STOIC INDIFFERENCE

The scriptures contain conceptions of the eternal and ephemeral, the permanent and temporary, as well as other related ideas concerning the state of opposites. All these, including the created, derive from the One unified organic whole, or Absolute Existence, or Ultimate Reality. An existence or Reality is One only that is non-dual and beyond time, space and causation. Scriptures say Brahman, or the Cosmic Self, is the Absolute Existence: "ekaṃ sad viprā bahudhā vadanti, agniṃ yamaṃ mātariśvānam āhuḥ", or Truth is one, though the wise describe it in many ways – as Agni, as Yama, and as Mātariśvan (Rig Veda, 1.164.46); "Sarvam khalvidam brahma", or All this is Brahman (Chāndogya Upanishad, 3.14.1), meaning everything in the universe is, in its true essence, Brahman; "Satyam jnanam anantam brahma", or Brahman is Truth, Knowledge, Infinity (Taittiriya Upanishad, 2.1.1), meaning Brahman is the unchanging Reality; "Prajñānam Brahma", or Consciousness is Brahman (Aitreya Upanishad, 3.3); "Ayam Ātmā Brahma", or This Self (Atman) is Brahman (Mandukya Upanishad, 1.2); Brahman is "Sat-Chit-Ananda", or Existence-Consciousness-Bliss (Tejobindu Upanishad, 3.11); "Satyasya Satyam", or the Truth of truth (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.1.20); "Aham brahmāsmi", or I am Brahman (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.4.10), meaning Jivatma, or the individual self, is Brahman; and "Ekam evādvitiyam", Brahman is One only, without a second (Chāndogya Upanishad, 6.2.1). Brahman is not subject to incompleteness, perishability and impermanence but rather is the Absolute Whole of completeness in every respect and beyond our sensual cognition as It encompasses imperishability, eternity, fullness, uncausedness, absoluteness, second to none, self-caused, self-luminescent, self-effulgent and not limited by limited adjuncts of space-time-causation. The stoic indifference emanating from that conception views other sensually perceived existences as transient without any permanence of their own. All these are relative to the viewer, as dream-like vanishes in the waking stage, so the waking one dissolves in the deep sleep stage to final emancipation in Turiya of eternal bliss, or Sat-Chit-Ananda, or Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. Eternal bliss is manifest in the inward subjective dimension and unmanifest in the transience of the manifest world. It is to realise and perceive through the virtues of Atmajñāna, or Self-knowledge based on Self-effort, Self-enquiry, discrimination, discipline, dispassion and devotion. Yoga-Vasistha (1.31.1-27, 1.32.1-27) illustrates the stoic indifference to the phenomenal world, whose foundational core is evanescent. In this world, Yoga-Vasistha (1.32.1-27) emphasises there is no reliance on the durability of life, which is as transient as a drop of water, and so also are the accompanying structures and relationships. Why should one raise tempestuous desires under the misty cloud of error which flashes forth in the lightning of ambition and bursts out in the thunderclaps of selfishness? The Moha-nihara, or misty cloud of error, accompanied by tempestuous desires and selfishness, represents the states of Avidya, or ignorance, and Moha, or delusion, that obscure the true nature of reality. Yoga-Vasistha teaches that to act under this cloud of cruel fate is like living in a self-created dream where the mind mistakes shadows and fate for reality. The solution is not to fight the cloud with more mental activity but to diligently dissipate it through Self-enquiry, discipline, discrimination, dispassion and Self-knowledge. The assembly of sages seemed for a moment to have lost their worldly desires in their eagerness after a stoic indifference and to be rolling in the sea of nectar. The worldly desires of the assembly of the Sages, upon listening to the speeches of Sri Rama, were completely eradicated by the inclination towards detachment; they were, for a moment, as if they felt as though they were rolling in a sea of nectar. The assembly, having heard his profound words, temporarily transcended worldly desires, experiencing a collective state of blissful indifference and intense spiritual focus.

