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 (Continued from Part 5)
-------------------------------------------------------

During the times of both Adi Sankara and even
Sri.RamanujAchArya, there prevailed a brand of
"mAyaya-apahruta-gnyAna" which, in terms of both
popularity and sophistry, rivalled that of modern-day
Communism. It was the school of philosophy known as
"chAruvaka") -- the 'philosophy of hedonistic
materialism'. It was an outright anti-Vedic philosophy
but many people,
even very educated ones in those days, easily fell
prey to its allure and
spell.

These 'chAruvaka-s' were outright hedonists for whom
the only purpose of human existence was pursuit of
sensual pleasure. Their philosophy was utterly crude
but was very cleverly represented. In Sankara's
times, when moral decadence had set in deeply amongst
some privileged and intellectual classes of society,
it appealed to a lot of people.

Once Adi-Sankara was invited to a dialogue by a
'chAruvaka' scholar. In the course of their
conversation (which 'vaikunta-vAsi' (late) U.Ve. Sri.
Mukkur Lakshminarasimhachariar used to narrate very
well in his public discourses) AdiSankara thoroughly
exposed the moral and intellectual poverty of the
'chArvaka' philosophy. 

"You invite me to engage in a philosophical debate,
but why?", the bhagavathpAdA asked, "The tenets of my
philosophy are grounded in the "pramANa" of Vedic
first principles. You, on the contrary, have neither
an
intellectual tradition nor philosophical outlook. What
then are you and I to debate about?!"

"Who says our school has no "pramANa"?", the
"chAruvAka" countered. "Of course, we have a
philosophical tradition! It is called
"chAruvAka-darsanam" (the atheistic manifesto) and it
is more than a match for your Vedas". 

"Oh, really!" asked Sankara sarcastically, "I was not
aware your school was rooted in philosophy! Perhaps
you would deign to expound this great
"chAruvAka-darsanam" to me!"

The anti-Vedantin, insensitive to Sankara's
half-serious and half-mocking tone, gravely began
tutoring the bhagavatpAdA in the mysteries of the
"chAruvAka-darsanam". The venerable Sankara played
along, just to humour the poor, ridiculous fellow who
was unaware his leg was being not only pulled, but
quietly yanked too. 

"Our great philosophy can be summed up in one
epigram", boasted the anti-Vedantin and recited to
Sankara the following lines:

"yAvad jeevate sukham jeevate;
RNam kritvA ghritam pibate;
Bhasmee-bhutasya dehasya
punarAgamanam kutaha- "

Sankara heard the verse in thoughtful silence for a
moment, shook his head and then pretending as though
the profundity of the verse was thoroughly lost on
him, he queried the "chAruvAka", "Sir, the verse you
quote no doubt sounds brilliant. But please enlighten
me as to what it purports to truly convey." 

"The verse states what according to our
"chAruvakA-darsana" is the ultimate purpose of
existence", replied the anti-Vedantin.

"And, Sire, what is the great purpose of existence?"

"The sole purpose of all life is to satisfy human
desire. To seek purpose in life is the passion of all
living beings; and Pleasure is surely that
Purpose".

Sankara bhagavatpAdA patiently listened to this nugget
of philosophical wisdom and, for a moment, he could
hardly conceal a chuckle. "If this man's absurd
philosophy were true indeed", the bhagavathpAdA said
to himself, "what a monumental impostor I as a
Vedantin must seem to people everywhere!"

"Sire, how wonderfully you state your philosophical
case!" said the bhagavatpAdA continuing the rather
absurd dialogue. "Do you mean each man must seek out
his respective desire in life and devote himself
entirely to its complete satiation?"

"Indeed, that is the sole and true purpose of all
existence," replied the 'chAruvAka'. "Take away the
pleasure of passion from life and what is really there
in it? Deduct the passion from the aggregate of
living? what remains? Nothing? nothing but endless
null, infinite void. A world without pleasure is of no
use to us. It negates our very existence. Pleasure, on
the other hand, fulfils it. Hence, it is pleasure that
is The Principle of Life? As long as one is alive one
must seek out pleasure?"yAvad jeevate sukham jeevate!"

