Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Feeling Nescient

I remember I was in class nine that it happened for the first time. I did not make any knowledgeable try then. But later I was acquainted with the materialistic ideas.

In Ramayana, one of the two greatest epics of the world, and of the Hinduism, in the "Ayodhya Kand" we find something very interesting. When Bharat fails to make anchorite Rama to give up his decision of abdication of kingship, Jabali, a learned bhamin and Sophist, counselor to his father previously tells something to Rama, which the poet(Valmiki) calls unrighteous. That man was probably athiest, showing the proof of atheism and materialism in ancient india.

Jabali says to Rama:

"...Who is related to whom? What is there to be obtained by anything and by whom? Every creature is born alone and dies alone...There is none who belongs to another...As one who passes the a strange village spends the night the and the next day leaves that place and continues his journey, so are mother, father, home and possessions to a man; they are but a resting place. The wise do not become attached to them...The father is only the seed of a being. The sperm and the ovum blend at the right time in the mother's womb, so that a human being is born in this world...Arrive at a conclusion, therefore, that there is nothing beyond this Universe. Give precedence to that which meets the eye and turn your back on what is beyond our knowledge." [Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, Sarga:108]


Here is the paraphrased form of the ancient Carvak(চার্বাক দর্শন) philosophy in contemporary prose:

"Happiness is the highest end in life. There is no soul and no life after death. There is no world other than this world. Heaven and liberation from the so-called cycle of birth and death are imaginary ideals. Everyone will inevitably die. No one will be reborn. Therefore, one should make the best of one's life and live happily as long as one lives.

It is irrational to suggest that one should give up pleasures of life because they are mixed with pain. It is just like saying that we should throw away our finest grains because they are covered with husk and dust.

Earth, water, fire and air are the four elements. Consciousness, too, arises from these four elements only; just like intoxicating power arising from mixing together certain ingredients which themselves do not have intoxicating power.

There is no soul apart from body. When we say "I am fat" or "I am lean" attributes like fatness reside only in the body. Phrases like, "my body" are only significant metaphorically.

The hotness of fire and the coolness of water etc. are all natural attributes. Everything behaves according to its own nature and the variety in things comes from nature alone.

The Vedas are not revealed. Their authority should not be accepted. The authors of the Vedas were devoid of intelligence and honesty. Vedic sacrifices, ceremonies for the dead (shraddha), gifts to priests and other related rituals are useless and bear no fruit anywhere. They were created only as a means of livelihood for Brahmin priests."

1 comment:

AMIT said...

blog is really nice and also well narrated....