The “happiness” of the ‘dull’ (Tamasic) is that which deludes the Higher in us, and vitiates the culture in us; and, when the pursuit of such “happiness” is continued for a length of time, it gives to the intellect a thick crust of wrong values and false ideals, and ruins the spiritual sensitivity of the personality.

This type of Tamasic “happiness” satisfies mere sense-cravings; for such Tamasic “happiness” arises, according to the Lord, from sleep (Nidraa), indolence (Aalasya) and heedlessness (Pramaada).

SLEEP (Nidraa) — It is not the psychological condition of the everyday sleep that is meant here. Philosophically, the term “sleep” stands for “the non-apprehension of Reality,” and the incapacity of the dull-witted to perceive any permanent, ever-existing goal of life. This encourages one to seek simple sense-gratifications at the flesh level.

INDOLENCE (Aalasya) — It is the incapacity of the intellect to think out correctly the problems that face it and come to correct judgement. Such an inertia of the intellect makes it insensitive to the inspiring song of life, and a person having such an intellect is generally tossed here and there by the passing tides of his own instincts and impulses.

HEEDLESSNESS (Pramaada) — As every challenge reaches us and demands our response to it, no doubt, the Higher in us truly guides our activities; but the lower, indolent mind seeks a compromise and tries to act, heedless of the voice of the Higher. When an individual has thus lived for some time carelessly ignoring the Voice of the Higher, he becomes more and more removed from his divine perfections. He sinks lower and lower into his animal nature.

When such an individual, who is heedless of the higher calls, indolent at his intellectual level and completely asleep to the existence and the play of Reality, seeks “happiness,” he only seeks a “happiness” that deludes the soul, both at the beginning and at the end. Such “happiness” is here classified by Krishna as “dull” (Tamasic).

HERE FOLLOWS A STANZA WHICH CONCLUDES THE SUBJECT OF OUR PRESENT DISCUSSION:

That joy is udahrtam, said to be; tamasam, born of tamas; yat, which; both agre, in the beginning; ca, and; anubandhe, in the sequel, after the end (of enjoyment); is mohanam, delusive; atmanah, to oneself; and nidra-alasya-pramada-uttham, arises from sleep, laziness and inadvertence. Therefore, now is begun a verse in order to conclude this section [The section showing that all things in the whole of creation are under the influence of the three gunas.].