"How insightful!" Sankara roundly applauded. "Sir,
pray tell me now, if eating be the sole pleasure of a
certain man, what then shall be his earthly goal?"

"Eating and evermore eating is such a man's goal!" was
the reply from the anti-Vedantin.

"And if his spirit be satisfied by endless eating,
what might he do then with the rest of his life?"

To this question from Sankara, the anti-Vedantin
replied simply, "ghritam pibate!" "Let him, who by
mere eating, has finished satisfying his spirit, let
him then look to satisfying his body. Let him in the
days he remains on earth take to gorging down
quantities of pure "ghee"". (In Sanskrit "ghritam"
means "clarified-butter").

Now it must be remembered that in South India the
people are predominantly rice eaters. When they sit
down to a meal, rice is served first. Then a few
teaspoons of "ghee" are generally served to lace the
rice. This is done firstly, to lend a mild but
delicious aroma to the steamed rice and secondly, to
add a bit of the vital nutrient of fat to the
otherwise utterly fat-free diet of South Indians.
The culinary custom is to usually add nothing more
than a few dollops (or splash) of this "ghee" to the
meal; anything more would only be adding unhealthy
amount of fat to the diet. Nowadays those who are
diet-conscious, in fact, often completely decline it 
if "ghee" is served with their meal.

In the Tamil language, it is all referred to as
"neyy-kutthikaNam" i.e.
"ghee" is to be "sprinkled", not "poured" or "dished
out", over the rice served. But we find here instead,
in the Sankara episode, the "chAruvAka" actually
advocating not just "sprinkling" of "ghee" but
shamelessly "gorging" it! He specifically uses the
Sanskrit phrase "ghritam pibate". Literally, it means
"quaffing down ghee" as if it were so much lemonade
from a large pitcher which an awfully thirsty man (or
very greedy child) might empty in a few massive gulps!


What the anti-Vedantin, of course, meant to tell
Sankara bhagavatpAdA was this: that there were no
limits to seeking earthly pleasure. If man's
appetite were to become jaded by indulgence, it could
continue to be whetted by excess. So for them who had
exhausted the gourmet delights in life, there was
still the promised land of unbridled gluttony!

Sankara, with the feigned innocence of a monastic
apprentice, carried on querying the "chAruvAka".

"Sire, but you know well that in this world, to desire
a thing is one thing and to satisfy it is another
matter. There is cost attached to everything.
It takes a lot of money these days to buy "ghee". It's
not cheap. So what does the man to whom quaffing down
"ghee" has become ruling passion of life? what is the
poor fellow to do if he finds he cannot afford
"ghee"?"

"RNam kritvA!" retorted the unflappable "chAruvAka".
"Let such a man as you
describe him to be? let him go about borrowing money
any which way and by any means he can? and from any
quarter in the world? but "ghritam" he must obtain and
should consume to heart's content!" 

This was the "chAruvAka" way of saying, "The end
justifies the means? any means whatsoever!"

"Sire, but is it not imprudent," Sankara continued,
"for a man to borrow money? Debt ("Rnam") enslaves
one's soul to another. Surely you know that,
don't you? And how can an enslaved soul be free to
pursue the true ends of existence?" asked Sankara.

"Debt may be the bane of the soul in your matrix of
Vedic values, O Sankara? but it is not so in the lofty
manifesto of our "chAruvAka-darsanam"", was the
laconic reply of the anti-Vedantin.

Sankara next tried a slightly different line of
questioning.

"Sire, are you saying that in the lofty scheme of your
wondrous "darsana" there is no such a thing as "soul"?

"Bhasmee-bhutasya dehasya!" was the emphatic reply of
the "chAruvAka". "What is this thing called "soul" you
Vedantins are so fond of talking about?" he
counter-queried the bhagavatpAdA. "It is nothing but a
fanciful
figment of overwrought Vedic imagination! For us
"chAruvakA-s" the soul and the body are one and the
same. When the body lives and breathes, the "soul"
you speak of lives and breathes too. When the body
dies and turns to ashes, your "soul" turns to ashes
with it."

