Category:Action and Reaction
Theme Analysis
The concept of action and reaction, deeply rooted in the Vedic understanding of karma, describes the mechanism by which the conditioned soul is bound to the material world. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that every activity performed in the material sphere—whether considered pious or impious—generates a reaction that forces the living entity to accept another material body to suffer or enjoy the results. This complex network acts as a trap, perpetuated by the soul's desire to lord over material nature and their ignorance of their true spiritual identity. The only means to escape this cycle is not through inactivity or mental speculation, but by dovetailing one's activities in the service of the Supreme Lord, thereby neutralizing the reactions of work.
- The Inescapable Law of Karma: Material existence is a continuous chain of actions and reactions where every deed, good or bad, binds the worker to the wheel of birth and death.
- Illusion of Independence: While the living entity thinks they are the doer, they are actually under the stringent control of the three modes of material nature, merely imitating the actions dictated by their conditioned intelligence.
- The Supreme Lord's Transcendence: unlike the conditioned soul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the director of the material energy but remains completely aloof and unaffected by its actions and reactions.
- Liberation through Yajna: Action performed solely for the satisfaction of Visnu (yajna) or Krsna consciousness is the only process that produces no material reaction, effectively cutting the knot of material entanglement.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Entanglement in the Network of Action and Reaction.
Subcategories
This category has the following 11 subcategories, out of 11 total.
A
G
K
R
Pages in category "Action and Reaction"
The following 167 pages are in this category, out of 167 total.
1
A
- A devotee is transcendental to the actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature because he is situated on the Brahman platform
- According to the Mayavadi philosophers, the Supreme Brahman has transformed Himself into many varieties of forms, but that is not the fact. He is always transcendental to the actions and reactions of the material gunas
- After considering the oneness of existence, activity and paraphernalia and after realizing the self to be different from all actions and reactions, the mental speculator (muni), according to his own realization, gives up the three states
- Akrura thought, "By His (Krsna's) merciful embrace, surely my body, heart and soul will be completely cleansed of the actions and reactions of my past life. When our bodies touch, I will immediately stand up with folded hands, with all humility"
- All material activities involve actions and reactions in the three modes of material nature. They are meant for fruitive results, which cause bondage in the material world. BG 1972 purports
- All this is done by Your external energy through actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature. Therefore whatever exists - externally and internally - is You alone
- Although his (devotee) behavior seems to be subject to the actions and reactions of fruitive activities, he is actually freed from the results of action
- Although the rod is not fire, it becomes red-hot and acts like fire itself. Similarly, all the actions and reactions of material nature are not actually the work of material nature but are actions and reactions of the energy of the Supreme Lord
- Anadi karama-phale, which means that these actions and reactions of one's activity cannot be traced, for they may even continue from the last millennium of Brahma's birth to the next millennium
- Any action or reaction of a part of a body becomes a cognizable fact to the embodied soul. Similarly, since the creation is the body of the Absolute Truth, then everything in the creation is known to the Absolute, both directly and indirectly
- Any action or reaction of a part of a body becomes a cognizable fact to the embodied whole. Similarly, if the creation abides in the body of the Absolute Truth, then nothing is unknown to the Absolute, directly or indirectly
- Any sane man with properly discriminating senses can understand that life in the material world is full of miseries and that no one is free from the actions and reactions of such miseries
- As long as he (the living entity) is in the city of body, he appears to be the master of it, but actually he is neither its proprietor nor controller of its actions and reactions. BG 1972 purports
- As long as one lives in the material world, actions and reactions will continue, but when one is unaffected by such material actions and reactions, he is to be considered free from the danger of being victimized by material desires
- As long as the material body exists, there are actions and reactions in the material modes. BG 1972 purports
- As soon as he (the living being) engages himself in the loving service of the Lord, he at once becomes free from the chain of karma. His actions no longer create any reaction
- As stated in Bhagavad-gita (3.9), yajnarthat karmanah: one should act only for the performance of yajna, or to satisfy Lord Visnu. Anyatra loko 'yam karma-bandhanah: otherwise any action will produce a reaction by which the living entity will be bound
