9. The Concept of Mind in the Cārvāka Darśana

The sage Bṛhaspati is considered to be the founder of Cārvāka philosophy and it is, therefore, also known as the philosophy of Bṛhaspati. The term ‘Cārvāka’ is more probably appropriated to ‘sweet tongued’ [Cāruvāk].^[1] According to this philosophy the only means of knowledge is perception. They do not accept the things that cannot be known through direct experience. Thus they do not accept the concept of God, liberation, rebirth etc. It is more a philosophy of life than a theory of Ultimate Reality. It has its truth in man’s eternal urge for pleasure. This philosophy is also referred to as the Lokāyata school, because it is widely popular among the common people [Loka+Āyat]^[2]

The Cārvāka School admits the existence of four elements-earth, water, fire and air. This philosophy rejects the fifth element ether. Similarly it rejects the soul, God and the hereafter. Everything which exists, including the mind, is due to the particular combination of these four elements. The elements are eternal, but their combinations undergo production and dissolution. So mind and consciousness are considered to be the products of matter. ‘Matter secretes mind as liver secretes bile’. The soul is simply the conscious living body. The Vādāntasāra mentions four different materialistic schools of thought. They are, stūlaśarīra [the soul with the gross body], indriya [the senses], prāṇa [vital [breath] and the manas [the mental organ]^[3].