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Lokayata-Way to Godless Good Life
People’s philosophy of ancient India
It is believed in the West that Indian philosophy is predominantly spiritual or religion-based. It is not widely known that India had other philosophies that are not religion-based or spiritual in the religious sense. They are in existence up to this day. The ancient philosophy of Charvaka called Lokayata, Nyaya, and Vaisesika philosophies are not religion-based. All these three are materialistic.
Lokayata (meaning ‘a philosophy prevalent among the people’)that appeared in or near 6th century BCE, does not believe in-
1.God,
2.soul,
3.afterlife,
4.heaven and hell and
5. re-birth and karmic retribution.
According to it, the human body is composed of earth, water, air, and fire. Consciousness in the human brain is a product of these elements chemically mixed in the body. With the death of a human being, his consciousness also dies. There is no soul attached to the human body which survives his death.
The Vedics and Vedantins were-have been-extreme opponents of the Lokayata. They distorted and totally destroyed the original books on Lokayata. The Lokayata is now available in fragments in the book of Madhavacharya, the Vedic author titled…