- As the soul migrates, he suffers the actions and reactions of his past activities. These activities can be changed when the living being is in the mode of goodness, in sanity, and understands what sort of activities he should adopt. BG 1972 Introduction
B
- Because of the actions and reactions of the mode of ignorance, whether the living entities are awake or sleeping, they can see only the workings of material nature; they cannot see Your Lordship
- Being influenced by contaminated intelligence, the living entity envisions something and simply imitates the actions and reactions of his intelligence
- Being very eager to enjoy the fruits of their activities, conditioned souls become involved in the actions and reactions of material life. Consequently they enjoy and suffer the results of karma
- Both the conditioned soul and the material nature act within the time factor, but the Lord is not subject to the actions and reactions of time, for time has been created by Him
- By such acts (teaching the people in general about the way one can get rid of the tangle of action and reaction in ordinary work), the karma-yogi himself and the world at large are simultaneously benefited
- By the inconceivable energy of the Lord, every creative element has its own potencies, known as the potency of the element, potency of knowledge and potency of different actions and reactions
- By the practice of bhakti-yoga, one immediately comes to the spiritual platform, transcendental to the actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature
D
- Devoid of Krsna consciousness, those who engage in material activities simply become more entangled in material bondage. They have to suffer and enjoy the actions and reactions of all activity
- Devotional service means engaging the spiritual body and spiritual senses in the service of the Lord. When we are engaged in such activities, the actions and reactions of the gross and subtle bodies cease
- Due to His presence (Lord Visnu), everything is working, and there are actions and reactions
E
- Even ordinary devotees cannot have such pure attachment for Krsna. Therefore, how is it possible for success to be achieved by persons whose hearts are contaminated by the actions and reactions of fruitive activities
- Even though one is sometimes absorbed in such external movements, he has to learn to tolerate them. The living entity should be always indifferent to the action and reaction of the external body
- Everyone has to bear the actions and reactions of time as long as one is within the conditions of the material world
- Everyone, whether an insect or the King of heaven, is entangled and bound by the actions and reactions of his karma
F
H
- He (a Krsna conscious person) does not become contaminated by material sins. He is free from all reactions to his actions. BG 1972 purports
- He (God) is aloof from the material actions and reactions. For example, the rains are not responsible for different types of vegetation that appear on the earth, although without such rains there is no possibility of vegetative growth. BG 1972 purports
- He (God) is never the subject of reactions for any of His acts. He is transcendental to all such conceptions of actions and reactions
- He (the Supreme Lord) does not create a particular situation for any living entity, but the living entity, bewildered by ignorance, desires to be put into certain conditions of life, and thereby his chain of action and reaction begins. BG 1972 purports
- He (Yudhisthira) prayed that since all material activities are performed by the mind in terms of actions and reactions of the material senses, and since he was going back to Godhead, the mind 1) would wind up its material activities
- He (Yudhisthira) prayed that since all material activities are performed by the mind in terms of actions and reactions of the material senses, since he was going back to Godhead, the mind 2) would be turned towards the transcendental service to the Lord
- How such actions and reactions take place, what the different procedures are, and in what proportion they act are all subject matters of Maharaja Pariksit's inquiries from the great brahmana Sukadeva Gosvami
I
- I have become entangled in the action and reaction of fruitive activities. - That is the lamentable condition of present civilization. People are becoming entangled. He does not know
- If we do impious work, we may have to take birth in a low class or animal family, or become illiterate or foolish, or very ugly. Although we engage in very pious work & take a good birth, we will still be subject to the stringent laws of action & reaction
- In illusion one thinks that he can be happy only by fruitive activities, but what actually happens is that one becomes more and more entangled in the network of action and reaction and does not find any solution to the problem of life
- In the Bhagavad-gita (BG 9.27-28) the remedy is suggested that such actions and reactions of the path of work can be checked only when work is done on behalf of the Supreme Lord
- In the midst of the hurricane of the material world, everything changes very quickly, but if one remains silent and simply observes the actions and reactions of the hurricane, he is understood to be liberated
- In the previous verse, the word nimitta-matram indicates that the Supreme Lord is completely aloof from the action and reaction of this material world
- In this way (by doing every work for the satisfaction of Visnu), everyone can get free of the binding network of actions and reactions
