Materialism philosophy and Scientific method.

Materialism philosophy and Scientific method.

(By Muktipada Behera)

Charvaka or Lokayata is the ancient school of Indian materialism. It is accepted as a valid school of Indian philosophy - an atheistic school in the Hindu tradition. Brihaspati is usually referred to as the founder of it.

The origins of the Charvaka can be traced to the Rigveda, but substantial discussions on the Cārvāka is found in post-Vedic literature. The primary literature of Cārvāka, such as the Brhaspati Sutra is missing or lost. So we need to depend on secondary literature such as those found in the shastras (such as the Arthasastra), sutras and the epics (the Mahabharata and Ramayana) of Hinduism as well as from the dialogues of Gautama Buddha and Jain literature.

The Carvaka epistemology holds perception as the primary and proper source of knowledge, while inference is held as prone to being either right or wrong and therefore conditional or invalid.

Perception are of two types, for Carvaka, external and internal. External perception is described as that arising from the interaction of five senses and worldly objects, while internal perception is described by this school as that of inner sense, the mind.

Inference is described as deriving a new conclusion and truth from one or more observations and previous truths. To Carvakas, inference is useful but prone to error, as inferred truths can never be without doubt. Inference is good and helpful. – For example of fire and smoke. When there is smoke, one's tendency may be to leap to the conclusion that it must be caused by fire. While this is often true, it need not be universally true, everywhere or all the times. Smoke can have other causes.

As long as the relation between two phenomena [observation and truth], has not been proven as unconditional, it is an uncertain truth. Such method of reasoning, that is jumping to conclusions or inference, is prone to flaw. Carvakas further state that full knowledge is reached when we know all observations, all premises and all conditions. But the absence of conditions, cannot be established beyond doubt, because some conditions may be hidden or escape our ability to observe. They acknowledge that every person relies on inference in daily life, but to them if we act uncritically, we err. While our inferences sometimes are true and lead to successful action, it is also a fact that sometimes inference is wrong and leads to error. Truth then, is not an unfailing character of inference; truth is merely an accident of inference. We must be skeptics, question what we know by inference.

Though complete truth about this cosmos cannot be known by only perception, still it ignores other methods of knowledge. It analyses all inexplicable events as (a) chance or unpredictability and (b) random or no-cause. This is where it is differing with the scientific spirit. Science does not accept (a) chance or unpredictability and (b) random or no-cause as a valid analysis. Rather it tries to find the underlying pattern of an event. Science sometime uses inference for microscopic events and cosmology. We need to be skeptics on those. And of-course theory changes and science evolves due to this skeptic in nature. 

Advaita Vedanta scholars considers six means of valid knowledge: Pratyakṣa (perception), Anumāṇa (inference), Upamāṇa (comparison and analogy), Arthāpatti (postulation), Anupalabdi (non-perception, cognitive proof) and Śabda (testimony of past or present reliable experts). While Carvaka school accepted just one Pratyakṣa (perception).

Therefore, Cārvākas denied metaphysical concepts like reincarnation, soul, efficacy of religious rites, other worlds (heaven and hell), fate and accumulation of merit or demerit through the performance of certain actions.  It embraces philosophical skepticism and rejects Vedas. They don’t believe in karma, rebirth or an afterlife. Cārvākas rejected conceptions of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.

Cārvāka believed that there was nothing wrong with sensual pleasure. Since it is impossible to have pleasure without pain, Cārvāka thought that wisdom lay in enjoying pleasure and avoiding pain as far as possible. Unlike many of the Indian philosophies of the time, Cārvāka did not believe in austerities.

Their scripture states that – “The enjoyment of heaven lies in eating delicious food, keeping company of young women, using fine clothes, perfumes, garlands, sandal paste... while moksha is death which is cessation of life-breath... the wise therefore ought not to take pains on account of moksha. A fool wears himself out by penances and fasts. Chastity and other such ordinances are laid down by clever weaklings.” -- eat, drink, and be merry – is its philosophy.

