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attached with the word God. Vedic philosopher of Indian philosophy construed that as orthodox system, or āstika is all about theism or belief in God, and on the other hand heterodox system, as nāstika, disbelief in God a huge misconception.
In Indian philosophy Pūrva and Uuttara-mīmāṁsā, Sāṁkhya and Yoga, Nyāya and Vaiseșika are regarded as ‘orthodox' and others such as Jaina, Bauddha and Cārvāka as heterodox, has little or nothing to do with a belief in God. The real point of departure is whether or not a particular system of thought accepts the Vedas as ultimate source of philosophical authority.
The so called orthodox schools do accept authority of Vedas even though it has been convincingly argued that this acceptance is more notional than real while the other three so called heterodox do not. Significantly the original meaning of the terms āstika and nāstika too hinges on this vital difference. The āstikas believe in the veracity and infallibility of Vedas. Among the āstikas, the oldest school Sāmkhya and Pūrva Mīmāṁsā strongly refute the theory of God. Thus the source book of Sāṁkhya-darśana, īśvarakrsna's Sāṁkhya-kārikā is full of subtle argument, which rejects the possibility of their being an all-powerful creator and controller of the world.
Vijñānabhikṣu's Sāṁkhya-pravacana-bhāsya makes a case for why a belief in the divine principle is unwarranted. Even Kapila's classic treatise 'Sāṁkhya-sūtra’, on the subject, which is far less emphatic in its rejection of God finds unnecessary to accept any theistic assumption.
Similarly, Pūrva-mīmāṁsā has a strong element of disbelief at its core. Jaimini's Mimāṁsā-sūtra, the founding text, is mostly preoccupied with proving the efficiency and power of yajña or Sacrificial fire but shies away from attributing it any divinity. Jaimini takes delight in rejecting the hypothesis of God.
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