- In war either the husband or the brother or father or sons go to fight. And when they are killed, a fresh enmity is created & thus a chain of actions & reactions increases which is not possible to be counteracted even by thousands of Asvamedha-yajnas
- It is a long film spool of actions and reactions, and one life-span is just a flash in such a reactionary show
- It is explained in Bhagavad-gita Yajnarthat karmano 'nyatra: one should perform karma only for the purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord, otherwise one is bound by the action and reaction of karma
K
- Krsna has nothing to do with action and reaction, but because He was playing the part of a human being, He expressed His full sympathy for the bereavement of Satyabhama, and His eyes filled with tears when He heard about the death of His father-in-law
- Krsna is the Absolute Personality of Godhead. He has nothing to do with the actions and reactions of the material manifestation because He is far above the material creation
- Krsna is the supreme controller also because the Paramatma feature of Lord Krsna destines all actions and reactions. Without His sanction not a blade of grass can move
- Krsna says, mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram: (BG 9.10) - You are seeing the energy displayed in the wonderful actions and reactions of this material cosmic manifestation, but don't think that they are working independently. No, I am behind them
M
- Material actions and reactions, as the material scientist can superficially observe, are not basically ultimate truth in regard to creation, maintenance and destruction
- Material energy acts in the three modes of material qualities, which produce the action and reaction of material existence
- Material existence is actually a chain of action and reaction brought about by different types of fruitive activities. This is the cause of birth and death. One can stop this process only by engaging oneself in the service of Vasudeva
- Materialistic life involves a series of actions and reactions
- Matter interacts with matter, but the soul does not belong to the material world. This means that the soul is above material action and reaction
- Matter is compared to the piece of iron, and it is electrified or made red-hot by the glance or manipulation of the supreme consciousness of Visnu. Only by such electrification is the energy of matter displayed in various actions and reactions
- Modern science believes that it is by sunshine that the entire cosmic manifestation is maintained, and actually one can see how the actions and reactions of sunshine maintain order throughout the universe
- My obeisances are unto You, who are the property of the materially impoverished. You have nothing to do with the actions & reactions of the material modes of nature. You are self-satisfied, & therefore You are the most gentle & are master of the monists
N
- Narada Muni has explained that all paraphernalia of the cosmic universe is but an emanation from the Lord out of His different energies because the Lord has set in motion, by His inconceivable energy, the actions and reactions of the created manifestation
- Neither any sinful nor any virtuous act can bring freedom from the bondage of work, as we have explained above. On the contrary, both sinful and virtuous acts will bind the worker up in the wheel of action and reaction
O
- One has to apply oneself to such an analysis of action, reaction and perverted actions because it is a very difficult subject matter. BG 1972 purports
- One must not forget the difficult position of one's being in the network of action and reaction by which the spirit soul becomes bound up in material existence
- One should not be disturbed by the action and reaction of these eight gross and subtle material elements. The practical process to attain this stage of indifference is to execute devotional service
- One should therefore always be fixed in Krsna consciousness, busy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. It is guaranteed that such a devotee will never be affected by the actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature
- One who does not know the scriptural directions becomes entangled in the actions and reactions of work. Understanding which discriminates by intelligence is situated in the mode of goodness. BG 1972 purports
- One who enjoys his senses under the Vedic regulative principles does not become entangled in the actions and reactions of his activities
- One who has attained this platform (of spiritual realization, or brahma-bhuta) is not agitated by material action and reaction. He sees everyone on the platform of spirit soul (panditah sama-darsinah) - BG 5.18
- One who knows that the pure soul is simply an observer of the actions and reactions of these qualities (goodness,passion,ignorance), should be understood to be a liberated person. He is not bound by these qualities
- One's ignorance can be removed by the instruction of the Bhagavad-gita which teaches one to surrender unto Lord Sri Krsna in all respects and become liberated from the chained victimization of action and reaction, birth after birth. BG 1972 purports
- Only one who constantly engages in devotional service twenty-four hours a day can be indifferent to the action and reaction of the external body
- Only then (after taking shelter of God's Lotus Feet) can one be freed from the actions and reactions of material existence
