Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa gives a beautiful illustration to understand
Shraddha. Swami Ranganathananda explains it and points out that the key to success in any field depends on positive attitude and unremitting effort.
When we go to fish in a lake, we take a fishing rod and
line, with bait fixed to it. We cast the line and bait into the lake and wait
patiently. We may not have seen fishes in that lake. We have only heard from
others who have fished there. Our Shradha in their words makes us go to the
lake and verify the truth of their statement.
We sit for a long time and yet fail to catch a fish. But by
this alone we do not conclude that there is no fish in the lake.
We come again the next day and keep striving. What is the
basis of this unremitting effort? It is the dynamic faith that there is fish in
the lake.
All great discoveries in the fields of science and religion
are the result of such a positive attitude and the action based on such an
attitude. Finally when we catch a fish, our belief turns into a verified truth.
Similarly, there is a divine truth hidden in all of us. Our
guru tells us about it and so do the scriptures. We have not seen it. But we
believe in their words and struggle to make that belief true by realization.
Swami Ranganathananda was the 13th president of the Ramakrishna Mission