http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/carvakas.asp
http://www.hinduwebsite.com
Hinduism balances both the material and spiritual aspirations of people. It has elements of this worldly (lokayata) and other worldly (atita) philosophies. In ancient India, the atheists, known as Carvakas or Lokayatas were very popular. They denounced Vedas, Vedic rituals and all forms of divine worship. The did not believe in God or Soul and exhorted people to make enjoyment as the sole aim of their lives as they believe death was the end of all and there was no afterlife. Although the Carvakas disappeared from the religious scene of India thousands of years ago, their philosophy lives through Hinduism in a subtle manner. It may sound incredible, but some elements of Carvaka philosophy is reflected in Hinduism in the form of Purusharthas or principal aims of human life. Of the four principal aims proposed in Hinduism, namely religious duty (dharma), wealth (artha), sensuous pleasures (kama) and liberation (moksha), the Carvakas ignored the first and the last and considered the middle two, wealth and enjoyment as the chief aims of human life. I am not suggesting here that Hinduism derived these aims from the Carvakas. What is obvious is the similarities between the two.
The order in which the four aims are arranged is also important. There is a specific reason why dharma (religious knowledge and duty) comes first, followed by artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and finally moksha (liberation). Dharma is important in the formative years of human life. It is the foundation upon which our lives are supposed to be built. In our childhood and during our years as students we are expected to learn the basics of our religion, self-discipline, social and moral values and religious knowledge. Artha and kama become important during the adulthood when we become householders and focus on acquiring wealth and enjoying life. In this phase we produce children, support our families and engage in various activities to ensure the continuity of our families and various social and religious institutions. Mokhsa becomes important as we reach old age, when we are expected to relinquish family responsibilities and renounce worldly life in order to work for our salavation.
There is also a cosmological dimension to the four aims of human life. The presiding deity of dharma is Brahma whose consort is Saraswathi, the goddess of learning. The presiding deity of artha is Vishnu, whose consort is Laskhmi, the goddess of wealth. The presiding deity of kama is Lord Siva, whose consort is Parvathi or Uma, the Mother Goddess or the goddess of fertility. In old age we leave behind all preferences and desires and focus solely on self realization. In this phase the presiding deity is the individual self (atman) or the universal self (Brahman).
In Hinduism the emphasis is mainly on cultivating sattva (purity) and attaining liberation not on empty ritualism or pretentious devotionalism. In the initial stages, devotion to God is not as important as cultivating divine qualities and performing our obligatory duties with a sense of humility and surrender. Faith and devotion will come naturally to the one who has purified himself and discipline himself. This is true in case of both Saivism and Vaishnavism. Bhakti marg or devotional worship of God is said to the easiest path of all to attain salvation. But it is easy only for those whose moral and spiritual foundation is strong.
A vast majority of people spend their lives in the pursuit of wealth and enjoyment. In a world that is increasingly becoming materialistic, dharma and moksha are rarely pursued. In this regard we are not much different from the Carvakas or the Lokayatas or ancient India. It is important to remember that religion on its own does not offer salvation. Religions can be a source of delusion if we use it to define our identities, further our selfish agendas or strengthen our individual and collective egos. We have to practice dharma or righteousness before we can work other aims of life. We have to practice religious discipline to bring transformation in ourselves so that we can satabilize our minds and establish in ourselves.
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@topbluffa1. "atheism" is nothing new.
pixusbubblejet 9 months ago
@ruzickaw
im already free brother and i have not been "brain washed" unless being brain washed means cleaning my brain and removing the impure and ignorant thoughts.
i was raised as a Christian and then turned into a atheist because of scientific accidence but then i became a Hindu as just like Christianity i had disproved atheism with science.
topbluffa1 10 months ago
@ruzickaw
unlike you i do not define myself by my current form or ego.
this is one of the main points of Hinduism/Buddhism and needs to be understood
topbluffa1 10 months ago
@ruzickaw
do you not accept that life can only come from death.
why do you think that your death will not lead to life?
your main problem is your idea of yourself as being "john smith" or whatever your name is when that is just like your 999.999.999th form why is just that form you? and not the form before or the form after.
topbluffa1 10 months ago
@ruzickaw
you say "Nature recycles us, that is true. But you will not be you" this just shows your misunderstanding of the Self you think of yourself as your current form which is not you so you believe when your current form dies "you" will no longer exist this is a big mistake.
and i font have enough words left to explain to you why you thinking you can escape religious duty like i said life itself is religious duty have you escaped life?
topbluffa1 10 months ago
@topbluffa1 I dónt need any "scientific proof" for reencarnation. Nature recycles us, that is true. But you will not be you
anymore.
"Life is religius duty?" Who says that? The priests, because it is their business. We are no agents of anybody.
If i do not accept any duty, i have already escaped.
You seem to be a Hindu and they have brain washed you with this "duty and Dharma " stuff.
Become a Carvaka and you will be free.
ruzickaw 10 months ago
@pixusbubblejet
this is not atheism , atheism believes in no supreme being or universal self (god) and believe in no after life... which is now scientifically proven to be wrong using The law of the conservation of energy proves your matter/energy has been manifest since the big bang and was not created by your mother father and will not be destroyed by your death.
topbluffa1 10 months ago
@ruzickaw
you want proof of reincarnation? im guessing you want scientific proof so here you go The law of the conservation of energy states that energy can never be created or destroyed only converted from one FORM to another you ultimately are not defined by your current form.
Life is Religious Duty we are working as agents of Brahma (Creation) Vishnu (preservation) and Shiva (destruction) for Brahman and you CANNOT escape these dutys.
topbluffa1 10 months ago
The Carvakas are right. Enjoy this life, there is no other life. All religions are delutions.
Liberation from what? There is no proof of rencarnation.
Religious duty ? Just a waste of time.
Carvakas did social work , gave laws to improuve this life.
And what did they say about women? If women should restrain their desires, men should do the same. But all religions, without exceptions, always supressed women.
So, give up dharma and mokhsa, and enjoy life.
ruzickaw 10 months ago
This is excellent, and shows that Atheism did not simply come from 19th century western science. Carvaka shows that Atheism was around thousands of years before in ancient india.
But the voice recording is not good. The narrator is speaking too close to the microphone and hard to understand sometimes. I hope the voice recording can be improved. Thank you.
pixusbubblejet 1 year ago