Editing Carvaka School of Thought in Indian Philosophy (section)

==== '''Summum Bonum''' ====
The Carvaka believes that sensuous pleasure is the ultimate good in ethics. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself since there is no chance of returning once the body has been converted to ashes. No other world exists. No soul can live on after death. Religion is the means of livelihood of the priests. All values are essentially false illusions created by a sick mind. The Carvaka Ethics is a rudimentary form of individual hedonism; the individual's enjoyment of their pleasures in this life is their only goal (Sharma, 1962, 34)<sup>11</sup>. Of the four ends of human life (purusarthas) namely ''artha, kama, dharma and moksha'', the materialist recognises and commends the first two and regards the last two as illusory and hence unworthy of man’s attention (Pulingandla, 1975, 34-35)<sup>8</sup>. Pleasure is regarded as mixed up with pain, but that is no reason why it should not be acquired. ‘Nobody casts away the grain because of the husk? Should nobody cook because of beggars? Should nobody sow seeds because of animals? (Hiriyanna, 1993)<sup>7</sup> Carvaka ethics is considered totally hedonistic because it openly encourages the fulfilment of desires and the pursuit of pleasure as the only values to be pursued in life. If we recall that our existence is limited to our body's existence and so to this life, we must see the joys that arise in the body as the only nice things we may attain. So, the purpose of human life is to experience as much pleasure as possible while minimising suffering. A life of maximum enjoyment is a good existence. Vedic ethics had advocated four ''purusarthas''or the ends of life for the integrated development of the individual as well as the society. At the time Carvaka came into existence, many heretic and revolutionary schools of philosophy led by such figures as Asuri Pippalda, Purana Kasyapaa, KakudaKatyayana and AjitaKesakambalin were flourishing, and all of them opposed the traditional Vedic philosophy in one way or the other. But Carvaka was the first and only system in India to advocate hedonistic ethics (Heera, 2011, 76-84)<sup>6</sup>.