Essay on “Action and Contemplation ” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Action and Contemplation 

Man is born with the divine command. As it is written in the Bible, “God commanded man.” Life is certainly neither a bed of roses nor a dreamy contemplation. There is action and struggle in every inch of it. Man has to struggle against unfavourable circumstances, wrestle with the dark forces of nature and compete with his own emotions. He tills the soil, grows food, strikes at the anvil and digs the earth to extract gold from its bowels. Besides, man has certain obligations to discharge and certain responsibilities on shoulders. There are people who depend upon him, his parents, society and above God. Again, life does not constitute only of desires, illusions and faded ideas, but also of grand ideals and ambitions, which can be achieved only through action. Life does not only consist in the length of our existence on this earth, but in the noble and heroic deeds we do in our lifetime. Mere breathing, eating is not life, for even animals eat Mere movement is not life, for even snails move. We must understand that salvation lies in action and that Work alone is worship. We have in the past meditated on the ultimate reality and truth of life and death. Such an intellectual and philosophical past has been our indulgence for long. g alone does not solve the problem of bread and butter. N0 amount of spiritual knowledge can ad us with crumbs of bread. For a life to be worthy of bearing fruit, it Should be lived in close agreement with reality. Hence, we have to make a choice between ‘existence’ and ‘isolation’. Without doubt, India’s past is rich in the fruits of contemplation, but the present needs action to build a better tomorrow. As it is said, we would be painting the devil too black, if we wholly discredit contemplation. We must understand that thinking is also a central part of life. Every deed needs some thinking. To indulge in pure contemplation is the luxury of the mind. It is a mental plan through which we escape from the stern realities of life. Nevertheless, concrete and realistic thinking is as essential as stimulated action. Gandhiji brought about an excellent harmony between action and contemplation. He proposed theories and tested their soundness in real life. As Carlyle has mentioned, “Let us unite contemplation with action, because in the harmony of the two lies the perfection of character.”

We must also be aware of the fact that the fruits of labour are sweeter than the gifts which fortune provides us with. Moreover, too much of thinking is also a disease. It keeps us low and dismal. Hence, a thought demands action to be complete and action without thought also has no worth. Indeed, thought and action can be separately analyzed, but can never be separated from each other. It is best to live life both in thought and deeds.