- Our time is being wasted in constructing so many devices which give us temporary and artificial convenience at the price of a proportionate amount of inconvenience. This is all part of the law of karma, the law of action and reaction
P
- People do not understand that neither any sinful nor any virtuous act can bring freedom from the bondage of work, as we have explained above. On the contrary, both sinful and virtuous acts will bind the worker up in the wheel of action and reaction
- Pradhana is not the time element because in the time element there are actions and reactions, creation and annihilation
S
- Similarly, material nature appears to the material scientist to act and react in a wonderful manner, but in reality it cannot act without the agitator, time, who is the representation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Sinful men take their baths in the waters of the Ganges and Yamuna at places such as Prayaga, Vrndavana and Mathura. In this way they are purified, but their sinful actions and reactions remain at the holy places of pilgrimage
- Srila Narottama dasa Thakura has sung: deha-smrti nahi yara, samsara-bandhana kahan tara. One who is spiritually advanced has no connection with the body or with the bodily actions and reactions
T
- The actions & reactions of all works in the material modes of nature, either in the minute form or in the gigantic form, are accumulated & thus the result of such accumulated actions & reactions of karma, or work, become manifested in the same proportion
- The actions and reactions carried out by the material nature are sometimes accepted as our scientific inventions; therefore we want to take credit for them and defy the existence of God
- The actions and reactions of the physical laws work on that account, and thus the material world is created, maintained and annihilated again and again
- The actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature are visible in this life
- The atheistic philosophers, who do not agree to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the original cause of creation, think that the material world moves by the action and reaction of different material elements
- The body is changing every moment by the actions and reactions of the different cells. But the spirit soul exists permanently, remaining the same despite all changes of the body and the mind. That is the difference between matter and spirit. BG 1972 pur
- The complexities of the actions and the reactions of the diverse energies of the Absolute Truth constitute the subject matter of a vast science called the transcendental science of God
- The conditioned souls are being pulled by the action and reaction of the material qualities, which create a differentiation of energies. But in the spiritual world the worshipable one is the Supreme Lord and no one else
- The contact of the spiritual spark with material elements creates a knot which must be cut if one wants to be liberated from the actions and reactions of fruitive work. Liberation means freedom from the cycle of reactionary work
- The demoniac conclude that the world is phantasmagoria. There is no cause, no effect, no controller, no purpose: everything is unreal. They say that this cosmic manifestation arises due to chance material actions and reactions. BG 1972 purports
- The devotees of the Lord know well how the creative forces work concurrently by the action and reaction of the material energy of the Lord
- The different changes in the material world take place as actions and reactions of the three gunas, but above the three gunas is their director, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The exact words he (Narottama Das Thakura) uses are: "I have given up the pure status of consciousness because I wanted to enjoy in the temporary, material manifestation; therefore I have been entangled in the network of actions and reactions
- The expert karma-yogi behaves just like an attached materialist to teach the people in general about the way one can get rid of the tangle of action and reaction in ordinary work
- The field of action and reactions, by which one's descendants are increased, begins with sex life
- The following questions may be posed. As long as the liberated soul is in contact with the body, why don't the bodily activities affect him? Doesn't he actually become contaminated by the action and reaction of material activities
- The forces which act are certainly set up by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He is always aloof from their action and reaction
- The law of karma, or the result of all actions and reactions in the material world, is controlled by this all-powerful illusory energy
- The living beings in different species of life are undergoing different terms of encagement according to their fruitive actions and reactions
- The living entities, the entire phenomenal world is stirred into action and reaction because of the presence of His parts and parcels
- The living entity forgets what to do. First of all he makes a determination to act in a certain way, and then he is entangled in the acts and reactions of his own karma. BG 1972 purports
- The living entity is conditioned by the waves of material nature, but the Supreme Lord is transcendental to all actions and reactions
- The living entity, being inclined toward sexual gratification, becomes involved in many hundreds and thousands of actions and reactions
