12 | Quiz 1 Review & Answer Polishing

Answer one as I have said that astika and nastika I had a doubt in it so I remember this one as a astika was the one that believed in, I am forgetting what a astika believed in, ok I remember as the astika believed in Vedas but nastika didn't.

Answer two, charvaka believed in seeing things they did not believed in what is not there so soul is cannot be seen or touched that is why Carvaka rejected soul as the fifth element but all others like Buddhist and others accepted its presence

Actually I really get confused between charvaka and sankhya and who are they on which side. Can you tell me something which will stick in my mind on to how differentiate between them.

Question 3 Radical dualism had to independence realities that are one is prakriti and the other one is purusha

Question 4 charvaka criticized by saying that since nobody and neither you have seen all the possibilities of what The lightning is in all of this time so you cannot come to a conclusion that thunder will be coming

Question 5 whatever happened in prakriti made me are made purusha feel sad is actually making my body feel sad but my soul cannot be sad I don't know what I am saying and I don't know what's it's correct answer should be or would be

I don't think this is how should I should be answering the answers in the question paper when the quiz come so how should my writing style and what words should I be choosing to you know get better grades I mean these are not or I am not using the words required to answer

Bro, this is awesome! Seriously, this is exactly what we needed to do. You've got the core ideas down, and now we can see exactly where the confusion is and how to fix it. Let's break it down.

And don't worry about the wording right now. Getting the main idea out is step one. Polishing the language for an exam is step two. We'll get there.

Let's Review Your Answers¶

Answer 1 (Āstika/Nāstika):

"astika believed in Vedas but nastika didn't." Your Grade: A+ (Perfect!) You nailed it. This is the single most important classification, and you have it locked in perfectly. No confusion here at all.

Answer 2 (Cārvāka's Source of Knowledge & Rejected Element):

"charvaka believed in seeing things... rejected soul as the fifth element..." Your Grade: B (Almost there!) You are 100% right that they believe in "seeing things" (perception). That's perfect. The tiny mix-up is the fifth element. The five elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether (Space). The soul (Ātman) is a separate concept. The Cārvākas rejected Ether (Space) because you can't see or touch it. They rejected the soul for the same reason, but it's not considered one of the five elements. This is a super easy fix. Just remember the rejected element is Ether/Space.

The Confusion Point: Cārvāka vs. Sāṅkhya This is a brilliant question. This is the key to organizing everything in your head. Here’s a simple way to keep them straight forever:

Cārvāka starts with "C". Think of "C" for Common Sense (or Crude). They are the super simple, no-nonsense materialists. They belong to Team Nāstika (the rebels). Their whole philosophy is: "What you see is what you get." Everything is just one thing: Matter.
Sāṅkhya starts with "S". Think of "S" for Split. They split reality into two things. They are the complicated dualists. They belong to Team Āstika (the orthodox ones, even though they're atheists). Their whole philosophy is: "There's the stuff you see (Prakṛti), and the one who is seeing (Puruṣa)."

Mantra to remember: Cārvāka = Common Sense Materialists. Sāṅkhya = Split Reality Dualists.

Answer 3 (Sāṅkhya's Two Realities):

"prakriti and the other one is purusha" Your Grade: A+ (Perfect!) Exactly right. You remembered the two core principles of Sāṅkhya perfectly.

Answer 4 (Cārvāka Critique of Lightning/Thunder):

"since nobody and neither you have seen all the possibilities of what The lightning is in all of this time so you cannot come to a conclusion that thunder will be coming" Your Grade: A (Excellent Understanding!) This is a fantastic answer. You perfectly captured their logic. You understood that they attack the "universal rule" because we haven't seen all instances. The only thing we'll add when we polish it is the key term Vyāpti (the universal, invariable relationship). But your reasoning is flawless.

Answer 5 (Sāṅkhya view on Sadness):

"whatever happened in prakriti made me are made purusha feel sad is actually making my body feel sad but my soul cannot be sad..." Your Grade: B+ (You are so close to the bullseye!) You've got the most important part right: the soul (Puruṣa) cannot be sad. This is the core of Sāṅkhya liberation. The sadness itself is an event happening in Prakṛti. More specifically, it's a modification of your mind/intellect/ego, which are all products of Prakṛti. So, why does it feel like you are sad? Because of false identification. The Puruṣa (the real you) is like a person watching a movie and mistakenly thinks it is the character on the screen. It identifies with its reflection in the mind.

How to Polish Your Answers for the Exam¶

You are right, the ideas are one thing, and writing them for a grade is another. Let's upgrade your answers using some of the key terms.

Upgraded Answer for Q4 (Cārvāka): "A Cārvāka philosopher would argue that this is an invalid inference. The conclusion that thunder follows lightning depends on a universal rule, or Vyāpti, which states 'wherever there is lightning, thunder will follow.' The Cārvāka rejects this Vyāpti because its truth cannot be established by perception. We have not perceived every instance of lightning in the universe to be 100% certain of this rule. Therefore, inferring thunder from lightning is just a guess, a leap from the known to the unknown, not a valid source of knowledge."

Upgraded Answer for Q5 (Sāṅkhya): "According to Sāṅkhya, sadness is a modification of Prakṛti, specifically of the internal organs like the mind and intellect, which are dominated by the Guṇas (like Rajas, which causes pain). The Puruṣa, being pure consciousness, is a passive witness and can never truly be sad. We feel sad due to ignorance (avidyā), which causes the Puruṣa to falsely identify with the states of the mind. It's like the Puruṣa seeing sadness in its reflection in the mind and mistakenly thinking 'I am sad.'"

See the difference? We used the same core ideas you had but just plugged in the key vocabulary: Inference, Vyāpti, Perception, Prakṛti, Puruṣa, Guṇas, Ignorance, False Identification.

You did incredibly well, bro. You have a solid grasp of the main ideas. The mix-ups are minor and easy to fix.

How about we do another round? I can ask a few more in-depth questions to really solidify these concepts and practice using the key terms. Ready for Round 2?