Charvaka School or Lokayata Philosophy

Brihaspati laid the foundation stone of this school and it was supposed to be one of the earliest schools that developed a philosophical theory. The philosophy is old enough to find mention in the Vedas and Brihadarankya Upanishad. The Charvaka School was the main propounder of the materialistic view to achieving salvation. As it was geared towards the common people, the philosophy was soon dubbed as Lokayata or something derived from the common people. The word ‘Lokayata’ also meant a keen attachment to the physical and material world (Loka). They argued for a complete disregard of any world beyond this world that was inhabited by a person. They denied the existence of any supernatural or divine agent who could regulate our conduct on earth. They argued against the need to achieve salvation and also denied the existence of Brahma and God.  They believed in anything that could be touched and be experienced by the human senses. 

Some of their main teachings are:

The word ‘Lokayata’ also meant a keen attachment to the physical and material world (Loka). They argued for a complete disregard of any world beyond this world that was inhabited by a person. They denied the existence of any supernatural or divine agent who could regulate our conduct on earth. They argued against the need to achieve salvation and also denied the existence of Brahma and God.

 They believed in anything that could be touched and be experienced by the human senses. Some of their main teachings are: They argued against Gods and their representatives on the earth – the priestly class. They argued that a Brahman manufactures false rituals so as to acquire gifts (Dakshina) from the followers.

 Man is the centre of all activities and he should enjoy himself as long as he lives. He should consume all earthly goods and indulge in sensual pleasure.

 The Charvakas do not consider ‘ether’ as one of the five essential elements as it cannot be experienced through the perception. Hence, they say the universe consists of only four elements: fire, earth, water and air.

 This school argues that there is no other world after this one, hence death is the end of a human being and pleasure should be the ultimate objective of life. Hence, they propound the theory of ‘eat, drink and make merry’.

 The materialistic philosophies dominated over the idealist ones. The idealist philosophers responded by critiquing the indulgences recommended by the former group. They recommended that man should follow the path of God and rituals towards salvation. Yet, both the schools grew and many more texts discussing their theories were produced in the coming decades.

Vedanta School

Vedanta is made of two words- ‘Veda’ and ‘ant’, i.e. the end of the Vedas. This school upholds the philosophies of life as elaborated in the Upanishads. The oldest text that formed the basis of this philosophy was Brahmasutra of Badrayana that was written and compiled in 2nd century BCE. The philosophy propounds that Brahma is the reality of life and everything else is unreal or Maya.

 Furthermore, the Atma or the consciousness of self is similar to the Brahma. This argument equalizes Atma and Brahma and if a person attains the knowledge of the self, he would automatically understand Brahma and would achieve salvation.

 This argument would make Brahma and Atma indestructible and eternal. There were social implications of this philosophy, i.e. that true spirituality was also implicit in the unchanging social and material situation in which a person is born and placed.

 But the philosophy evolved in the 9th century AD through the philosophical intervention of Shankaracharya who wrote commentaries on the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. His changes led to the development of Advaita Vedanta. Another major philosopher of this school was Ramanujan who wrote in the 12th century AD. His intervention led to some differences in Vedanta school: The Vedanta theory also gave credence to the Theory of Karma.

 They believed in the theory of Punarjanama or rebirth. They also argued that a person would have to bear the brunt of their actions from the previous birth in the next one. This philosophy would also allow people to argue that sometimes they suffer in their present birth because of a misdeed of the past and the remedy is beyond their means except through the finding of one’s Brahma.

Mimamsa School

The word ‘Mimamsa’ literally means the art of reasoning, interpretation and application. This school focuses on the analysis of the texts of Samhita and Brahmana that are portions of the Vedas.

They argue that the Vedas contain the eternal truth and they are the repositories of all knowledge. If one has to attain religious merit, acquire heaven and salvation, they would have to fulfil all the duties which are prescribed by the Vedas.

The texts that describe the Mimamsa philosophy in detail, are the Sutras of Jaimini, which were supposedly composed in the 3rd century BCE. Further inroads into the philosophy were made by two of their greatest proponents: Sabar Swami and Kumarila Bhatta. They argue that salvation is possible through performing rituals but it is also necessary to understand the justification and reasoning behind Vedic rituals. It was necessary to understand this reasoning if one wanted to perform the rituals perfectly, which will allow them to attain salvation. One’s actions were responsible for their merits and demerits and a person would enjoy the bliss of heaven as long as their meritorious acts lasted. But they would not be free of the cycle of life and death. Once they achieve salvation, they would be able to break free from this unending cycle.

The main focus of this philosophy was on the ritualistic part of the Vedas, i.e. to achieve salvation one has to perform the Vedic rituals. As most humans did not understand the rituals properly they would have to take the assistance of the priests. Therefore, this philosophy inherently legitimized the social distance between the various classes. This was used as a device by the Brahmans to maintain their clout over people and they continued to dominate the social hierarchy.

 

Samkhya School

This is the oldest school of philosophy and was founded by Kapil Muni who is supposed to have written the Samkhya Sutra. The word ‘Samkhya’ or ‘Sankhya’ literally means ‘count’. These schools argued that salvation could be attained through the acquisition of knowledge. Lack of knowledge is also supposed to be the root cause for the misery of man.

This school believed in dualism or dvaitavada, i.e. the soul and the matter are separate entities. This concept is the basis of all real knowledge. This knowledge can be acquired through three main concepts:

Pratyaksha: Perception

Anumana: Inference

Shabda: Hearing

This school has been famous for its scientific system of inquiry.

The final philosophy argued that Prakriti and Purusha are the basis of reality and they are absolute and independent. As Purusha is closer to the attributes of a male, it is associated with consciousness and cannot be changed or altered. Conversely, the Prakriti consists of three major attributes: thought, movement and transformation. These attributes make it closer to the physiognomy of a woman.

SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY - Orthodox Schools

This school believed that Vedas were the supreme revealed scriptures that hold the secrets to salvation. They did not question the authenticity of the Vedas. They had six sub-schools that were called the Shada Darshana.

1. Samkhya School

2. Yoga School

3. Nyaya School

4. Vaisheshika School

5. Mimamsa School

6. Vedanta School

Heterodox Schools

They do not believe in the originality of the Vedas and questioned the existence of God. They are divided into three major sub schools.