The Charvaka School Ridiculed Rituals
Besides Jainism and Buddhism, another powerful atheist school of Indian philosophy was the Charvaka school. Whether Charvaka was the name of a material philosopher or not is debatable. There are references about Charvaka, both in the Vishnu Puran and the Manu Smriti. His name shows up in the Mahabharata as well When Yudhishthir ascended the throne of Hastinapur, a demon (Charvaka) in the garb of an ascetic reminded Yudhishthir of the crimes he had committed. He also criticised him for the half-truth he had uttered, in order to win the war and dethrone his enemy. Hе then advised Yudhishthir and propagated a profane, heretical and atheistic doctrine as a philosophy. According to some experts, the word Charvaka is the distortion of Charu-vak (pleasing phrases). Charvaka's philosophy is based on hedonism: Eat, drink and be merry. It represents the extremity of materialism: it does not believe in repetitive cycles of creation, preservation and destruction, for. the whole process of psychosomatic existence is the result of matter and its constant activity. We are made of four vital elements: earth, water, fire and air These have produced the visible world including our corporeal existence, which is a reservoir of immense possibilities. Whatever our sense organs perceive is the reality, beyond which every other claim is false. Intuition and consciousness are the by-products of the functioning of the body. According to Charvaka, the inherent nature of things is Dharm. Bardhhaman Mahavira also says so. Rituals are superficial or surface activities. So the cause and consequence theory is absurd. There is no invisible world beyond. Whatever is, is. Imagination cannot play the role of reality. While Charvaka was lecturing Yudhishthir, the Brahmins got so angry, that Char vaka was reduced to ashes by the fire of their wrath. The Charvaka doctrine of innate nature is so powerful, that no theistic philosophy can refute its logistics. Charvaka says swan's eggs produce swans, and not snakes. Another popular theory about Charvaka claims Brihaspati as its propounder. In Sanskrit Brihas means prayer and Pati means Lord. So Brihaspati stands for the Lord of prayer, the preceptor and counsellor of the gods. Brihaspati, however, deliberately incited the demons to indulge in all kinds of immoral activities. Anyway, the Charvaka school totally rejects the idea of God. If Karl Marx called religion opium, Charvaka had branded religion as an aberration. 'While you live, live well, even if you have to borrow, for once cremated there is no return', is the famous aphorism which reflects THE SPEAKING TREE the philosophy of Charvaka. Charvaka did not believe in heaven or hell. There is no such thing as soul and so there is no transmigration. The Charvakas use unpleasant language for the Vedas, the priests and gurus. A guru is just another strug gling human being. No sensible man should depend on priests, who proclaim that one who performs sacrifice goes to heaven. For Charvakas the sacred fire ceremony is meaningless. There is no retribution, no reward or punishment for chanting or not chanting a mantra which is merely a combination of certain letters. According to Charvaka if the offering of food satisfies the hunger of departed souls, why does not the supply of oil rekindle the flame of an extinct lamp? Like Kabir, the Charvakas also denounced castes as a monstrous invention of priests and ascetics. According to them, Vedic teachers and priests were worse than scorpions and cobras. The Charvakas ridiculed all the rituals laid down by the Vedas and the pundits.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Kailash Vajpeyi and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Kailash Vajpeyi and Speaking Tree,Times of India
The Charvaka School Ridiculed Rituals
Besides Jainism and Buddhism, another powerful atheist school of Indian philosophy was the Charvaka school. Whether Charvaka was the name of a material philosopher or not is debatable. There are references about Charvaka, both in the Vishnu Puran and the Manu Smriti. His name shows up in the Mahabharata as well When Yudhishthir ascended the throne of Hastinapur, a demon (Charvaka) in the garb of an ascetic reminded Yudhishthir of the crimes he had committed. He also criticised him for the half-truth he had uttered, in order to win the war and dethrone his enemy. Hе then advised Yudhishthir and propagated a profane, heretical and atheistic doctrine as a philosophy. According to some experts, the word Charvaka is the distortion of Charu-vak (pleasing phrases). Charvaka's philosophy is based on hedonism: Eat, drink and be merry. It represents the extremity of materialism: it does not believe in repetitive cycles of creation, preservation and destruction, for. the whole process of psychosomatic existence is the result of matter and its constant activity. We are made of four vital elements: earth, water, fire and air These have produced the visible world including our corporeal existence, which is a reservoir of immense possibilities. Whatever our sense organs perceive is the reality, beyond which every other claim is false. Intuition and consciousness are the by-products of the functioning of the body. According to Charvaka, the inherent nature of things is Dharm. Bardhhaman Mahavira also says so. Rituals are superficial or surface activities. So the cause and consequence theory is absurd. There is no invisible world beyond. Whatever is, is. Imagination cannot play the role of reality. While Charvaka was lecturing Yudhishthir, the Brahmins got so angry, that Char vaka was reduced to ashes by the fire of their wrath. The Charvaka doctrine of innate nature is so powerful, that no theistic philosophy can refute its logistics. Charvaka says swan's eggs produce swans, and not snakes. Another popular theory about Charvaka claims Brihaspati as its propounder. In Sanskrit Brihas means prayer and Pati means Lord. So Brihaspati stands for the Lord of prayer, the preceptor and counsellor of the gods. Brihaspati, however, deliberately incited the demons to indulge in all kinds of immoral activities. Anyway, the Charvaka school totally rejects the idea of God. If Karl Marx called religion opium, Charvaka had branded religion as an aberration. 'While you live, live well, even if you have to borrow, for once cremated there is no return', is the famous aphorism which reflects THE SPEAKING TREE the philosophy of Charvaka. Charvaka did not believe in heaven or hell. There is no such thing as soul and so there is no transmigration. The Charvakas use unpleasant language for the Vedas, the priests and gurus. A guru is just another strug gling human being. No sensible man should depend on priests, who proclaim that one who performs sacrifice goes to heaven. For Charvakas the sacred fire ceremony is meaningless. There is no retribution, no reward or punishment for chanting or not chanting a mantra which is merely a combination of certain letters. According to Charvaka if the offering of food satisfies the hunger of departed souls, why does not the supply of oil rekindle the flame of an extinct lamp? Like Kabir, the Charvakas also denounced castes as a monstrous invention of priests and ascetics. According to them, Vedic teachers and priests were worse than scorpions and cobras. The Charvakas ridiculed all the rituals laid down by the Vedas and the pundits.
DISCLAIMER:
The views expressed in the Article above are Kailash Vajpeyi and kashmiribhatta.in is not in any way responsible for the opinions expressed in the above article. The article belongs to its respective owner or owners and this site does not claim any right over it.
Courtesy: Kailash Vajpeyi and Speaking Tree,Times of India