श्रद्धा
Śraddhā
SHRAHD-dhaa (the 'sh' as in 'shrub', stress on first syllable, aspirated 'ddh')
Level 2Etymology
Root: From 'śrat' (heart, truth) + 'dhā' (to place, to hold) — literally 'to place one's heart in.' The prefix 'śrat' is related to the Latin 'cred-' (as in 'credo'), sharing a common Proto-Indo-European origin.
Literal meaning: That which places or establishes the heart in truth; the act of setting one's conviction upon what is real.
Definition
Shraddha is earnest trust and sincere conviction in a teacher, a teaching, or a practice. It is the quality that allows a student to commit to learning before the full fruits of that learning are visible. In daily life, it is the steady confidence that sustains effort through difficulty.
Shraddha is the inner disposition of the mind that opens it to receive higher knowledge. Shankara defines it as the mind's settling into alignment with the words of the guru and the scriptures (śāstra). It is not blind belief but an informed, reasoned trust that precedes and enables direct realization.
At the highest level, Shraddha is the spontaneous recognition by the Atman of its own nature as reflected in the teachings of Vedanta. It is the innate pull of consciousness toward truth — the Self's own gravity drawing the seeker beyond doubt into the direct knowledge that Brahman alone is real.
Appears In
Common Misconception
Shraddha is often mistranslated as 'blind faith' or equated with dogmatic belief. In reality, Vedantic tradition sharply distinguishes Shraddha from blind acceptance (andha-vishvasa). Shraddha is a provisional, reasoned trust — like a patient's trust in a qualified doctor — that motivates inquiry and is ultimately validated or corrected by direct experience (anubhava). It is the starting point of investigation, not a substitute for it.
Modern Application
In modern life, Shraddha is the quality that allows someone to commit to a meaningful path — whether learning a skill, pursuing therapy, or deepening a spiritual practice — before seeing guaranteed results. It is what keeps a student in class, an entrepreneur building through uncertainty, or a meditator on the cushion when progress feels invisible. Shraddha counters the modern tendency toward cynicism and paralysis-by-analysis. It is not naivety; it is the informed confidence that some truths can only be verified by walking the path, not by standing at the trailhead demanding proof.
Related Terms
Quick Quiz
In the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 17, Krishna classifies Shraddha into three types based on which framework?