There was no continuity in the Cārvāka tradition after the 12th century. But later many Indians got converted into hidden Charvaka due to influence of western science. However if we consider all six means of knowledge, then we will get complete knowledge and more accurate knowledge about creation.

Migration of Jiva as per Hindu scripture

Migration of Jiva as per Hindu scripture

(Muktipada Behera)

Introduction:

The rebirth of a human being is based on Karma and migration theory of Hinduism. As you act, so you become. Out of all types of living species [Jiva], here we will discuss the birth of a human child. All Hindu texts describe how Jiva migrates based on his own Karma. One typical description is given in Panchagni Vidya(five fires) of Chandogya Upanishad.

Please note this is just a typical model to describe how the soul migrates. There can be many permutation, combinations and exceptions to this model. Please don't take the migration model described in scripture literally, because it is hinting a simplified version of complex Karma theory and migration. In this vast creation, there can be many possibilities[species] of these infinite Jivas. So all these Jivas migration into different species may not fit into one particular model.

According to this simplified theory once a person is dead, the soul is required to be ignited or purified (e.g. iron ore) five times before converting into a child in next birth. Though this process is not visible to human eye, it is taken care by nature based on Karma theory. Let’s describe it in three phases:

Phase 1:

Once a person is about to die, the Supreme divine (Lord) present in everybody’s heart sends notice all sense organs and other involuntary functionaries like breathing for a final departure meeting inside heart. Once all organs join, first speech organ is shut down so that person cannot communicate this secret to outside world. Then rest organs are shutdown one by one until the last body temperature regulator. The supreme divine does some kind of appraisal of the whole life activities done by the being and decides the next course of action and species. So the next type of body itself is decided in the dying human heart before death. It is said the human is aware of his next body and life decision, but unable to communicate to outer world because the speech is disabled.

Lets describe the next body selection with one mimicry. Whole Human life is captured in a CCTV camera present inside mind. During death bed, this life time captured videos are displayed in the mind of dying soul like a movie show. While seeing own life memories, the souls unfulfilled desires that were hidden at the bottom of it's heart pops up. The dying human feels like to fulfil those desires. Out of many desires, finally one strong desire wins and floats in the mind consistently. Now the soul freezes on that desire and prepares to depart. Then Lord facilitates to get the necessary body for the soul through which it can fulfil that dying desire in next birth. Note, it is the wish of soul, not of Lord. Lord just facilitates routing of the soul to proper parent species to manufacture a similar body for it. Through different bodies, different desires are fulfilled. E.g. Flying in sky desire can be fulfilled through bird's body. Spiritual practice is possible through human body etc.  

Gita 8.6 says - yaṁ yaṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁ tyajaty ante kalevaram taṁ tam evaiti kaunteya
sadā tad-bhāva-bhāvitaḥ - Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits his body, that state he will attain without fail.

After that the soul with a subtle body departs the old body and moves onward with a good luck. When the soul departs there is no more warmness in the body. And only after that the dead body should be cremated. Medical science declares a person dead when the heart-bit stops. But the warmness in the body is the sign of soul existence in it even after heart-bit stops. Once the soul departs the body becomes cold. Generally it takes eight hours after heart bit stops.

Phase 2:

The soul moved out through air and sun light vibration. It is subjected into five fires or phases one by one. These fires are heaven - cloud (rain) - earth (vegetables) - father - mother. It is like a car is assembled in a car industry. The industry has different compartments or rooms. Different parts are assembled in each room and passed into next until a nice and fully assembled car comes out of last compartment. Similarly dead soul is ignited or assembled in different compartment of nature. First it moves to heaven. There is no concept of hell in Vedic text. Everybody has to move through heaven like a pass-through train. Some fortunate may get down if they qualify due to good Karma and stays there for a prescribed period in heaven. Just like you can stay in USA based on the visa type and duration. Others just need to cross that country (here heaven) as a pass-through station.

