Charvaka
Charvaka or Lokayata philosophy is an ancient
materialist tradition that is known to us only
through the texts of its myriad opponents. It
dates from approximately 400 B.C.E. The Char-
vaka motto can be approximately translated
as “Eat, drink, and be merry.” In addition to
being pure materialists, the Charvakas were
strict empiricists who believed that the only
valid source of knowledge is direct perception;
they believed only what could be seen by the
eyes directly. They rejected even inference as a
method of investigation.
Though none of their texts were preserved,
the Charvaka viewpoint was condemned in many
philosophical contexts over two millennia. The
RAMAYANA and MAHABHARATA both contained argu-
ments against it. Nearly every subsequent Indian
philosophical system, including that of the Bud-
dhists and Jains, formulated arguments to answer
them. Modern Marxists in India have sought to
make this ancient system better known.
Further reading: Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya and Mri-
nal K. Gangopadhyaya, eds., Carvaka/Lokayata: An
Anthology of Source Materials and Some Recent Studies
(New Delhi: Indian Council of Philosophical Research,
1990); S. N. Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy,
5 vols. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975); Anil Kumar
Sarkar, Dynamic Facets of Indian Thought (New Delhi:
Manohar, 1988).
Chaudhuri, Haridas (1913–1975) follower of
the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo in the United States
A professor of philosophy in India and later in
California, Haridas Chaudhuri helped spark the
growing American interest in Asian religion, phi-
losophy, and culture by founding the influential
Cultural Integration Fellowship and the Califor-
nia Institute of Asian Studies, both of which have
survived to the present day.
Chaudhuri was born in May 1913 in Shya-
magram in eastern Bengal (now Bangladesh). He
was orphaned at an early age. In 1929, he won
the Ramtanu Gold Medal in Bengali literature
upon graduating from high school. He received
his M.A. and B.A. with honors in philosophy
and religion from Vidyasagar College in Calcutta
(Kolkata). Dr. Chaudhuri married his wife, Bina,
in 1946. In 1949 he received his Ph.D. from the
University of Calcutta for a dissertation on Sri
Aurobindo’s philosophy, “Integral Idealism.” Dr.
Chaudhuri then became a professor and chair of
the department of philosophy at Krishnagar Col-
lege in Krishnagar.
In March 1951, Dr. Chaudhuri immigrated to
the United States upon the direct recommendation
of Sri AUROBINDO, who had received a request from
Dr. Frederick Spiegelberg of Stanford University
to nominate someone for a position in the Ameri-
can Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco,
which was just opening. He was followed in the
same year by his wife, Bina, and their two young
children. Dr. Chaudhuri taught at this college
for about 15 years along with several prominent
scholars, including Alan Watts, who was later to
become quite well known.Haridas Chaudhuri (1913–1975), scholar and founder
of the Cultural Integration Fellowship and California
Institute of Integral Studies (Cultural Integration
Fellowship)Chaudhuri, Haridas 105 J