hindu-devotionWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
Faith / Trusting Conviction (Śraddhā)
Not mere belief but trusting commitment — the inner 'yes' without which the path cannot begin.
Śraddhā is faith — but less a belief in propositions than a trusting, wholehearted disposition: confidence in the teaching, in the teacher, and in the worth of the goal, the inner 'yes' that lets a seeker commit and persevere. The Bhagavad-gītā says a person is made of their śraddhā — that one becomes what one trustingly gives oneself to. Across the schools it is treated as a qualification without which the path cannot even begin, the soil in which knowledge or devotion takes root.
Key passages(13)
Very high
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi 25↗explains
Vivekacūḍāmaṇi · Śaṅkara (traditionally ascribed; authorship doubted)
Very high
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 3,9.21↗explains
Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad · Vedic Revelation (śruti)
Very high
High
High
High
High
High
High
High
High
High
Moderate