thoughts. The act, words and thoughts are, however, subjective and relative, but not absolute. The daily life of man is filled with reactions. Man is stimulated to react by the behaviour of others and when life does not go his way. The reactions are varied and so too is the intensity. The reactions are usually spontaneous and sometimes they are not, or never happen due to social etiquette or constraints.
In daily life man meets the other and he does not bring about these meetings, though it appears so; but meetings happen. Wherever and whenever man meets the other, behaviour will inevitably also happen. And man does not bring about behaviour, though it appears so, as behaviour is an inherent characteristic of man, just as it is of an animal. In physics, force brings about a reaction, which is equal and opposite to an action. In chemistry, force brings about a reaction that could be a solid, liquid, gas or an explosion. Behaviour is force in human beings that brings about a reaction that is either acceptable or unacceptable in varied intensities of an act, words or thoughts. Reactions are present in every house, place of work and in every society. Man visualises multiple reactions on the television screen and daily news. He wants and wishes the reactions to be controlled wherever they may occur, so that harmony can exist in his daily life. But harmony is nowhere to be seen as a permanent feature, as is evident by the daily news.
Harmony would exist in daily life if man were able to control behaviour. He cannot control inherent qualities that are dependent on how much man has understood. Behaviour is force that flows spontaneously, uncontrollably and unpredictably and reflects the depth of understanding that has happened to man. It is like a fifth season of nature inside man’s mind, and it resembles any of the four seasons in nature outside at any time, i.e. summer, autumn, winter or spring. Man knows what the season outside will be, but not how it will be. Similarly, what the season inside his mind will be and how long it will last man can never predict, but can only hope and pray for the behaviour he wants or wishes.
Man expects, judges and interprets the weather outside. Similarly, he expects, judges and interprets behaviour, which is the weather inside his mind. When man understands that he cannot change the weather outside that is at any moment, he will understand that he cannot change the weather inside his mind that is at any moment, which is behaviour. If the weather outside were accepted as it is at any moment without expecting, judging or interpreting, man’s daily life would be harmonious. Similarly, if man accepts whatever the weather inside his mind is at any moment, which is behaviour, his daily life will be harmonious too.
So what does reaction mean? Reaction is the temperature of the season-behaviour inside the mind. The temperature reflects the understanding that has happened to man.
Author: Dr. Vijai S. Shankar.© Copyright V. S. Shankar 2013
Editor’s Note:
German translator’s Note: When will we begin to question the daily disharmony within our minds? It is always the other and not ourselves who is supposed to make us react. If others had the power to make us react, how would man be a doer then? So man cannot be the doer. As reactions happen to man, woman and children alike, how could expectations, judgments and interpretations about behaviour be real? Harmony within ourselves is at hands in any weather of our daily mind, be it cloudy, rainy, snowy or even stormy, if only it is understood deeply what reaction means. Let us read and ponder! The blue sky prevails in the one who understands weather as a beautiful, illusory expression of nature, be it outdoors or inside the mind. Thank you, Dr. Shankar. Marcus, Germany
Dutch translator’s note: We are all part of nature, though we usually don’t consider ourselves as such. We think that the ability to think will enable us to control our own nature. The article ‘What does reaction mean?’ invites us to really look at our behaviour. So we will be able to observe that our behaviour is a force that is not brought about by ourselves, but which passes through us and is different every time. The turbulence of expecting, judging and interpreting will calm down and eventually disappear by this understanding, whereupon harmony will form the natural background of all the weathers in the mind. Paula Smit, the Netherlands
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