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The Cārvāka school of philosophy had a variety of atheistic 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).
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.
Dr. Ramendra
IHEU's 2005 Paris Congress Declaration refers to the Humanist ideas of the Charvakas of ancient India. Dr.Ramendra presents the salient features of the philosophy of the Charvakas, developed 600 years before the Common Era. This philosophy is also known as Lokayata and appears surprisingly contemporary in some of its aspects.
Ancient Wisdom
Ancient Indian wisdom is quite often equated with "spiritualism" of one kind or the other. However, real ancient Indian wisdom is to be found, in my opinion, in the teachings of the Lokayata or Charvaka school of philosophy. Sadly, no work of the Lokayata school has survived at present. Some popular verses with philosophical contents have, however, come down to us through the writings of its opponents.
Ironically, the most significant collection of such authentic popular verses (pramanik lokagatha) has been collected by Madhava - an orthodox Sanskrit writer of fourteenth century A.D - in his compendium of Indian philosophy titled Sarva-darshana-sangraha. Here are some extracts from the verses collected by Madhava:
While life is yours, live joyously;
None can escape Death's searching eye:
When once this frame of ours they burn,
How shall it ever again return?
The pleasure which arises to men from contact with sensible objects,
Is to be relinquished as accompanied by pain - such is the reasoning of fools;
There is no heaven, no final liberation, nor any soul in another world,
Nor do the actions of the four castes, orders, etc., produce any real effect.
There are four elements, earth, water, fire and air;
And from these four elements alone is consciousness produced -
The fire is hot, the water cold, refreshing and cool the breeze of morn;
By whom came this variety? From their own nature was it born.
The Agnihotra, the three Vedas, the ascetic's three staves, and smearing oneself with ashes -
Brihaspati says, these are but means of livelihood for those who have no manliness nor sense.
If a beast slain in the Jyotishtoma rite will itself go to heaven,
Why then does not the sacrificer, forthwith offer his own father?
In Modern Language
We may paraphrase, and logically rearrange the ideas expressed by the Charvakas in simple and contemporary prose:
Happiness is the highest end in life. There is no soul and no life after death. There is no world other than this world. Heaven and liberation from the so-called cycle of birth and death are imaginary ideals. Everyone will inevitably die. No one will be reborn. Therefore, one should make the best of one's life and live happily as long as one lives.
It is irrational to suggest that one should give up pleasures of life because they are mixed with pain. It is just like saying that we should throw away our finest grains because they are covered with husk and dust.
Earth, water, fire and air are the four elements. Consciousness, too, arises from these four elements only; just like intoxicating power arising from mixing together certain ingredients which themselves do not have intoxicating power.
There is no soul apart from body. When we say "I am fat" or "I am lean" attributes like fatness reside only in the body. Phrases like, "my body" are only significant metaphorically.
The hotness of fire and the coolness of water etc. are all natural attributes. Everything behaves according to its own nature and the variety in things comes from nature alone.
The Vedas are not revealed. Their authority should not be accepted. The authors of the Vedas were devoid of intelligence and honesty. Vedic sacrifices, ceremonies for the dead (shraddha), gifts to priests and other related rituals are useless and bear no fruit anywhere. They were created only as a means of livelihood for Brahmin priests.
The Lokayata Philosophy
First and foremost, we find in Lokayata philosophy a total rejection of supernaturalism (soul, other world, heaven, gods, etc.). It is a completely this-worldly or secular philosophy. Secondly, it is a hedonistic philosophy. In other words, it regards human happiness as the highest ethical end. It rejects imaginary ethical ends like attainment of heaven and moksha or nirvana and clearly asserts that one should not run away from life just because pleasure in life is mixed with pain. The basic idea of Lokayata philosophy is: this world is the only world, this life is the only life and one should make the best of it. This basic idea is shared by contemporary Humanists - therefore, Lokayata is humanistic.
