Published in IJCP February 2022
Spiritual Update
Astik vs. Nastik
February 11, 2022 | ijcp
     


Traditionally, people believe that Nastik do not believe in God.

To differentiate between Astik and Nastik, we need to first understand the concept of Sanatan Dharma and Arya Samaj Dharma. People who believe in Sanatan Dharma consider God as separate from the self and worship him in the form of an idol. They believe in Dualism theory.

Arya Samaj followers do not do idol worship and believe in nondualism and treat God and self as one.

Arya Samajis, therefore, will not go to a temple where the idols of Gods are placed. Being an Arya Samaji does not mean that the person is Nastik.

The word Nastik means someone who does not believe in God at all, therefore, he or she also does not believe in self as God is nothing but self. In medical science, these are the people who have no insight and will usually be suffering from depression and loss of self-esteem.