1. Outline
Stoic indifference is a state of enlightenment of proactive Self-assertion to discriminate between the Real and the unreal. This understanding comes from the realisation that Atman, or the Self, and Brahman, or the Cosmic Self, represent the only true Reality, while the various worldly experiences are merely manifestations of Maya, or illusion. One can discern through the application of Self-knowledge by way of discrimination, dispassion, discipline, detachment, and devotion. Self-enquiry and enlightenment enhance inner detachment where one controls the mind to remain unaffected by dualities of opposites: hot and cold, pleasure and pain, happiness and distress, praise and blame, and success and failure. It sees everything as a manifestation of Brahman. The scriptures aim to transcend the material world entirely by realising the Self as the only true, invulnerable reality, making worldly outcomes immaterial. The world is a passing dream or mental projection, so says Yoga-Vasistha (6.61.1-31). It teaches that existence is a manifestation of consciousness (Brahman) and that the world only seems real due to mental attachment and ignorance. The world is a product of the mind's magic. If the mind ceases to operate, the perceived world disappears. We are shining here, Yoga-Vasistha claims, as a created being by the previous birth of Brahma, but in fact, the reflection of the soul shines forever as nothing else. Owing to the omnipresence of consciousness, all beings exist as reality everywhere, and if consciousness rises from unreal knowledge, consciousness as real knowledge destroys the unreal one. The five elements (Akasha, or Space; Vayu, or Air; Agni, or Fire; Apas, or Water; and Prithvi, or Earth; as the Pancha Mahabhutas, or five great elements) are the fundamental building blocks of the phenomenal dimension, both the cosmos and the human body, arising sequentially from Brahman, the Absolute Existence, or the Ultimate Reality. These elements connect human senses to the physical world and represent the stages of creation. Therefore, whatever comes from these five elements is only transitory, but owing to the roots of ego in that dimension, we have a firm faith that it is real. By developing dispassion, detachment, discipline, discrimination, and Self-enquiry, one awakens from this world of dreams to Absolute Consciousness by realising that "I am" is not the body-mind complex but Atman, or Self, of Sat-Chit-Ananda, or infinite Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

2. Scriptures
The stoic indifference in the Upanishads is primarily characterised as a state of inner detachment and dispassion, where the individual remains mentally unaffected by dualities of opposites, focusing instead on Atmajñāna, or Self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is not a one-time affair; rather, it is experienced or realised through life cycles of inward movement based on Self-effort, Self-enquiry, discipline, dispassion, discrimination, discernment, detachment, dedication, and devotion. The core thrust of the Upanishads is to transcend the material world by Self-realisation. The Upanishads (Ishavasya Upanishad, Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, Chandogya Upanishad) teach that true happiness is found by seeking Atman, or Self, within, which is stoically indifferent to the fluctuations and changes in the phenomenal world by transcending the pair of dualities of hot and cold, wet and dry, fortune and misfortune, etc. Ishavasya Upanishad (1.1) advises that one should "enjoy through renunciation", encouraging an inner detachment to all external possessions (jagatyám jagat), emphasising that happiness comes from within, not from collecting objects. It highlights this through renunciation within enjoyment, i.e., living for a hundred years while doing work but without being bound by it. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (4.4.22-4.4.23) outlines this as action without selfish desire being the pathway to release from Karmic bondage and Self-fulfilment. It teaches that when actions are performed without desire for results, one is free from Karmic bondage, and ultimately Moksha, or liberation. The text explains that one who is free from desire and whose desires are centred on Atman, or Self, does not transmigrate. Similarly, Srimad Bhagavad Gita (2.47, 2.55-58, 6.18-19, 6.33-35) advocates for a form of stoic indifference known as "Nishkama Karma", or performing duty without attachment to results. Steady-mindedness in Srimad Bhagavad Gita, known as Sthitapragya, is defined as maintaining an unperturbed, balanced mind amidst dualities like hot and cold, happiness and distress, and success and failure. Mundaka Upanishad (1.1.1-5) addresses the distinction between Apara Vidya, or Lower Knowledge, and Para Vidya, or  Higher Knowledge, as taught by the Sage Angiras to the householder Shaunaka. This distinction distinguishes lower knowledge as worldly competence and higher knowledge as imperishable Brahman, or Self-knowledge and Self-realisation. Chandogya Upanishad (8.7.1) highlights that seeking realisation of Atmajñāna, or Self-knowledge is the ultimate goal, as it is the only one that transcends the transient phenomenal world.

3. Remarks
Stoic indifference is described as a state of emotional detachment where one remains unaffected by the duality of opposites, embodying a balanced approach to emotions, enabling one to navigate life’s ups and downs with resilience. This mindset allows one to cultivate inner peace, focusing on what one can control while accepting what one cannot change. By embracing this philosophy, one can achieve greater clarity and purpose in his life.

-Asutosh Satpathy