Āstika and nāstika facts for kids

Āstika and nāstika are important ideas used to group different Indian philosophies. Modern experts, along with some ancient Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain writings, use these terms.

The exact meanings of āstika and nāstika have been debated for a long time, and there isn't one single answer. In modern Indian languages like Telugu, Hindi, and Bengali, āstika usually means 'someone who believes in God', and nāstika means 'someone who does not believe in God'. However, in older Sanskrit writings, these terms did not mean 'theism' or 'atheism'.

For example, the Sāṃkhya philosophy is considered āstika (meaning it follows the Vedas), even though it doesn't clearly say that God exists in its main teachings. Also, even though Buddhism is seen as nāstika, some Hindu traditions believe Gautama Buddha is an avatar (a special form) of the god Vishnu.

Āstika (Sanskrit: आस्तिक) comes from the Sanskrit word asti, which means 'there is' or 'there exists'. It generally means someone who believes in the existence of a Self (also called ātman) or Brahman (the ultimate reality).

The term āstika has been defined in a few ways:

• Those who accept the Vedas as a true source of knowledge.
• Those who believe that ātman (the Self or soul) exists.
• Those who believe that Ishvara (a supreme being or controller) exists.

Nāstika (Sanskrit: na meaning 'not' + āstika) is the opposite. It refers to those who do not agree with the definitions of āstika. They might not believe in the existence of the Self or the authority of the Vedas.

The six main Āstika schools of Indian philosophy are often called "orthodox" (meaning they follow traditional beliefs). These are Nyāyá, Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya, Yoga, Mīmāṃsā, and Vedānta.

The four main Nāstika schools are sometimes called "heterodox" (meaning they have different beliefs). These are Buddhism, Jainism, Chārvāka, and Ājīvika. However, the words "orthodox" and "heterodox" come from Western languages and were not originally used in Sanskrit.

What the Words Mean

Āstika is a Sanskrit word that comes from asti, meaning 'there is' or 'it exists'. It can mean 'knowing what exists' or 'pious' (religious). The word Nāstika is its opposite, meaning 'not existing'.

One traditional way to understand āstika is 'someone whose opinion is that Īśvara (a supreme being) exists'. The Sanskrit expert Hemachandra said āstika means 'someone who believes'.

Other meanings for āstika include:

• The opposite of nāstika.
• Someone who believes that Īśvara exists.
• Someone who sees the Vedas as true and important.

In Hindu philosophy, the difference between āstika and nāstika is not about believing in God or not. Instead, it often relates to whether someone accepts the Vedic texts as true, especially their teachings about the Self. The Vedas and Hinduism do not have the idea of an all-powerful God who is separate from everything, like in Christian or Islamic faiths.

For example, the Sāṃkhya and Mīmāṃsā philosophies do not believe in a personal God, but they are still considered Āstika because they believe in the Vedas. On the other hand, Buddhists, Jains, and Cārvākas are called Nāstika because they do not believe in the Vedas.

Āstika is also the name of a wise person in ancient stories, born to the goddess Mānasā and the sage Jaratkaru.

How Schools Are Grouped

The terms Āstika and Nāstika are used to group different Indian ways of thinking.

Āstika Schools

There are six main Āstika systems, also called ṣaḍdarśanas. These schools see the Vedas as a reliable and important source of knowledge. They are:

• Nyaya: This school focuses on logic and how we gain knowledge.
• Vaisheshika: This school studies the nature of reality, including atoms.
• Samkhya: This school looks at the different parts of existence.
• Yoga: This school, based on the teachings of Patañjali, focuses on meditation and spiritual practices.
• Mīmāṃsā: This tradition studies and explains the rituals and duties mentioned in the Vedas.
• Vedanta: This school, also known as Uttara Mimāṃsā, focuses on the deeper wisdom found in the Upaniṣads.

These six schools are often grouped into three pairs: Nyāyá-Vaiśeṣika, Sāṃkhya-Yoga, and Mimāṃsā-Vedanta.

