Editing Carvaka School of Thought in Indian Philosophy (section)

==== '''Denial of the Existence of God''' ====
The doctrine unavoidably rejects any and all belief in a supernatural or transcendental being, along with any and all belief in the particular subjects of religion and philosophy.As was already mentioned, the system only accepts that which is verified by perception, or pratyaksha, hence there is no room for anything transcendental. God, whose existence cannot be perceived, fares no better than the soul. The world is created by the elements of matter, negating the need for a creator. Carvakas are faced with the counter that just like the production of an earthen pot, in addition to clay which is its material cause, requires a potter who shapes the material into the desired form, similarly, an efficient cause like God is indispensable for shaping and designing the material elements into this beautiful world. In reply, the Carvakas state that the material elements themselves have got each its static nature (svabhava). By nature and the laws inherent in them, they combine to form this world. There is thus no necessity for God. There is no evidence that the world's objects are the outcome of any design. They can be logically explained as the accidental byproducts of the elements. The Carvakas, therefore, prefer atheism.The only supreme is the earthly monarch whose existence is proved by all the world’s eyesight, and the only liberation is the dissolution of the body (''Review of the Different Systems of Hindu Philosophy'', 1882, 4). In the same breath, Carvakas deny the existence of souls, virtue (dharma) and vice (adharma), merit (punya) and demerit (papa), actions (karma) and their fruits (phala). They reject liberation, heaven, hell, future life, transmigration, the Law of Karma, and pre-existence. They do not exist because they are not perceived. There are no obligations related to castes and life stages (varnashrama dharma), which could result in rewards like happiness and unhappiness. The material world is perceived, and therefore existent. The variety in the world is natural (Sinha, 1956)<sup>13</sup>.