There is no doubt about Lokayata being materialistic and naturalistic. Its doctrine that earth, fire, air and water are the only elements is similar to that of ancient Greek materialist Empedocles, just as its hedonism is similar to that of ancient Greek hedonists, Aristippus and Epicurus.
In the Indian context, Lokayata rejects the authority of the Vedas, the Vedic rituals and the varna-ashrama dharma (the caste system). Thus, there is a clear and strong rejection of Brahminism. It may even be called anti- Brahminism. The naturalism and materialism of Lokayata and its rejection of Vedic rituals as merely means of livelihood for Brahmin priests, implies rejection of the gods. Thus, Lokayata is atheistic. In fact, Lokayata is the only school of ancient and medieval Indian philosophy which is atheist (nastika) in all the three senses of the term. It rejects the soul and the so-called other-world. It rejects gods as well as the authority of the Vedas.
To sum up, Lokayata is a secular and nastika philosophy. We find naturalism, hedonism, humanism, materialism, atheism and anti-Brahminism in Lokayata. Thus, from a rational, humanist point of view it may be described as the genuine wisdom of ancient India.
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Theravada promotes the concept of Vibhajjavada (Pali), literally "Teaching of Analysis." This doctrine says that insight must come from the aspirant's experience, critical investigation, and reasoning instead of by blind faith; however, the scriptures of the Theravadan tradition also emphasize heeding the advice of the wise, considering such advice and evaluation of one's own experiences to be the two tests by which practices should be judged.
In Theravada, the cause of human existence and suffering (dukkha) is identified as craving (tanha), which carries with it the defilements (kilesas). Those defilements that bind human to the cycle of rebirth are classified into a set of ten "Fetters", while those defilements that impede concentration (samadhi) are presented in a fivefold set called the "Five Hindrances".[27] The level of defilement can be coarse, medium, and subtle. It is a phenomenon that frequently arises, remains temporarily and then vanishes. Theravadans believe defilements are not only harmful to oneself, but also harmful to others. They are the driving force behind all inhumanities a human being can commit.
Theravadian's believe these defilements are the habits born of ignorance (avijja) which afflict the minds of all unenlightened beings. It is believed that unenlightened beings are under the influence of the defilements, unenlightened beings cling to them through ignorance of the truth. But in reality, those mental defilements are nothing more than taints that have afflicted the mind and create suffering and stress. It is also believed that unenlightened beings cling to the body, assuming it as their own "Self", but in reality the body is an impermanent phenomenon formed from the four basic elements. Often characterized by earth, water, fire and air, in the early Buddhist texts these are defined to be abstractions representing the sensorial qualities solidity, fluidity, temperature, and mobility, respectively.[28] The mental defilements' frequent instigation and manipulation of the mind is believed to have prevented the mind from seeing the true nature of reality. Unskillful behavior in turn can strengthen the defilements, but following the Noble Eightfold Path can weaken or eradicate them.
It is also believed that unenlightened beings experience the world through their imperfect six sense doors (eye, ear, nose, tongue, tactile sense, and mind) and then use the mind clouded by defilements to form their own interpretation, perception and conclusion[29]. In such a condition the perception or conclusion made will be based on that being's own illusion of reality.[30] In the state of jhana (deep concentration), the five physical sense doors will fade, the mental defilements will be suppressed, and wholesome mental traits will become strengthened. The mind can then be used to investigate and gain insight into the true nature of reality.
There are three stages of defilements. During the stage of passivity the defilements lies dormant at the base of the mental continuum as latent tendencies (anusaya), but through the impact of sensory stimulus it will manifest (pariyutthana) itself to the surface of consciousness in the form of unwholesome thoughts, emotions, and volitions. If they gather additional strength, the defilement will reach the dangerous stage of transgression (vitikkama), which will then involve physical or vocal actions.
