Our Heritage

Cārvākas (चार्वाक)                                                                                                                   600 BCE
Indian Atheism originated with anti-theistic philosophical Cārvāka philosophy around 2600 years ago.

The Cārvāka were extremely critical of the Vedas and thought that Vedas suffered from three faults - untruth, self-contradiction and tautology. To them, Vedas were just incoherent rhapsodies. They also held the belief that such texts were invented and made up by men and had no divine authority.

"The three authors of the Vedas were buffoons, knaves, and demons.
All the well-known formulae of the pandits, jarphari, turphari, etc.
and all the obscene rites for the queen commanded in Aswamedha,
these were invented by buffoons, and so all the various kinds of presents to the priests,
while the eating of flesh was similarly commanded by night-prowling demons."
source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cārvāka

Buddhism                                                                                                                    563 BCE
Unique religion that does not have the notion of an omnipotent creator. It emphasizes the system of causal relationships underlying the universe (pratitya samutpada) which constitute the natural order (dharma). No dependence of phenomena on a supernatural reality is asserted in order to explain the behaviour of matter. According to the doctrine of the Buddha a human being must study Nature (dhamma vicaya) in order to attain personal wisdom (prajna) regarding the nature of things (dharma). In Buddhism the sole aim of spiritual practice is the complete alleviation of stress in samsara called nirvana.

Even though Buddhism seems remarkably compatible with our scientifically oriented culture it does suffer from some theistic problems like the concept of reincarnation based on karma( the law of moral cause and effect) & overplay of meditation.

Samkhya (सांख्य)                                                                                                            200 AD
The Samkhya atheistic philosophical school directly states that existence of "God is unproved".

Mīmāṃsā (मीमांसा)                                                                                                       500 AD
A sanskrit word meaning "investigation", Mimamsa theorists decided that the evidence allegedly proving the existence of God was insufficient. 



Bhagat Singh

                  Why I am an Atheist                 1931




Article 51 A  of the Constitution of India     1949


51A. Fundamental duties


It shall be the duty of every citizen of India 



(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national Flag and the National Anthem;

(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;

(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;

(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;

(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;

(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;

(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living

creatures;

(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;

(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;

(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher

levels of endeavour and achievement


Irreligious Population of India

Census Problems

The census list contains the following religions: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain. But there was no option for Atheists, Agnostics or Non-religious found on census in other countries. So people filled some religion even if they identified only culturally with a group. 727,588 people left the columns blank, but they are reported not as atheists or agnostics, but as 'Religion not Stated'.


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