In case others come looking for information on shardha specifically, the following information was originally posted by BhagatSingh on the
What is Worship? thread and I think could be repeated here for completeness of this thread. I hope you don't mind, Bhagat Bhaji! peacesignkaur
Worship in wordly sphere takes the form of ritual. Worship and it's associated rituals must be done with Shardha (the spiritual sphere), which is total attentiveness (in Bhagati, Sharda is the attentiveness arising from fear and love states, like how one feels towards their parents "Toon mat pita hum barak tere" You are my mother and father, and i am your child.). Without Shardha, worship is like brushing your teeth. With Shardha brushing your teeth becomes worship.
(meditate)
Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width=""> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset"> Wikipedia:
Sraddha 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] </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Devotion is part of Shardha. Keep this in mind as you read on.
The highest form of Shardha is seeing all moments and content of life as sacred. But to get to this place one starts by seeing certain things as sacred like (for a Sikh) Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and the 10 Gurus (devotion comes into play) then moving on to see the sacred in everything else (a greater devotion for God).
What does it mean to see something as sacred? When something is sacred, there is an increased alertness towards it taht arises out of both love and fear together. For example, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, one's turban, Nishan Sahib, your parents.
We often do things to cultivate this alertness. E.g. bowing down to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Nishan sahib and parents/elders, not letting the turban fall on the floor or worst yet, in the toilet, always placing the turban, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, Nishan Sahib on a high platform. Some people go even further and hold onto cloth pieces from coverings of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji and Nishan ahib. All of these acts are the beginnings of cultivating of Shardha, and they all happen to be rituals.
Shardha is the very basis of every human doing, and thus of worhip and rituals. An act without Shardha leads only to suffering. An act without concentration and devotion leads only to suffering. Just think about your day job, most people neither concentrate nor are mentally devoted to what they do. They suffer constantly.
(meditate)
Ritual is the communication of Shardha to others and to yourself. Combining Ritual and Shardha we get Worship.