Nāstika Schools

The main Indian philosophy schools that do not accept the Vedas are called Nāstika or "heterodox" (meaning non-traditional) in this system:

• Buddhism
• Jainism
• Charvaka
• Ājīvika
• Ajñana

Historian Gavin Flood explains why Buddhism and Jainism were called nāstika: In early times, when the Upaniṣads, Buddhism, and Jainism were developing, there were many spiritual groups. Some accepted the Vedas (orthodox), and some did not (non-orthodox). Schools like Buddhism and Jainism were naturally seen as nāstika by the traditional Vedic (āstika) groups.

Some Tantric traditions within Hinduism can be either āstika or nāstika. This depends on whether they follow Vedic ideas or not.

How Religions Use the Terms

Hinduism

The ancient Hindu text Manusmriti (verse 2.11) says that a Nāstika is someone who does not accept all of the Vedic literature as true. The scholar Medhatithi (from the 9th century) explained that Nāstika doesn't mean someone who says "Vedic literature is untrue," but rather someone who says "Vedic literature is immoral." Medhatithi also added that a Nāstika is someone who believes "there is no other world, no point in giving charity, and no point in rituals or Vedic teachings."

The Manusmriti doesn't clearly define Āstika. However, Hindu scholars from schools like Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, and Vedanta generally agreed that Āstika refers to those who accept the Vedic texts as a reliable way to gain knowledge.

Based on Belief in Atman

In some texts, Āstika is defined as those who believe in the existence of Atman (the Self or soul). Nāstika are those who deny that a "Self" exists in humans or other living beings. All six Hindu schools classified as Āstika believe that "Atman exists." Buddhism, however, believes that "Atman does not exist."

Asanga Tilakaratna translates Āstika as 'positivism' (believing something exists) and Nāstika as 'negativism' (denying something exists). He says Āstika includes traditions that believe "Self and God exist," while Nāstika includes traditions like Buddhism that deny "Self and God exist."

Jainism

According to G. S. Ghurye, Jain texts define nāstika as someone "denying what exists" or any philosophy that denies the existence of the Self. Hindu Vedanta traditions are āstika because they accept the Self, while Buddhist traditions that deny it are called nāstika.

One of the earliest mentions of āstika in Jain texts is by Manibhadra. He says an āstika is someone who "accepts there is another world, that the Self moves through different lives, and that good and bad actions affect the Self's journey."

The Jain scholar Haribhadra (from the 5th–6th century) does not mention accepting or rejecting the Vedas or God as a way to define āstika or nāstika. Instead, he explains nāstika like Manibhadra did: someone "who says there are no other worlds, no point in charity, and no point in offerings." For Haribhadra, an āstika is someone who believes there is value in living an ethical life, like practicing ahimsa (non-violence), and in performing rituals.

The Jain scholar Hemachandra (from the 12th century) also states that a nāstika is any philosophy that claims there is "no good or bad actions."

Buddhism

The Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna linked Nastikya to "nihilism" (the belief that life is meaningless and nothing truly exists).

The 4th-century Buddhist scholar Asanga, in his work Bodhisattva Bhumi, called some Buddhists sarvaiva nastika, meaning they were "complete deniers." To Asanga, nāstika were those who said "nothing whatsoever exists," and the worst kind of nāstika were those who denied all reality. Āstika were those who believed in and practiced a religious life.

Andrew Nicholson notes that later Buddhists understood Asanga to be calling Madhyamaka Buddhism nāstika, while seeing his own Yogachara Buddhist tradition as āstika.

Being called a nāstika was a serious problem for a Buddhist and could lead to being removed from the Buddhist community. Therefore, Nicholson explains that the early European scholars' definitions of āstika and nāstika schools were too simple. In reality, these terms are much more complex and depend on the specific context within different Indian philosophies.

Nicholson says that the most common meaning of āstika and nāstika in Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism was about accepting and following ethical rules, rather than just believing in certain texts or ideas. He suggests that āstika was translated as "orthodox" and nāstika as "heterodox" because early European scholars might have used ideas from Christian traditions, which then made the complex Indian traditions seem simpler than they were.

See Also

In Spanish: Ástika y nástika para niños