Brihaspati (Ćarwaka)

Stanowisko

What we know of Carvaka, or Lokayata (“confined to this world”), comes from opponents who often caricatured it. Its core thesis: only perception is a reliable source of knowledge. Inference fails because a universal connection such as “wherever there is smoke, there is fire” can never be fully observed; later Carvakas admitted inference about things that can in principle be perceived. Reality consists of four elements; consciousness arises from their combination in the body, as intoxicating power arises from fermenting ingredients. With the body the self perishes: there is no rebirth, no karma, no heaven; Vedic ritual is priestly fraud. Jayarashi’s sceptical treatise even questioned perception.

Życie i kontekst

In the Veda Brihaspati is the priest and teacher of the gods; later tradition made him the author of the sutras of Indian materialism, which is also named after a legendary Carvaka. No historical founder can be identified. Early Buddhist texts report materialist views, for instance those of Ajita Kesakambali, a contemporary of the Buddha, but the school’s own writings are lost, and the dates given here are purely conventional.

Główne dzieła

• Barhaspatya Sutra (lost; fragments quoted by opponents, date unknown)
• Jayarashi, The Lion that Devours All Principles (Tattvopaplavasimha, 8th century CE; close to the school)
• Madhava, Compendium of All Systems (Sarvadarshanasamgraha, 14th century; chapter 1 summarises Carvaka from an opponent’s view)

Pojawia się w

• Podróż „Ścieżki myśli indyjskiej” · Przystanek 4 z 9