Aastika and Nastika

आस्तिक & नास्तिक are not same as theist and atheist. These terms in Indian context have broad meanings. आस्तिक is someone who says ‘THERE IS’ while the नास्तिक says ‘THERE IS NOT’. Well, here no where they fight for existence of God as theist and atheist do. What is being affirmed or denied is left out etymologically. The center stage of affirmation and denial varies with time.

An affirmer might be the one

• Who affirms the value of rituals
• Who affirms the existence of virtue and vice
• who affirms the existence of another world after death
• who affirms the Vedas as ultimate truth

This does not necessarily affirmation about existence of God.

And those who deny this affirmation and only rely on limited physical reality are denier or नास्तिक. But this does not mean they deny the affirmation blindly. They engage themselves in inquiries and take long way of proving something before believing in it. Unlike modern self-proclaimed  atheists.

On the other hand, English words Theist and Atheist are about the ones who believes in the existence of a god or gods and the ones who don’t believe.

There is no direct translation possible.

So when some modern Hindu tell you that he is Hindu-atheist, it is nothing but either arrogance or confusion. Not necessarily नास्तिक as the term denotes.

I interpret term नास्तिक in two division. धार्मिक-नास्तिक & अधार्मिक-नास्तिक. The former does not affirm but do follow his/her duties towards the world i.e. participate in Yajna. अधार्मिक-नास्तिक is the one who does not affirm and is only engaged in logical denial-ism as Manu Smriti explained in chapter 2. Most who proclaims being Hindu-Atheist come in this category i.e. अधार्मिक-नास्तिक Those who don’t follow own dharma, do not experiments with life to realize the truth and also deny the truth.

Source: Unifying Hinduism: Philosophy and Identity in Indian Intellectual History  By Andrew J. Nicholson