Swami

Hari Om
~~~~~

Namaste,

I was pondering tho most wonderful word swami (swAmi). Which in full is svAmin स्वामिन् . We know this word to mean a spiritual preceptor , learned pundit, a teacher, perhaps a guru.

Yet the parallel meaning of this swAmin is an owner , proprietor , master , lord or owner , a chief or commander. But of what?

sva स्व = own , one's own , my own , thy own , his own , her own , our own + asmi अस्मि or I am.

So a swAmin is the owner or master, or controller of ones one Self. Being possessed of the SELF.

I can see why being a svAmin can make one a teacher or guru... to be possessed of the SELF, one speaks from the level of truth, from satyam. There is no effort, as being possessed of the SELF, is being esablished in Brahman.

Perhaps some one can help me as why we drop the 'n' at the end of svAmin and use svAmi?


May we all become established as swAmin's...

pranams

Namaste Yajvan,

A svAmin is an owner, proprietor, master, lord, chief, commander, husband, lover, king, prince, spiritual preceptor, learned brAhmaNa, or the image (habit) or abode (habitat) of a deva.

A svAmin is identical with a tripuNDrin. :)

The vocative singular case uses the root form, he svAmin, while the nominative singular case alone becomes svAmI.
See: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2405