"Sire, in that case, does the soul enliven the body or
the body enliven the soul? Which enlivens what?" asked
the relentless Sankara.

"Pah!" exclaimed the anti-Vedantin, "What kind of
ridiculous questions you Vedantins pose! Tell me this,
O Sankara! When you munch "tAmboolam" (betel-leaves
laced with slaked lime) your mouth and tongue turn
scarlet in colour, don't they? Now, I ask you, what
makes your mouth go red? Is it the betel-leaves? The
areca nut? The scented lime-paste? Or is it the warm
flesh of your salivating tongue? Eh? Which amongst
them makes your mouth go red? Can you tell me?"

The "chAruvAka" paused a moment to let his dramatic
question hang in the air for dramatic effect. Then he
answered it himself, "The answer obviously is: none of
the them individually can cause redness in your mouth;
but all three? betel-leaf, nut and lime? when chewed
together as "tAmboolam" in the mouth will certainly
redden your tongue, isn't it? Likewise, neither body
nor soul (if there is such a thing at all) can singly
constitute the material Cause for the Effect of Life.
But when "body" as one element and "soul" as another,
cohere? they "enliven" each other to form a third
element called "Life". As long as the constituent
elements remain coherent, the resultant element of
"Life" too is sustained. When the constituents
dissipate on death and devolve to their elemental
state, the phenomenon of "Life" too simply ceases to
be. 

"And that's all there really is to Life and earthly
Existence, O Sankara! But you Vedantins will never
leave it all at that! You have to concoct all your
complex and fanciful metaphysics about the "jiva", the
"brahmham" and the "sarIra" or "body"? Your Vedanta, O
Sankara, if it amounts to anything
at all, is nothing indeed but a conspiracy against the
common man! You and your entourage, after all, have to

somehow make a livelihood, right?"

Sankara was amazed at the ingenious arguments of the
anti-Vedantin! Crude ideas at the hands of these
"chAruvAkas" were very nearly made to seem like
high philosophy!

"If, as you say, there is no purpose to earthly
existence other than seeking its temporal pleasures,
then, I suppose, there is nothing like "svargA"
(paradise) or "naraka" (perdition) in the
"chAruvAka-darsana"? There is no system of moral
reward and punishment? There is no ethical system
under which man must account for his deeds?"

To this the anti-Vedantin replied, "punarAgamanam
kutaha- ?". 

"O Sankara, we do have "svargA" and "naraka" in our
system. But it is not along the ridiculous lines of
your "karma" theory where the so-called "soul" of man
casts off one body after another in a cycle of birth
and death? journeying relentlessly, back and forth,
from this world to the ones beyond? and along the way
liquidating its outstanding account of sin and
virtue? Oh, no, we don't subscribe to that
humbug you Vedantins have invented and retail!"

"What then is your idea of "svarga" and "naraka",
heaven and hell?" asked Sankara.

"Heaven and Hell, O Sankara, reside on this very
earth. One does not have to look into the empty skies
for them. If a man should find ample means in this
world to satisfy his every desire for pleasure, that
verily is the Heavenly state. And if he, on the
contrary, suffers deprivation and cannot indulge or
fulfil his passions? there indeed is the state of
Hell", replied the "chAruvAka".

"Sire," Sankara bhagavatpAdA finally asked, "do you
have the concept of "mokshA"? eternal liberation? in
your "darsana"?

"Of course", replied the "chAruvAka", "In our system
of thought we consider Death to be "mOkshA"?
"Bhasmee-bhutasya dehasya"? Death grants us the
eternal liberation you speak of "!

******* 

In Sankara's times, corruption and bankruptcy, in
thought and morals, had seeped so deeply into the
society of India that masses of men actually believed
in the system of "chAruvAka-darsana" --- by far the
most classic example of the fungus of
"mAyaya-apahruta-gnyAna" spoken about in the
Bhagavath-gita (Ch.7.15)

********
(to be continued)

Regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan


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