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It could mean faith in a particular diety, mantra, ritual, remedy etc. What does faith mean and what does it involve? Does any scripture describe faith?

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  • Faith mean to believe in something or someone. Like you may believe in Shri krishna to be a God and worshiping him will give you moksha , that is faith. Feb 22, 2021 at 8:37

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This is an excellent question. The Sanskrit word sraddha is usually translated as faith in English. This is a problematic translation since faith is mere blind belief while sraddha is more than belief. I have not come across any interpretation of sraddha in scripture. So I am posting excerpts of Swami Tapasyananda's interpretation.

Sraddha .. is not credulity and superstitious acceptance of unknown and unverifiable entities and claims of individuals. It is a positive attitude towards the ultimate verities that do not fall within the ken of senses and reason, but on which indirect information can be had through authentic scriptures and genuine teachers. Sraddha is as much a unique quality of the human mind as reason. Animals have no capacity for sraddha even as they do not have for reasoning. ..........Sraddha also means Bhakti.

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Anything that has become a matter of sraddha in a man, unlike what is a mere belief, works as an operative force, enthusing him to put the content of his sraddha to practice, and to struggle towards the realisation of the ideal it presents. Ardour and sincerity are of the very stuff of sraddha. ....... Sraddha is a firm and active acceptance unlike belief or a conventional conformity which has no power to move a person to action.

Srimad Bhagavad Gita translated by Swami Tapasyananda

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