Being indifferent is like being a stone statue.

Do we describe ourselves as being indifferent?

We have to examine the meaning of this word. It is a lack of caring or unfeeling apathy. It is a passive, lazy state.

Are we indifferent to what is happening around us?

Do we have a response?
Do we have an absence of feelings?

It is important for us to understand ourselves and the meaning of this word. Eli Wiesel has said,

The opposite of love is not hatred, it is indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it is indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it is indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it is indifference.

This means that we cannot be like ducks with water pouring off their backs. We need to respond.

Rumi wrote,

Be with those who help your being. Don’t sit with indifferent people, whose breath comes out cold out of their mouths.

According to the Buddha, true indifference is often considered a near enemy (subtle misunderstanding) of the desired state of equanimity. It is looked upon as a flawed mental state. Indifference is described as a lack of care, sympathy or interest. It is an emotional shutdown. It resembles peace but it is based on fear, aversion and delusion. It is passive withdrawal, which means turning away from the world and abandoning engagement. It is also classed under ignorance as it is a dull response to the world.

Dear ones, we always come back to Atmabhava, love for our fellow beings. Atmabhava is the way to be rid of our expression of indifference. It is a conscious effort to accept others as they are and to be aware of oneself.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Héctor J. Rivas on Unsplash