Charvaka philosophy

Contents • 1 परिचयः || Introduction • 2 Founder - Brhaspati • 3 Etymology of Charvaka • 4 Origin of Lokayata or Charvakas • 5 Charvaka Siddhantam • 6 Comparison with other schools of Hinduism • 7 Charvaka Literature • 8 Controversy on reliability of sources • 9 References परिचयः || Introduction Charvaka,also calledLokayata (Sanskrit: Worldly Ones), a quasi-philosophical Bharat's school of materialists who rejected the notion of an afterworld,karma, liberation ( moksha), the authority of the sacred scriptures, theVedas, and the immortality of the self. Of the recognized means of knowledge ( pramana), the Charvaka recognized only direct perception ( anubhava). Sources critical of the school depict its followers as hedonists advocating a policy of total opportunism; they are often described as addressing princes, whom they urged to act exclusively in their own self-interest, thus providing theintellectualclimate in which a text such asKautilya’s Arthashastra(The Science of Material Gain) could be written. Although Charvaka doctrine had disappeared by the end of themedievalperiod, its onetime importance is confirmed by the lengthy attempts to refute it found in Dharmicphilosophical texts, which alsoconstitutethe main sources for knowledge of the doctrine. Charvaka (IAST: Cārvāka), originally known as Lokāyata and Bṛhaspatya, is the ancient school of Bharat's materialism. The School of Charvaka (those of sweet-talk) or Lokayata (those of the world) has a history of nearly about...

Contents • 1 Etymology and meaning • 1.1 As Lokayata • 2 Origin • 3 Philosophy • 3.1 Epistemology • 3.1.1 Comparison with other schools of Hinduism • 3.2 Metaphysics • 3.3 Consciousness and afterlife • 3.4 Pleasure • 3.5 Religion • 4 Works • 4.1 Loss of original works • 4.2 Controversy on reliability of sources • 5 Criticism from Abrahamic philosophers • 6 See also • 7 Notes • 8 Bibliography • 9 Further reading • 10 External links Etymology and meaning [ ] The etymology of Charvaka (Sanskrit: चार्वाक) is uncertain. Bhattacharya quotes the grammarian Others believe it to mean "agreeable speech" or pejoratively, "sweet-tongued", from Sanskrit's cāru "agreeable" and As Lokayata [ ] According to ayatah) among the people ( lokesu), and meant the world-outlook of the people. The dictionary meaning of Lokāyata (लोकायत) signifies "directed towards, aiming at the world, worldly". In early to mid 20th century literature, the etymology of Lokayata has been given different interpretations, in part because the primary sources are unavailable, and the meaning has been deduced from divergent secondary literature. ānvīkṣikīs (अन्वीक्षिकी, literally, examining by reason, disputatio, "criticism"). Lokayata in German as "logisch beweisende Naturerklärung", that is "logically proving explanation of nature". In 8th century CE Jaina literature, Saddarsanasamuccaya by Haribhadra, Lokayata is stated to be the Hindu school where there is "no God, no The Buddhist Sanskrit work Lokayata, where it is...

Charvaka Philosophy is one of the Nastika or Heterodox Schools of Indian philosophy. It holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embraces philosophical skepticism and rejects ritualism and supernaturalism. The founder of this system, according to a popular view is Sage Brishaspati, however, some scholars think that Charvaka was a prominent disciple of Brihaspati, the actual founder of the school. Some scholars are also of the opinion that Charvaka (charv meaning to eat) is not a proper name, but a common name given to a materialist, and it signifies a person who believes in ‘eat, drink and be merry’ and Charvaka (charu+vak= sweet tongued) doctrine is superficially attractive. Charvaka was also called ‘Lokayatya’which is the combination of the two words ‘loka’ (the world) and ‘ayata’ (basis). It accepts only the reality of the material world. In other words, Charvakas are the people who care only about the earth and not about the heaven. Epistemology: (Study of Knowledge) Some of the important Sutras of Brihaspati which are quoted in the various philosophical writings Pratyaksam eva pramanam Meaning: Pratyaksha is the only valid source of knowledge It holds perception as the primary and proper source of knowledge. Perception ( Pratyaksa): • It holds that nothing exists except what is perceived by five senses. Accordingly, they refuted inference (Anumana) and testimony ( Shabda), which are accepted by almost all other sch...

