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Why did the Charvaka school reject religious ceremonies and spiritual liberation?
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History of ethics
Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras, portrait bust.
The Charvaka school rejected religious ceremonies and the concept of spiritual liberation (moksha) because they were rooted in a strict materialist epistemology that accepted only direct sensory perception (pratyaksha) as a valid source of knowledge.1
Because they could not verify the existence of a soul, an afterlife, or divine principles through the senses, they dismissed these concepts as unfounded. Their rejection of these ideas followed from several key positions:1
- Rejection of Scripture: They denied the authority of the Vedas, viewing them as relying on inference and unverifiable assumptions rather than direct evidence. Consequently, they rejected dharma (righteousness) as it was traditionally defined by these scriptures.1
- Denial of the Soul: Since they viewed consciousness as a byproduct of bodily matter rather than an eternal soul, they saw the traditional goal of liberation—the freedom of the soul from the cycle of birth and death—as meaningless.1
- Focus on the Present: By rejecting supernatural explanations, they prioritized wealth and pleasure as the only valid human pursuits.1