Vedanta Verses 321 - 25

The text Viveka Chudamani (VC) cautions the students against pramaada or indifference/ carelessness. Pramaada is from the root ‘mat’ meaning committing mistake inadvertently. Pramaada leads to procrastination. A casual attitude takes over the person and this attitude is the cause for failures in social life. If it proves detrimental for social life what can be said about spiritual quest which requires diligence of extraordinary kind?
The reason as to why one commits this is because of dhi doshah or mental impurity. The reason for this is further traced to avichara or lack of reflection. Hence a student striving to know the self should carefully avoid indifference or pramaada.

Occupying and indulging in short term pleasures (preyas) at the cost of long term ‘good’ (shreyas) is carelessness or pramada. One has to dwell on the long term good (shreyas) and make an active choice regarding it. The only long term good that is worth its name is the knowledge of the self.

This carelessness is death; indifference to self knowledge is death indeed. Whenever I ignore the real ‘topic’ which is my self, the source of everything and get pre-occupied with creation then I live with the mistake that I am part of the creation, and that I live with the body and I shall perish with the body, this is the error.

There is no calamity for a spiritual aspirant other than this heedlessness. One has to reflect and see for oneself “what I want and what this creation can offer me?” what I want is peace and silence and plenitude but nothing in creation can offer this. Hence for a mature student of Vedanta being indifferent to the reflection of one’s own self is the greatest calamity that can befall. Hence one has to be diligent with reflection and at no point be heedless with that.

One should never underestimate one’s attraction for the world. Dwelling on the objects surely makes one an extrovert. One can silently admire and dwell on objects and placing value to them, he or she might seem introverted, but this is only a deception. Whether one dwells with objects in a vivacious manner or sitting silently and dwelling on them, both are extroverted. A true introvert is one who does not place any value on the material objects.

Actually indifference to the topic leads to distraction, and it can happen even to an advanced student. When a gardener is indifferent to gardening weeds begin to grow. Indifference when not checked causes distraction. However not enjoying different pleasures in life is not a loss, but missing out on the topic i.e. the self is the greatest loss.

Indifference and distraction are interdependent. The text compares this distraction to the woman/man who has an illicit love affair and whose mind is always pre occupied and distracted by the affair. She or he then becomes indifferent to the duty that he or she might have. She/he is supposed to be engaged with her/his duties but now is distracted by this illicit love.
There is actually not much loss when one’s attention is caught with love while performing one’s duty or one’s work. The loss is not much, because one is still moving within objects of creation. One is supposed to make money but has got engaged with another man or woman, anyway it is within the creation, the actual loss is when one is indifferent to the topic and is caught with objects of creation. The gradation between the worldly objects is non –topical and can be bracketed together and ignored. Every jiva (individual) has a primary duty towards him or herself. To miss out on the opportunity for knowing the self is the greatest danger and the irreparable loss. This is the great fall. Ignoring one limited for another limited is not such a great fall, but after knowing about the self, the observer as one closest to one’s being and then loosing interest in it is a great loss. Ignoring reality and falling for an appearance is a big fall but choosing to go for another appearance is not such a big fall. (I think swamijee is making a very important point here)

Reason gets eclipsed by impulses. But when I try and control my senses or say my anger it appears controlled for a time period only to rise again. This is like the moss that covers the waters in a lake. When one removes the moss it again covers the waters in a moment. Thus reasoning too gets eclipsed by impulses. Maya, the illusion thus covers up the reality. How does it accomplish this? By the conviction that the world exists independent of the knower, it is real; in fact it is the only reality. This vision or misconception like the moss in the water covers our perceptions of Reality. Hence the aspirant has to be absolutely watchful of distraction and indifference. The aspirant has to ward of callousness towards the topic and distractions arising from the objects by constant reflection on the topic, i.e. the Self.