Cārvāka (Sanskrit: चार्वाक), also known as Lokāyata, is a system of Indian philosophy that assumes various forms of philosophical skepticism and religious indifference.[1] It seems named after Cārvāka[2], the probable author of the Bārhaspatya-sūtras and probably a follower of Brihaspati, who founded the Lokāyata philosophy.
In overviews of Indian philosophy, Cārvāka is classified as a "faithless" (nāstika) system, the same classification as is given to Buddhism and Jainism.[3][4] It is characterized as a materialistic and atheistic school of thought. While this branch of Indian philosophy is not considered to be part of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy, some describe evidence of a materialistic movement within Hinduism.[5][6]
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The name Lokāyata can be traced to Kautilya's Arthashastra, which refers to three ānvīkṣikīs (logical philosophies), Yoga, Samkhya and Lokayata. Lokayata here still refers to logical debate (disputatio, "criticism") in general and not to a materialist doctrine in particular. Similarly, Saddaniti and Buddhaghosa in the 5th century connect the "Lokayatas" with the Vitandas (sophists).
Only from about the 6th century is the term restricted to the school of the Lokyātikas. The name Cārvāka is first used in the 7th century by the philosopher Purandara, who refers to his fellow materialists as "the Cārvākas", and it is used by the 8th century philosophers Kamalaśīla and Haribhadra. Shankara, on the other hand, always uses Lokāyata, not Cārvāka.[7] By the 8th century, the terms Cārvāka, Lokāyata, and Bārhaspatya were used interchangeably to signify materialism [8].
The etymological meaning of the word Cārvāka is 'a person who is clever in speech and is extremely fond of wrangling (debate)'.
E. W. Hopkins, in his The Ethics of India (1924) assumes that Cārvāka philosophy is co-eval with Buddhism, mentioning "the old Cārvāka or materialist of the 6th century BC"; Rhys Davids assumes that lokayata in ca. 500 BC came to mean "skepticism" in general without yet being organized as a philosophical school, and that the name of a villain of the Mahabharata, Cārvāka, was attached to the position in order to disparage it. The earliest positive statement of skepticism is preserved from the epic period, in the Ramayana, Ayodhya kanda, chapter 108, where a brahmin Jabāli tries to persuade Rāma to accept the kingdom by using nāstika arguments. Rāma then refutes him in chapter 109.
O, the highly wise! Arrive at a conclusion, therefore, that there is nothing beyond this Universe. Give precedence to that which meets the eye and turn your back on what is beyond our knowledge. (2.108.17)
The Cārvāka school thus appears to have gradually grown out of generic skepticism in the Mauryan period, but its existence as an organized body cannot be ascertained for times predating the 6th century. The Barhaspatya sutras were likely also composed in Mauryan times, predating 150 BC, based on a reference in the Mahabhasya of Patanjali (7.3.45).[9]
Chatterjee and Datta explain that our understanding of Cārvāka philosophy is fragmentary, based largely on criticism of the ideas by other schools, and that it is not a living tradition:
"Though materialism in some form or other has always been present in India, and occasional references are found in the Vedas, the Buddhistic literature, the Epics, as well as in the later philosophical works we do not find any systematic work on materialism, nor any organised school of followers as the other philosophical schools possess. But almost every work of the other schools states, for refutation, the materialistic views. Our knowledge of Indian materialism is chiefly based on these."[10]
Available evidence suggests that Cārvāka philosophy was set out in the Barhaspatya sutras, probably in Mauryan times. Neither this text nor any other original text of the Cārvāka school of philosophy has been preserved. Its principal works are known only from fragments cited by its Hindu and Buddhist opponents. Cārvāka philosophy appears to have died out some time in the 15th century.
Countering the argument that the Cārvākas opposed all that was good in the Vedic tradition, Dale Riepe says, "It may be said from the available material that Cārvākas hold truth, integrity, consistency, and freedom of thought in the highest esteem."[11]
The Tattvopaplavasimha of Jayarashi Bhatta (ca. 8th century) is often cited as the only extant authentic Cārvāka text, but which also shows Madhyamaka influence. It is, in any case, among the most important documents for the study of the Cārvāka school.
The Cārvāka school of philosophy had a variety of atheistic, materialistic, and naturalistic beliefs.
