{{italic title ''Mataji'' (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

माताजी ''mātājī'') is a Hindi term meaning 'mother of all'.

Etymology

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

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

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

Use

"Mataji" is a term used to respectfully address a (Mother or female god) in Bharatiya (Indian) culture, particularly if she is unknown to the speaker. Another term that is sometimes used is the

anglicized Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

"auntie". The term is also used for some female spiritual teachers and leaders. "Mataji" is sometimes used by

ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 ...

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 ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed i ...

, 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 ''prince'' in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. Surname Prabhu is a surname among Gaud saraswat Brahmins, saraswat Brahmins and other Brahmins across the Ko ...

, which was a term A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, used to refer to all members, or

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

, meaning goddess in Sanskrit.

External links

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