Śraddhā

Śraddhā (श्रद्धा, shraddhaa) is a Sanskrit term loosely translated as "faith", which is important in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist literature and teachings. Śraddhā is also a girl's name in India and among adherents of the spiritual traditions which use the term; without diacritical marks, it is usually written as Shraddha or Sraddha.

Śraddhā is a broad concept which has no direct English relative or equivalent. In addition to faith, it can also be associated with trust, confidence, and loyalty.[1] The teacher Ammachi describes it as the "constant alertness arising from Love", and when choosing a single word to translate it into English, has used "awareness".[2] Other writers have also described the concept with emphasis on the intersection of faith and mindfulness, and it has been translated in this vein with words such as "diligence".[3]

Sri Aurobindo describes Śraddhā as "the soul's belief in the Divine's existence, wisdom, power, love and grace." [4]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "श्रद्धा - Wiktionary". En.wiktionary.org. 2012-01-08. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  2. ↑ "Gospel of AMMA: [AWAKENCHILDREN] AWAKEN CHILDREN ( 112 ) - SRADDHA - ALERTNESS". Amma-words.blogspot.com. 2005-05-03. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  3. ↑ "Sraddha — Diligence Cookbook". www.vikramsurya.net. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
  4. ↑ "Search for Light; Sri Aurobindo on faith". www.searchforlight.org. Retrieved 2014-08-14.