74. Shraddha Brings Joy
K rishna says that anyone who follows the teaching of the Gita with shraddha will be joyful and will be liberated from karma bandhan (bondage of action) (3.31). The word ‘ Shraddha ’ is formed by the combination of two words, ‘ Shrat ’ and ‘ Dha ’. ‘ Shrat ’ means truth, and ‘ Dha ’ means to hold or sustain. Thus, Shraddha means holding or abiding in Truth. Shraddha is usually thought to mean belief or faith, but it is something beyond and the closest meaning is trust. In this state, we are free of doubt and all our questions dissipate. Humanity once believed that the Sun revolved around the Earth, until it was discovered that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Thus, belief is dependent on external factors while shraddha is an internal quality. Secondly, belief exists alongside its polar opposite, disbelief, whereas shraddha transcends both. Thirdly, shraddha is not blind faith, in which one is unwilling to listen to the other side. Shraddha is the assimilati...