Āstika And Nāstika Āstika and Nāstika are concepts that have been used to classify Indian philosophies by modern scholars, as well as some Hindu, Buddhist and Jain texts. The various definitions for āstika and nāstika philosophies have been disputed since ancient times, and there is no consensus. In current Indian languages like Hindi and Bengali, āstika and its derivatives usually mean ‘theist’,...
Shruti Shruti or Shruthi (श्रुति, Śruti) in Sanskrit means “that which is heard” and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. It includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the early Upanishads, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas. Śrutis have been variously described as a revelation through anubhava (direct...
Orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek orthodoxía “right opinion”) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. In the Christian sense, the term means “conforming to the Christian faith as represented in the creeds of the early Church.” The first seven ecumenical councils were held between the years 325 and 787...