महात्मा mahātmā

Hindi is also shown in Latin characters, using an adapted form of ISO 15919 transliteration.

How to read the transliteration

This site uses transliteration based on ISO 15919, with a few adaptations to make reading easier: h is added after c, ś and ṣ, and i after the vowel r̥. These adaptations bring it closer to the Hunterian system used in India while retaining the distinctive marks of ISO 15919.

Adaptations used on this site
ISO 15919	On this site
c	ch
ś	śh
ṣ	ṣh
r̥	r̥i

A few reading pointers:

ā, ī, ū: the line above the letter indicates a long vowel.
ṭ, ḍ, ṇ: the dot below distinguishes retroflex consonants from t, d, n.
A tilde above a vowel indicates nasalisation.

sa · n. · m.

Earlier definition

Definition

A saint, sage, saintly (person), noble or enlightened soul.
(Bābā) 'