Charvaka System (Summarisation)

Introduction: Charvaka also known as Lokayata, is an ancient school of Indian

materialism or hedonism. They believe that only what this see exists.Carvaka is a non-vedic
Indian materialistic school of philosophy named after a sage called Carvaka, the founder of
this system, according to a popular view. But some think that Carvaka was a prominent
disciple of Brhaspati, the actual founder of the school.
Carvaka etymologically means ‘sweet-tongued’. They are votaries of pleasing ideas if only
you choose to follow their ways. Some hold that ‘carvaka’ has its etymology in ‘carva’ which
means to chew or eat. It is an allusion to their doctrine of ‘eat, drink and make merry.’
According to Gunaratana of eight century C.E., 'carva' stands for chewing, grinding with the
teeth, eating and swallowing virtues and vices. Carvakas are those who take no notice of
virtues and vices.
Carvaka 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,
Carvakas are the people who care only about the earth and not about the heaven.That is only
the four elements of the world air water Earth fire.
They feel only the perception is the true source of knowledge .
People believing in charvaka philosophy, which is related to the common people are
regarded as “people of low and unrefined taste”.
The lokayatas seem to have been around during the time of buddhism and were known and
condemned as being the "abusers of the vedas" , " deniers of the after world".The only means
of knowledge the Carvakas accept is perception. And they openly question and deny the
validity of means of knowledge such as inference and testimony. Carvakas do not believe in
all the five elements of the material world. They deny the existence of Ether because it cannot
be perceived. Carvakas do not deny consciousness but only its existence independent of the
body. It is always found associated with the body and is destroyed with the body's
disintegration. For them, consciousness is as a mere product of matter arising out of the
combination of the four elements of matter under certain favourable conditions.
Carvakas do not believe in God because they deny the existence of anything which is not
material. Hence God who is supposed to be a supernatural and transcendental being is not a
reality as God cannot be the object of perception, the only valid means of knowledge. Since
this is the only life for me, I must make the best use of it. To get the best out of this only life, I
have to enjoy this life and to seek the utmost pleasure. Carvakas reject religious rituals
because they falsely promise people a good future life but in reality they are mechanisms of
priests to exploit others and make a living out of it.
Drawbacks: Carvaka is a positivist in his epistemology and accepts Perception as the
only pramana,or valid source of knowledge. Carvaka says that perception always gives us
reliable, authentic knowledge unlike other Pramanas. Also, doesn't accept Samanya
lakshan perception like Nyaya on the basis of which it explains inference. Carvaka says
 our perception is ordinary, limited in scope.
He refutes inference and says that there is only psychological relationship between
perceptions and no logical relationship. He refutes verbal testimony as choosing a
reliable person requires inference. He says knowledge of similarity is possible through
perception, there is no need to accept separate Upman pramana for it.

But Carvaka deservingly attracts a lot of criticism;

a. When Cavakas say "perception gives reliable all the time", he is making use of
inference.

b. Process of refutation of inference is in itself an inference that gives arguments in

support and infers. Also, Buddhists say it is only through inference he could know that his
opponents use inference as a praman. Jainism says that refutation is in the form of a
inference.

c. Swatantrika, Locke say that perceptions only lead to impression on retina, inference
needed for synthesis of knowledge.

d. Carvaka inferred non-existence of transcendental entities when he couldn't perceive

them.

e. " Percepts are blind without concepts and concepts are empty without percepts"

But, importance of Carvaka can't be undermined. He is the Hume of Indian philosophy

and forced other philosophers to give sound arguments for accepting pramanas and
transcendental entities.
Charvaka was a school of philosophy of ancient India of the Na-astika tradition (those
that do not recognize the authority of Vedas and the existence of Brahm (the eternal being
in Vedic Religion, do not confuse it with Brahmin caste). It was started by
Vrihaspati/Charvaka and the followers were known as Charvakas ( From Sanskrit Charu
- Sweet , Vaka - Mouthed/Words).

Charvakas do not believe or recognize the existence of soul or aatma. They believe in
only what can be grasped by the senses as the reality as truth. It can be said that
Charvakas believed solely on materialism. It was a disruptive thought process in those
times which if implemented and endorsed by any emperor of those times like Ashoka The
Great (who endorsed Buddhism) would have gained immense popularity because of its
practical, non-discriminating and ritual-less appeal, so as it happens with most of the
new thought process with no big sponsors it was curbed down before it could spring. The
only common thing among all religions of today is that they all believe in something that
they cannot see. The Charvaks believed in only what could be sensed and nothing else.
They didn't even believe in the consequences of Karma.

Unfortunately nothing much survives of it as of now except for a few couplets which could
escape the persecution. I would try my best to explain them according to my
understanding and by the end of this answer you would be enlightened on how ahead
Charvaka was of his times and how everyone today including those who are strong
believers in their respective Gods is following it even without realising. “Be happy as
long as you are alive”, In this line Charvaka advises us to be happy, there is no greater
purpose in life. It is simple if you are not happy then you can not spread happiness and
make it a better place to live in.

For example, if we take a loan and indulge in ghee. Ghee was considered a luxury in
ancient India, not everyone could afford it daily back then. I bet many cannot afford it
now also. So here Charvaka is advising to even take a loan to have that luxury that you
cannot afford. Now think about it are we in the present world not indulging in this
practice, while we follow our religions which advises us to lead a simple life we are
caught in the web of materialistic pursuits.

Many a times we end up buying stuff we do not need with money we do not have to
impress people we do not matter that much. Indeed in this era of capitalism we all have
become hugely materialistic devoid of spiritual goals. Another example pertaining to the
Marriage scenario in India or elsewhere in the world is, like when a boy rejects a girl
because she is not fair enough or slim enough or pretty enough . Isn’t it materialistic? Or
when a girl rejects a boy because he doesn't earn enough or tall enough. All this is
materialistic. When a family rejects another family due to gap in their economic condition
or prevalent caste differences . This is materialism.

It’s said :(As) once the body has turned to ashes it is not going to come back.

Talking about accidental/term insurance,I bet almost every body has it. So if someone
believes in the Atma why do they have to take a insurance so their family can be paid
after their death? Why don't they come back in the soul or aatma form and help them. It’s
because deep down we know we are not coming back atleast in this form, our existence is
in this body only and there is nothing beyond this (at least not until we find a way to
capture consciousness). Charvaka advises us that nothing is coming back once this body
is burnt.

Conclusion: Concluding this, Charvaka “also advised not to find happiness in other
things/people but to find it within/for your senses” only, there is nothing wrong in
materialistic pursuits as long as you are not obsessesively dependent with external
factors. The truth is that you can be either spiritual or materialistic. You cannot be both, u
can’t even be just one i believe. The moment we say something is 'Ours' our spiritual
learnings have just gone back to square. We should not try to be a hypocrite by claiming
to be one and actually being something else. Charvaka was bold enough to preach his
materialistic approach and we should be free to accept ours too. No one knows what
happens further in life or after life. So the best thing to do is just make the world a better
place to live for ourselves and for others too.