- The Lord does not feel pain or pleasure from any action or reaction of this material world, but the devotees cannot tolerate even the pricking of the Lord's lotus feet by a thorn
- The Lord is situated in everyone's heart. However, because the conditioned souls are influenced by material nature, they can see only the actions and reactions of material nature, but not the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The material pangs are inevitable as long as we exist within the material world, but a devotee does not divert his attention to such actions and reactions, which are the results of pious and impious activities
- The modern scientist is also captivated by the wonderful actions and reactions of natural phenomena and therefore is also a sakta
- The original source of Brahma, Visnu and Siva - Garbhodakasayi Visnu - is always apart from these actions and reactions of material nature
- The pot is produced under certain conditions of action and reaction of material energy, but the potter is not in the pot. In a similar way, the material creation is set up by the Lord, but He remains aloof
- The real qualification of the liberated soul is that he remains Krsna conscious, undisturbed by the actions and reactions of the material energy. Such a liberated person is always jubilant. He never laments or aspires for anything
- The Siva-jvara continued: "Therefore, my Lord, Your (Krsna's) body is completely peaceful, completely blissful and devoid of material contamination. In the material body there are actions and reactions of the three modes of material nature"
- The subtle psychic life will develop again in another suitable body by the process of transmigration of the spirit soul & thus put godless leaders in ordeals of different wheels of action & reaction by obliging them to transmigrate from 1 body to another
- The subtle psychic life will develop again in another suitable body, by the process of transmigration of the spirit soul, and thus put them in ordeals of different wheels of action and reaction by obliging them to transmigrate from one body to another
- The Supreme Lord never creates the actions and reactions of an individual soul
- The symmetry of creation and its regulative actions and reactions suggests the plan of an intelligent brain behind them, and by genuine inquiry one may find out the ultimate cause with the help of one who knows them factually
- The three kinds of annihilations are (1) due to the scheduled time of the annihilation of the entire universe, (2) due to a fire which emanates from the mouth of Ananta, and (3) due to one's qualitative actions and reactions
- The ultimate cause of everything is the supreme eternal form of Krsna. All material actions and reactions take place in the impersonal Brahman, but in the personal Brahman, the eternal form of Krsna, there is no action and reaction
- The various actions and reactions of work in the mode of goodness are generally known as pious work with devotional service, culture of knowledge with DS, mystic powers with DS and (at last) devotional service unmixed with any other varieties of goodness
- The way of work (karma) is like that. It creates one action and another reaction simultaneously and thus increases the chain of material activities, binding the performer in material bondage
- The whole material existence is manifested by actions and reactions of elements which make the influence of time prominent in the matter of past, present and future
- The words jnanena na sa lipyate indicate that by following the Vedic principles, one does not become involved in the actions and reactions of his fruitive activities. Everyone is thus advised to act in terms of the Vedic injunctions and not irresponsibly
- Their intelligence being covered by sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna, they can see only the actions and reactions of these three modes of material nature
- There are no such actions and reactions of cause and effects there (Vaikuntha), so the cycle of birth, growth, existence, transformations, deterioration and annihilation - the six material changes - are not existent there
- There are two kinds of actions and reactions - namely pious and impious. In this way our material existence becomes coated by different actions and reactions
- There is no endurance of the changing body. That the body is changing every moment by the actions and reactions of the different cells is admitted by modern medical science; and thus growth and old age are taking place in the body. BG 1972 purports
- There is no possibility of His (God's) accepting a form of maya as is forced on the ordinary living entities who are bound by the actions and reactions of their own deeds
- They (Krsna and Balarama) learned the science of the action and reaction of physical combinations and permutations. They learned the art of a psychiatrist, who can understand the psychic movements of another person
- They (the transcendental pastimes or lila of the Supreme Lord) exhibit full sense, independence, and freedom of action and reaction
- They are sleeping eternally in that darkness without Your shelter because their eyes of knowledge are not open, and therefore they are falsely engaged by the actions and reactions of their material activities, and they appear to be very fatigued