It is believed that in order to be free from suffering and stress these defilements need to be permanently uprooted. Initially the defilements are restrained through mindfulness to prevent them from taking over the mind and bodily action. They are then uprooted through internal investigation, analyzing, experiencing and understanding the true nature of those defilements by using jhana. This process needs to be repeated for each and every defilement. The practice will then lead the meditator to realize the Four Noble Truths, Enlightenment, and Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, Nirvāṇa; Pali: निब्बान, Nibbāna; Thai: นิพพาน, Nípphaan). Nirvana is the ultimate goal of Theravadans. Nirvana is said to be the perfect bliss and the person is liberated from the repeated cycle of birth, illness, aging and death.
Theravadans believe that every individual is personally responsible for their own self-awakening and liberation, as they are the ones that were responsible for their own actions and consequences (Sanskrit: karma; Pali: kamma). Simply learning or believing in the true nature of reality as expounded by the Buddha is not enough, the awakening can only be achieved through direct experience and personal realization. An individual will have to follow and practice the Noble Eightfold Path as taught by the Buddha to discover the reality for themselves. In Theravada belief, Buddhas, gods or deities are incapable of giving a human being the awakening or lifting them from the state of repeated cycle of birth, illness, aging and death (samsara). For Theravadans, Buddha is only a Teacher of the Noble Eightfold Path, while gods or deities are still subject to anger, jealousy, hatred, vengeance, craving, greed, delusion, and death.
It is believed that some people who practice with earnestness and zeal can attain Nirvana within a single lifetime, as did many of the first few generations of Buddha's disciples. For others, the process may take multiple lifetimes, with the individual reaching higher and higher states of realization. One who has attained Nirvana is called an Arahant. It is believed that the Nirvana is most quickly attained as a disciple of Buddha, since Lord Buddha is believed to have possessed the ultimate knowledge on how to guide a person through the process of enlightenment.
According to the early scriptures, the Nirvana attained by Arahants is identical to that attained by the Buddha himself, as there is only one type of Nirvana.[31] Buddha was superior to Arahants because the Buddha had discovered the path all by himself, and has taught it to others (i,e., metaphorically turning the wheel of Dhamma). Arahants, on the other hand, attained Nirvana due in part to the Buddha's teachings. Theravadans revere the Buddha as a single supremely gifted person but do recognize the existence of other such Buddhas in the distant past and future. Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya), for example, is mentioned very briefly in the Pali Canon as a Buddha who will come in the distant future.
Traditionally Theravadans can either have the conviction (or "faith") in the Buddha's teaching and practice the minor precepts in the hope of gaining some minor benefits or they can investigate and verify by direct experience the truth of the Buddha's teaching by practicing the jhana which is part of the Noble Eightfold Path for their own Enlightenment.
When someone knocks you down, you get back up. When something destroys what you’ve built, you rebuild it. When someone tells you that it’s impossible or it can’t be done by you, then do it passionately.
Sometimes I’m right. Sometimes I’m wrong. Either way, I’ll always give my opinion and give it my best go no matter what the stakes. For that- I am righteous. For that- I am grateful.
I like this video on YouTube because it’s the definition of what I believe life should be. I believe that it’s almost a visual collage of what I visualise my life to be and our company to become. I wanted to share it with those people that visit my blog and read what I have to say. I’ll add one more thought to this post before I get back to work and load the video for you to watch and enjoy.
Whoever came up with the saying “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” was a loser. They were justifying failure and avoiding admittance of defeat by allowing theirself to feel some sort of victory in knowing that they tried. I say live your life. I say have a go. If you fail- so what! If you fail twice- who cares. I say if you know how to accept failure, regather your creative thoughts and add a dash of optimism and a spec of hope- then and only then can you mold failure into success and breed more successes to follow. Claim your life. Claim your destiny. Demand more of yourself, expect less of others and watch what happens. 2010 is my year- I already know it… but what I don’t know is just how big it’s going to be… thanks for reading.
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