CHARVAKA-FIRST INDIAN RATIONALIST [FREETHINKER] !
Fire is hot, water cold,

refreshingly cool is the breeze of morning;

By whom came this variety?

They were born of their own nature.

There is no heaven, no final liberation,

nor any soul in another world,

Nor do the actions of the four castes,

orders, or priesthoods produce any real effect.



If a beast slain as an offering to the dead

will itself go to heaven,

why should not believer slain his father in order to preserve his place in heaven ?



If offerings to the dead produce gratification

to those who have reached the land of the dead,

why the need to set out provisions

for travelers starting on this journey?

If our offering sacrifices here gratify beings in heaven,

why not make food offerings down below

to gratify those standing on housetops?



While life remains, let a man live happily,

let him feed on butter though he runs in debt;

When once the body becomes ashes,

how can it ever return again?



If he who departs from the body goes to another world,

why does he not come back again,

restless for love of his kinfolk?

It is only as a means of livelihood

that brahmins have established here

abundant ceremonies for the dead—

there is no other fruit anywhere.
[Charvak Darshan Sholakas, translated from Sanskrit].