{{italic title ''Mataji'' (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

माताजी ''mātājī'') is a Hindi term meaning 'respected mother'.

Etymology

"Mātā" (माता) is the Hindi word for "mother", from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

''matr.'' (मातृ), and the "-jī" (जी) suffix is an honorific suffix used to indicate respect.

Use

"Mataji" is a term used to respectfully address an older woman in Indian culture, particularly if she is unknown to the speaker. Another term that is sometimes used is the

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

"auntie". The term is also used for women spiritual teachers and leaders. "Mataji" is sometimes used by ISKCON devotees as a title, for example, "Radha Mataji". In some communities, men are encouraged to call all devotee women "Mataji", because according to

Vedic culture upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

, all women who are not one's wife are to be treated as one's mother. Many women in ISKCON shun the term and prefer they be called

Prabhu ''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/ Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appen ...

, which was a term

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the " Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a rep ...

, the founder of ISKCON, used to refer to all members, or

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

, meaning goddess in Sanskrit.

External links

Prabhu ji and Mataji: a discussion on the use of these terms
Hindi words and phrases