- Thief comes out of the jail, and exactly after four days he's again put into the jail. This action and reaction - one has committed theft, and the reaction is he is put into the jail - this is not beneficial. Real is that thief must be given knowledge
- This (life in the material world is full of miseries and that no one is free from the actions and reactions of such miseries) is not a pessimistic view of life but is an actual fact which we should not be blind to
- Those who are attached to materialistic life and are blind to spiritual life must act in such a way that they are bound to repeated birth and death by the actions and reactions of their activities
- Those who are not devotees become involved in such (material) activities, whereas devotees, who are dovetailed with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are freed from such action and reaction of the material energy
- To be nirguna means to be bereft of material opulences because, as we have explained, material opulence means an increase of the actions and reactions of the three material qualities
- To remain always aloof from the actions and reactions of the body and engage in one's real occupation, namely rendering service to the Lord, can be possible only for devotees
- Tossed as we are by the waves of action and reaction, we cannot ascertain the volume of our distresses in undertaking such an ominous journey
V
- Varieties of phenomena occur within this universe on account of the actions and reactions of the three material modes, but the original creator, or the cause, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Vasudeva replied, "Everyone is under the control of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is under His control only that all kinds of fruitive actions and their reactions take place"
W
- We are engaged in various activities undoubtedly, but we do not know what sort of activities we shall adopt that will give us relief from the actions and reactions of all activities. That is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita
- We are engaged in various activities. Undoubtedly we do not know what sort of activities we should adopt to gain relief from the actions and reactions of all these activities, but this is also explained in the Bhagavad-gita. BG 1972 Introduction
- We can understand that on the higher platform whatever we are experiencing are the actions and reactions of the different energies of the Supreme Lord
- We do not know how this material world is functioning, who its controller is, nor how it is controlled, and due to our ignorance we act in foolish ways, but nature is so stringent that she does not allow us to escape the reactions to our actions
- We have a big tree of these actions and reactions with their respective fruits. And as the enjoyers of these fruits, we become bound up in the network of such work and its fruit. Birth after birth, the spirit soul becomes bound up in the process
- We have very little chance of escaping this bondage of action and reaction - work and its fruitive results. Even after abdicating all work and accepting the life of a sannyasi, or renunciant, one still has to work, if only for his hungry stomach
- We have wide experience of the external, or material, potency, but we generally fail to inquire about the actions and reactions of the other two potencies
- Whatever actions and reactions occur within the cosmic manifestation all take place under the superintendence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Whatever actions and reactions take place for the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world are actually brought about by the one Supreme Person
- When one becomes a pure devotee, free from material desires and from bondage to karma, jnana and yoga, one is freed from material actions and reactions by the causeless mercy of Krsna
- When one transfers to the spiritual world by virtue of understanding Krsna consciousness, the actions and reactions of both gross and subtle bodies no longer bother the spirit soul
- When the living being is in the mode of goodness, in sanity, and understands what sort of activities he should adopt, the actions and reactions of his past activities can be changed. BG 1972 Introduction
- When the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the actions and reactions of the particular situation which may be desired. BG 1972 purports
- When we cannot secure our everyday sustenance without doing any work, how is it possible to give up our prescribed duties? And yet one must not forget the difficult position of one's being in the network of action and reaction
- While passing through various of the 8,400,000 species of life, the spirit soul is overwhelmed by the suffering created by those reactions. We have very little chance of escaping this bondage of action and reaction - work and its fruitive results
- With the progress of devotional service, the reaction of change in the heart is exhibited by gradual detachment from the sense of material enjoyment by a false sense of lording it over the world and an increase in service attitude
- Within this material world, covered by the material body of subtle and gross matter, every living entity creates actions and reactions, which are herein known allegorically as sons and grandsons
- Without revelation by the spiritual energy, one is unable to offer prayers glorifying the Lord. Any amount of philosophical speculation or poetic expression by mundane persons is still considered to be the action and reaction of the material energy