In non-technical usage, the term astika is sometimes loosely translated as "theist" while nastika is translated as "atheist". However this interpretation is distinct from the use of the term in Hindu philosophy. Notably even among the astika schools, samkhya and the early mimamsa school do not accept a God (see Atheism in Hinduism) while accepting the authority of the Vedas; they thus are "atheistic astika'' schools".
The different usages of these terms are explained by Chatterjee and Datta as follows:
In modern Indian languages, 'āstika' and 'nāstika' generally mean 'theist' and 'atheist', respectively. But in Sanskrit philosophical literature, 'āstika' means 'one who believes in the authority of the Vedas' or 'one who believes in life after death'. ('nāstika' means the opposite of these). The word is used here in the first sense. In the second sense, even the Jaina and Buddha schools are 'āstika', as they believe in life after death. The six orthodox schools are 'āstika', and the Cārvāka is 'nāstika' in both the senses.
"Of the six orthodox philosophies of Vedic tradition — Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisesika, Mimamsa and Vedanta — only the Vedanta of Badarayana Vyasa is free of error, and even that only as properly explained by the bona fide Vaisnava acaryas. Each of the six schools, nonetheless, makes some practical contribution to Vedic education: atheistic Sankhya explains the evolution of natural elements from subtle to gross, Patanjali's yoga describes the eightfold method of meditation, Nyaya sets forth the techniques of logic, Vaisesika considers the basic metaphysical categories of reality, and Mimamsa establishes the standard tools of scriptural interpretation. Apart from these six, there are also the more deviant philosophies of the Buddhists, Jains and Carvakas, whose theories of voidism and materialism deny the spiritual integrity of the eternal soul."
These are often coupled into three groups for both historical and conceptual reasons: Nyaya-Vaishesika, Samkhya-Yoga, and Mimamsa-Vedanta. ;Nastika The three main schools of Indian philosophy that do not base their beliefs on the Vedas were regarded as heterodox by Brahmins:
The use of the term nastika to describe Buddhism and Jainism in India is explained by Gavin Flood as follows:
At an early period, during the formation of the Upanişads and the rise of Buddhism and Jainism, we must envisage a common heritage of meditation and mental discipline practiced by renouncers with varying affiliations to non-orthodox (Veda-rejecting) and orthodox (Veda-accepting) traditions.... These schools [such as Buddhism and Jainism] are understandably regarded as heterodox (nāstika) by orthodox (āstika) Brahmanism.
The Tantric traditions in Hinduism, have both astika and nastika lines; as Banerji writes in "Tantra in Bengal":
Tantras are ... also divided as āstika or Vedic and nāstika or non-Vedic. In accordance with the predominance of the deity the āstika works are again divided as .
Category:Indian philosophy Category:Hindu philosophical concepts Category:Sanskrit words and phrases Category:Philosophical traditions Category:Ancient philosophical schools and traditions Category:Philosophical schools and traditions
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