Meaning of sraddha

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Posted by: " G. Balasubramanian "

*Dear Brothers and Sisters,*

Let us now take up the term Sraddha for elaboration.*

 

*What is meant by Sraddha? Sankaracharya defines this term as follows:-*

* " That by which one understands the exact import of the scriptures as well

as the pregnant words of advice of of the preceptor (Sastrasya Guruvakyasya

Satyabuddhi Avadharana) is called Sraddha by the wise( Sa Sraddha kathita

sadbih);by this alone does Reality become manifestly clear(Yaya

Vastoopalabhyate). " *

**

*Sraddha is the fifth of the qualifications found necessary in an aspirant.

Sraddha is not blind faith as it is generally understood. It is not a mere

static belief (viswas) swallowing everything that is said by another

authority without subjecting it to evidential tests. It is a healthy attempt

at a clear intellectual appreciation of the secret depths of the

significances underlying the words of the scriptures and the Spiritual

Master (Guru). It is an essential requisite for anyone trying to master the

truths of the scriptures. The scriptures give us ,through a technique of

suggestions, as clear a description of the Infinite Truth as possible,

through finite words . As such, the pure Consciousness which is the core of

Reality can not be defined or expressed in words and this supreme point of

human evolution can only be indicated by the scriptures. If the words

indicating Truth are to be correctly interpreted, understood and efficiently

made use of , an honest and sincere effort on the part of the students and

seekers is absolutely necessary. This capacity through sincere effort to

realise the words of the scriptures in all their suggestiveness is termed as

Sraddha.*

**

*In a man possessing Sraddha there is no room for frivolity, vascillation,

scepticism, arrogance and pretence. Devotion, adoration, oblation,

sacrifice and prayer become complete and blemishless, if only they are

performed with Sraddha , which sums up the God-receptive attitude of

man. Sraddha

is the warp and woof of man. The Gita says, " Man is man, only in the measure

of the Sraddha he poseeses (Sraddhaamayah ayam purushah yah yat sraddhah sa

eva sah). Sankaracharya provides another definition for Sraddha as Aastikya

buddhih, which when translated means,'the positive attitude oriented

reason'. In the Kathopanishad the student Nachiketa is presented as

possessed of Sraddha(shraddhaavivesa). He was in search of Truth and he

had a deep faith and firm conviction that the profound Truth lay behind the

diverse phenomena of nature and life. The basic positive attitude to the

unknown dimension of Reality is called Sraddha. It is the faith in our

capacity to unravel the mystery and for a sincere and sustained search in

that direction. *

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*We can understand the meaning and significance of Sraddha better through

the opposite term for Sraddha, viz., Asraddha meaning no faith or

cynicism. Asraddha is the character of a cynic who has no faith in himself

or in the world around him. While Sraddha denotes a totality of positive

attitudes, a cynic is afflicted with a totality of negative attitudes.

Absecnce of faith spells the spiritual death of a man. It scorns all

values. Asraddha sets in when man is spiritually weakened through an

over-emphasis on material things and organ-based satisfactions and through

consequent neglect of the ever present datum of the divine Spark in man and

nature. One who is possessed of unflinching faith is called Sraddhavaan in

the Gita. He who lacks faith can never be regarded as qualified to receive

knowledge. Lord Krishna declares in the Gita, " One possessed of Shraddha

attains Knowledge,(Shraddhaavan Labhate Gyanam) " . It is Sraddha that

gives impetus to one`s spiritual practice(Sadhana) and earnestness is the

test of Shraddha.*

*G.Balasubramanian*

**