• Charvaka also known as Lokāyata is an ancient school of Indian materialism, one of the popular belief system in Ancient India. (Traditional name of Charvaka is Lokyata) • Charvaka is a materialistic, sceptical and atheistic school of thought. • According to materialism, everything that exists is a perceivable matter; ideas like the soul and other supernatural beings or planes of existence are just the creations of creative minds. • Charvaka is one of the Nastika or “heterodox” schools of Indian Philosophy and unlike Busshism and Jainism, it was not a Dharmic Philosophy. • Founder – Brihaspati, Source – Brihaspati Sutra (lost) • Time Period – Around 5-6th century BCE. • Although materialist schools existed before Charvaka, it was the only school which systematised materialist philosophy by setting them down in the form of aphorisms in the 6th century BCE. • Charvaka holds direct perception/ empiricism and conditional inference as proper source of knowledge, embrace philosophical skepticism and rejects ritualism and supernaturalism. • Charvaka School rejects supernatural concepts like God and soul and also metaphysical concepts like afterlife (or reincarnation) and moksha. • One of the widely studies principle of Charvaka philosophy was the rejection of inference as a means to establish valid, universal knowledge, and metaphysical truths. (The Charvaka epistemology states that whenever one infers a truth from a set of observations or truths, one must acknowledge doubt; inf...

• • • • brahman and atman • • • • • • anatta and nibbana • Mahabharata • • • • • Bhagavadgita • Tipitaka • • sutra style • Purva-mimamsa-sutras and Shabara’s commentary • Vedanta-sutras • Mimamsa-sutras • • • Samkhya-karikas • • purusha) • prakriti) • gunas) • • • Yoga-sutras • • • • Vaisheshika-sutras • • • • • • Nyaya-sutras • • • • • • • • • • Arthashastra • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Mandukya-karika until Shankara • • • • bhedabheda • • • • • • • • • • • • Fragments from the Ajivikas and the Charvakas The About the time of the rise of Digha Nikaya, the Anguttara Nikaya, the Samyutta Nikaya, the Sutrakritanga-sutra, Shilanka’s commentary on the Sutrakritanga-sutra, the Bhagavati-sutra, the Nandi-sutra, and Abhayadeva’s commentary on Samavayanga-sutra. Makkhali’s views may be thus summarized: There is no cause of the depravity of things; they become depraved without any reason or cause. There is also no cause of the purity of beings; they become pure without any reason or cause. Nothing depends either on one’s own efforts or on the efforts of others. All things are Thus, Makkhali denies sin, or adharma, and denies human The Another pre-Buddhistic system of Sarva-darshana-samgraha (“Compendium of All Philosophies,” 14th century). Shaddarshanasamuccaya (“Compendium of the Six Philosophies,” 5th century ce) attributes to the Charvakas the view that this world extends only to the limits of possible sense experience. The Charvakas apparently sou...

Metaphysics Metaphysics is the theory of reality. The Charvaka theory of reality follows from the epistemological conclusion just discussed. If perception is the only reliable source of knowledge, we can rationally assert only the reality of perceptible objects. God, soul, heaven, life before birth or after death, and any unperceived law (like adista) cannot be believed in, because they are all beyond perception. Material objects are the only objects whose existence can be received and whose reality can be asserted. The Charvakas, thus, come to establish materialism or the theory that matter is the only reality. • The World is made of Four Elements Regarding the nature of the material world, most other Indian thinkers hold that it is composed of five kinds of elements (panchbhuta), namely, ether (akash), air (vayu), fire (agni), Water (jal) and earth (kshiti). But the Charvakas reject ether, because its existence cannot be perceived; it has to be inferred. The material world is, therefore, held to be composed of the four perceptible elements. Not only non-living material objects but also living organisms, like plants and animal bodies, are composed of these four elements, by the combination of which they are produced and to which they are reduced on death. • There is no Soul It may be asked, even if perception is the only source of knowledge, do we not have a kind of perception, called internal, which gives an immediate knowledge of our mental states? And do we not have pe...