"Is Ignorance really bliss?" (Part 6): Essay on VII.15 of Bhagavath-gita

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(Continued from Part 5)

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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 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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