Philosophies can be divided into two categories—idealist and materialist. Idealist philosophies consider the mind or spirit to be the basic element of reality, which came into existence before matter. Materialist philosophies, on the other hand, consider matter as primary. Matter came first. Initially, it had forms incapable of thought like planets and stars. Out of these, developed thinking matters like humans. Many people think that Indian philosophies are idealist, while Western philosophies are materialist. In fact, some consider materialism and westernisation to be two sides of the same coin.
Materialist thought has existed in Indian philosophies right from the very beginning. It is said that Brihaspati, the Guru of the Devas who is mentioned in the Rigveda, wrote a treatise called ‘Brihaspati Smriti’ which formed the basis of materialist philosophy in India. The school started by Brihaspati is called Charvaka or Lokayata because it was ayat (popular) among the loka (masses). Unlike mainstream Vedic thought that eulogises Brahman (consciousness), Lokayata school recognises only four elements—kshiti (earth), jal (water), agni (fire) and vayu (air). They argue that when rice and a few other ingredients that are not intoxicants are mixed in a suitable proportion, they produce liquor. Similarly, the four elements, though lacking consciousness themselves, give rise to consciousness when they are combined in a particular way in the human body. The Charvakas maintain that the Vedas are human creations and lack divine authority. They deny the existence of the soul or consciousness outside the body. Thus, they do not believe in God, heaven, or rebirth. One quote popularly ascribed to them is:
Yavat jivet sukham jivet
Rinam kritva ghritam pibet
Bhasmibhutasya dehasya punragmanm kutah
As long as you live, live happily. Take debt and drink ghee. Once the body is reduced to ashes, how can it come back?
They claim that rituals for donations and sacrifices had been created by the Brahmins for their own benefit. They say that if by performing the shraddha ritual, food, water and other provisions could reach our ancestors who have gone to other worlds, then there must be no need to pack provisions for a traveller because those could be sent to them the same way. No wonder, Brahmins were dead against the Charvakas. In medieval times, the Brahmins and their patrons, the kings, destroyed most of the Charvaka texts accusing them of hedonism. Due to this, it is not possible to study this philosophy in its original form. Conclusions can only be made based on references to their sayings in other works, which, being written by their rivals, naturally try to present their arguments in the most unfavourable way!
