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02 | Āstika vs. Nāstika Schools

I got it bro. I am ready for next

Awesome, bro. Glad that clicked. So, we've got the main goal locked in: Mokṣa, or freedom from suffering.

Now, let's look at how all these different philosophical schools are organized. Think of it like the world of music. You have the main goal—to make music—but you have a ton of different genres, right? Rock, hip-hop, classical, etc.

In Indian philosophy, they have their own "genres." The schools are split into two major teams or categories. And the whole division is based on their answer to one single question.

The question is: "Do you accept the authority of the Vedas?"

First, what are the Vedas? Just think of them as the oldest, most sacred, foundational scriptures of Hinduism. For thousands of years, they were considered the ultimate source of spiritual knowledge—the final word on everything from rituals to the nature of reality.

So, every philosopher and every new school had to take a stance. Either you're with the Vedas, or you're not. This created the two teams.

Team 1: The Āstika (The Orthodox Schools)

  • Their Stance: "Yes, we accept the authority of the Vedas."
  • What this means: These guys are the "insiders." They believe the Vedas are the ultimate source of truth. Their philosophy might interpret the Vedas in different ways, but they never outright reject them. They're working within the system.
  • Who's on this team? There are six main schools here. Don't worry about what they mean yet, just get familiar with the names:
  • Nyāya
  • Vaiśeṣika
  • Sāṅkhya (This is one of the main ones we'll study later)
  • Yoga
  • Mīmāṃsā
  • Vedānta

Think of the Āstika schools like different denominations of a religion. They might have different interpretations, but they all believe in the same holy book.

Team 2: The Nāstika (The Heterodox Schools)

  • Their Stance: "No, we do NOT accept the authority of the Vedas."
  • What this means: These are the rebels, the outsiders. They said, "We're not just going to believe something because an old book says so." They based their philosophies on other things, like direct personal experience, logic, or the teachings of a different founder (like the Buddha).
  • Who's on this team? There are three major schools here:
  • Cārvāka (The materialists we'll study soon)
  • Buddhism
  • Jainism

So, the big takeaway for this section is super simple:

All Indian philosophy schools are divided into two camps: Āstika (those who accept the Vedas) and Nāstika (those who reject the Vedas). This is the primary way they are classified.

It's like the first question you ask when you meet a new school: "Which team are you on? Āstika or Nāstika?"

So, does this whole Āstika vs. Nāstika thing make sense? The two teams, divided by their view on the one big authority, the Vedas? Let me know if you're good with this, and we can move to the next piece.