Namaste and Jai Bhagwan in Yoga Class
A yoga student asked what is the difference between two
greetings we use in yoga classes "Namaste" and "Jai Bhagwan". Wikipedia says
Namaste is derived from Sanskrit and is a combination of two words, "Namo Aste".
"Namo" means 'bow' and "aste" means 'me to you'. Therefore, Namaste literally
means "bow me to you" translated as "I bow to you". In other words, when
one says "Namaste" to another it means "I salute or recognize your presence or
existence in society and the universe."
The Urban Dictionary gives a nice explanation of Jai Bhagwan, which is used with Namaste in yoga classes. The literal translation of Jai, from Hindi to Engish is victory or victorious, and "Bhagavan", also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit stem bhaga-vant, literally means "possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous" (from the noun bhaga, meaning "fortune, wealth","god"), and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy". It is a greeting that basically means may the bhagavan - divine, prosperous, etc - in you be victorious.
The Urban Dictionary gives a nice explanation of Jai Bhagwan, which is used with Namaste in yoga classes. The literal translation of Jai, from Hindi to Engish is victory or victorious, and "Bhagavan", also written Bhagwan or Bhagawan, from the Sanskrit stem bhaga-vant, literally means "possessing fortune, blessed, prosperous" (from the noun bhaga, meaning "fortune, wealth","god"), and hence "illustrious, divine, venerable, holy". It is a greeting that basically means may the bhagavan - divine, prosperous, etc - in you be victorious.
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