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What is the meaning of 'indifference to everything'? || Acharya Prashant, on Ashtavakra Gita (2018)
Scriptures and Saints
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1 year ago
Ashtavakra Gita
Duality
Dharm
Morality
Spirituality
Pure Consciousness
Vairagya
Witnessing
Description

Acharya Prashant explains that the concept of indifference, as taught by Ashtavakra, is not about choosing between good and bad, but about transcending the entire domain of duality. He uses the analogy of choosing between water and juice when one has a sore throat; while one might be 'better' than the other in terms of taste, both are equally harmful because the correct criterion should be temperature, not taste. Morality is the act of choosing between opposites like virtue and vice, whereas spirituality is the rejection of both in favor of the truth, or 'Dharm'. True indifference is not a passive state but a byproduct of total devotion to the truth. When one is exclusively attentive to the 'master' or the truth, the world of duality naturally loses its significance. He further clarifies that being indifferent to the world does not mean inaction. On the contrary, those who are devoted to the truth are often the most active and hardworking individuals, as seen in the lives of Kabir Saheb, Guru Nanak, and Shri Krishna. Indifference means being a non-participant in the trivialities of the world while being a 'busy bee' in the service of the truth. It is the liberation from the 'pole' of duality, where neither the 'right hand' of virtue nor the 'left hand' of vice is tied down. Ultimately, indifference is the result of a strong affirmative choice for the infinite, which necessitates the rejection of all that is finite and false.