Once the Visa in heaven expires (or the soul crosses the heaven as an intermediate station), the soul is dumped into cloud (rain). It is the second fire cloud system carries the soul across different countries and dumps into earth through rain. If the rain falls into desert and ocean then the loop breaks and soul has to go back to cloud and wait for next monsoon.

The soul carrying rain needs to fall on the earth where human eatables are cultivated. Earth is the third fire where soul with cloud body gets converted into vegetables and fruits. And later these are consumed by a human being.

Fourth fire is father principle. The soul must be associated with human eatables and that food must be taken by a male human. If the soul converted into animal eatables then it will be born in that species. Also if a female human eats the soul with vegetable body, then it has to go back to earth until it is eaten by a male partner.

Fifth and last fire is mother principle. Above male must be in his youth hood and married. A child or unmarried does not help here. The soul is transferred from male compartment to female compartment through copulation. The mother part should be ready to accept and manufacture a human body. It is the male who carries the soul and transfers to female. And mother just manufactures a body for it. So the birth of a boy or girl child is decided by male partner (with X-Y chromosome), not by female partner (with X-X chromosome). Here risk factors like barren women, old women and women not desiring for child need to be avoided. Modern medical science says in each ejaculation around three million sperms are transferred into female part. And only one lucky soul wins out of these three million. It is a great rush to catch hold of a mother. So you are the most fortunate among three millions. All these are done by nature and soul is not aware of this. So in a helpless way the blessed soul is now ready to be given a human body by the compassionate mother.

Phase 3:

It takes more than nine months to manufacture the complete body. And mother does it out of good will. Hinduism discovers a process to give birth an educated child instead of relying on after birth education. There are ceremonies like Garbhadan and pumsvan where parent prays to Lord for a child with good quality and good previous background. Otherwise nature may put an animal or idiot from previous birth. In foetus, ear is formed first and eye is formed at last. When child is of three months old, the both ears are fully developed and child can hear whatever mother hears and talks. Now teaching of the mother is equivalent to teaching the child in the background. That is why Hindu pregnant women are kept among good, happy and devotional surroundings so that child will be in a happy mode. And at this time the child learns all the family tradition and character etc. So parent needs to be careful about the future outcome. We have examples like Abhimanyu(the son of Arjuna) learns archeries from mother’s womb. Prahlada (son of Hiranyakashipu, a demon) though born in a demon family became a great saint because his mother was living in the cottage of Narada during pregnancy. Recently in Bangalore one nursery school is opened where they admit the pregnant mothers as students expecting the child will be taught in womb.

All these pre-natal ceremony like seemantonayan and worship of pregnant women are meant to cheer the child in womb so that family members are introduced and love is communicated to future baby. During this nine months period a girl slowly converted into a mother and she goes through a major physical and psychological change. Whereas a male takes significant time to convert mentally into a father even after child birth. The family members is expected to provide the necessary comforts, respect and welcome to these changes in a mother with utmost care.

The embryo is preconditioned in mother womb from the family. And there is a high possibility that good parent will be bear good child, bad parent will have bad child, and doctor will have doctor child, politicians will have a child inclined to ruling. Some holds the view that this is the basis of Guna-Karma Varna system and later hereditary caste system. Same mentality Jiva will be attracted to the like minded parents based on Karma. However there are exceptions like demon Ravana born to a Rishi, saint Prahllada born to a demon etc. We also notice doctors' son can become army-man and farmers' son can become rulers etc. It all depends on how a child is preconditioned in mother's womb and also how the child is educated later. It gives human being an infinite possibilities to change it's destiny in this life and next lives. 

From the above process it proves that how a mother plays a vital role and final part of delivering a human product. And the same human being later abuses the mother principle without understanding criticality and importance of a big process they have gone through. Unfortunately this teaching is not a part of our curriculum, so people do not acknowledge it. Victory to motherhood!!! Victory to Divine.

References

1. Chandogya Upanishad (Affiliated to Sama Veda)

2. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.

3. Srimad Bhagavatam
4. Gita

5. Apasthamba Grihya Sutra describing sixteen Human Samskaras.