The Carvaka believed there was no afterlife, no life after death
The Carvaka believed in a form of naturalism, that is that all things happen by nature, and come from nature (not from any deity or Supreme Being).
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Unlike many of the Indian philosophies of the time, the Carvaka believed there was nothing wrong with sensual indulgence, and that it was the only enjoyment to be pursued.
The Carvaka believed that religion was invented and made up by men, having no divine authority.
Brihaspati is sometimes referenced as the founder of Carvaka/Lokayata philosophy. The earliest direct quote from Brihaspati's lost writings is found in the Sarvasiddhantasamgraha (sometimes attributed to Samkara, although some scholars question that). In the Sarvasiddhantasamgraha, the author quotes Brihaspati as follows:
"'Chastity and other such ordinances are laid down by clever weaklings; gifts of gold and land, the pleasure of invitations to dinner, are devised by indigent people with stomachs lean with hunger.
"'The building of temples, houses for water-supply, tanks, wells, resting places, and the like, please only travelers, not others.
"'The Agnihotra ritual, the three Vedas, the triple staff, the ash-smearing, are the ways of gaining a livelihood for those who are lacking in intellect and energy.' -- so thinks Brihaspati."
Although it seems evident to most scholars that this earliest extant Brihaspati quote comes from a writer who is hardly sympathetic to Carvaka/Lokayata thinking, the writer's summation of Carvaka/Lokayata thinking at the close of his description does suggest some degree of even-handedness in the author, since it's not entirely unflattering:
"The wise should enjoy the pleasures of this world through the more appropriate available means of agriculture, tending cattle, trade, political administration, etc."
This may indicate, then, that the direct quote from Brihaspati himself found here can be trusted. If so, this is an invaluable document, for it gives us the earliest known quote from the earliest known founder of an atheist philosophy. Of course, Brihaspati can hardly have been the first atheist ever. But he is the earliest extant atheist, and he initiated a carefully honed philosophy of non-belief that gained serious adherents reflecting a distinct point of view. Consequently, remarks like this concerning his impatience over the undue fuss made over the indigent and over travelers give us a valuable insight into both the social habits of his time and the response to them from the earliest known pioneer in atheism.
Madhavacharya, the 13th & 14th-century Vedantic philosopher from South India starts his famous work The Sarva-darsana-sangraha with a chapter on the Cārvāka system with the intention of refuting it. After invoking, in the Prologue of the book, the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu, ("by whom the earth and rest were produced"), Madhavacharya asks, in the first chapter:
Those parts which survive indicate a strong anti-clerical bias, accusing Brahmins of fostering religious beliefs only so they could obtain a livelihood. The proper aim of a Charvakan or Charvaka, according to these sources, was to live a prosperous, happy, and productive life in this world.
Cārvākas cultivated a philosophy wherein theology and what they called "speculative metaphysics" were to be avoided. The Cārvākas accepted direct perception as the surest method to prove the truth of anything. Though their opponents tried to caricature the Lokayatikas' arguments, the latter did not completely reject the method of inference. Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya quotes S. N. Dasgupta:
While a Cārvāka's thought is characterized by an insistence on pleasure seeking on one hand and Jainism is known to emphasize penance on the other, Buddhism is said to stand for a "middle way", avoiding indulgence in sensual pleasures and penance alike.[15]
The Cārvākas did not deny the difference between the dead and the living and recognized both as realities. A person lives, the same person dies: that is a perceived, and hence the only provable, fact. In this regard, the Cārvākas found themselves at odds with all the other religions of the time.
Rejection of the soul as separate from the body led the Cārvākas to confine their thinking to this world only.
Ain-i-Akbari, written by Abul Fazl, the famous historian of Akbar's court, mentions a symposium of philosophers of all faiths held in 1578 at Akbar's insistence. Some Cārvāka philosophers are said to have participated in this symposium.[16]
Under the heading "Nastika," Abul Fazl has referred to the good work, judicious administration, and welfare schemes that were emphasized by the Cārvāka lawmakers. Somadeva has also mentioned the Cārvāka method of defeating the enemies of the nation. Contrary to popular opinion, these so-called "peasant religions(or opinions)"— the direct translation of the word "Lokayata"—never demanded that the practitioner give up happiness; all they said was that the means of happiness is giving up that which contradicts Cārvāka, who claimed that (material) pleasures suffice to give happiness to the (material) body.
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