Cavanayakam

By Suchismita Pahi 19 September 2009 196 views 3 Comments

Believing that the Veda are standard (holy or divine), believing in a Creator for the world,
Bathing in holy waters for gaining punya¹, having pride (vanity) about one’s caste,
Performing penance to absolve sins,
Are the five symptoms of having lost one’s sanity.

-Pramanvartik²

Atheism in Hinduism is not a new concept. Still, it astonishes many atheists both in the East and the West to believe India could have produced atheist thought, especially with the knowledge that India is one of the more religion-oriented countries of the world³.

Hinduism is the only religion in the world that accepts both theists and atheists. In order to be a Hindu, it is neither necessary that one believe in a higher power or mysticism, nor to believe in any of what are considered the basic tenets; reincarnation, avatars, moksha, etc. The largest collection of ancient atheist philosophy is in Sanskrit, written in the so called “spiritual” India.

There are two well known ancient philosophical sects in India, and one not so well known: Buddhism, Jainism, and Carvaka (Lokayata). Buddhism and Jainism were titled separate from Hinduism, but both sprang from the same root in India and affirmed that the existence of God was not absolute.

Carvaka⁴ is the third, and most neglected, branch of atheistic philosophy. Many historians believe that Carvaka philosophy began to be worked out before the 6th century, during the Maurya dynasty. However, the most solid proof of the Carvaka philosophy is the Vedantic philosopher Madhavacharya’s writings about the schools of philosophy in India during the 13th and 14th centuries.

Madhavacharya wrote Sarvadarsanasangraha, in which he devoted the entire first chapter to Carvaka (Lokayata) philosophy. According to S.N. Dasgupta, a scholar of Sanskrit and Philosophy, the Carvaka school of thought was characterized by an emphasis on living joyfully and finding happiness in life as it is lived, while rejecting the idea of caste, karma, and a creator god⁵. In placing the school between the other heterodox schools of thought from India, Dasgupta painted Carvaka as the extreme end of materialist atheism, Buddhism as the middle way, and Jainism as the way of penance.

Although many of the texts about Carvaka have been lost, there is one extant work from the 7th century, Tattvopaplavasimha: The Lion That Devours All Categories⁶, written by Jayarasi⁷. The work suggests that man cannot assume that what he cannot perceive with his senses is true. This is in line with Carvaka school of thought because Carvakas do not believe in inferring from an event or phenomenon the cause of the event or phenomenon. For example, near Nong Khai, Thailand, the Mekong River shoots out small balls of fire⁸ which have yet to be explained by science. In the Carvaka school of philosophy, the Carvaka school would not attribute the balls of fire to a deity or any other unperceivable idea. The Carvaka philosophy depended heavily on logic and rational arguments.

At first the idea of atheism in India is mind-boggling. In India, one is surrounded by statuettes, mini temples, mosques, small pavilions with pantheons seated upon them, photographs, pictures, and other assorted spiritual/religious knick-knacks. However, the religion is never pressed upon a person. There is a sort of live and let live attitude because proselytization is not a part of the majority religion in India (Hinduism). This is what makes it possible for atheism to flourish in India, alongside with religions, such as Islam and Christianity.

Being an atheist Hindu is not a new fashion or idea, but something that has been around since the 6th century. Due to the flexibility of Hinduism and the various schools of thought that exist within Hinduism, Atheism is an accepted and acceptable philosophy for Hindus.

Notes
1. Sankskrit for merit earned through virtuous deeds

2. Athavale, Sadashiv. Charvak Itihas ani Tatvadynan (III ed ed.). p. 24.

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Religion_in_the_world.PNG

4. Roots of the word - “Cari”- means sweet/ or well; Vak- Speaking/Debating/Orating.Hence, Carvaka translates from Sanskrit into English as the Skilled Orator/Sweet Speaker. The reason the school was titled as such was because at this point in time, schools of philosophical thought would often write treatises defending their own philosophy and attacking other schools of philosophy. The name Carvaka implies that the Carvaka Philosophers were skilled at their debates and orations.

5. http://www.swaveda.com/elibrary.php?id=17&action=show&type=book

6. Athavale, Sadashiv. Charvak Itihas ani Tatvadynan (III ed ed.). p. 24.

7. Jayarasi Bhatta- 8th or 9th century philosopher. Narayan Campawat, “Jayarasi Bhatta”, in Great Thinkers of the Eastern World, Ian McGready, ed., New York: Harper Collins, 1995, pp. 202–206. ISBN 0062700855

8. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,391567,00.html

Bibliography / Sources

http://www.humanistictexts.org/carvaka.htm
http://www.swaveda.com/elibrary.php?id=17&action=show&type=book

Photo Courtesy: Navins

3 Comments »

amas said:

Hinduism is the only religion that doen not impose any dos and donts on its followers. It allows athiesm be, because athiests believe in themselves and that is a belief in itself which propels one to achieve one’s full potential. Good analysis.
Amas

[Reply]

# 20 September 2009 at 12:50 am

Jina Joan Dcruz said:

That was quite intriguing.never knew such a thing existed.

[Reply]

# 20 September 2009 at 9:26 pm

ggk said:

Another nastika (heterodox) philosophical school is the Ajivika school. The Ajivika school does not dictate atheism, but many of its followers were atheists.

[Reply]

# 3 October 2009 at 1:14 am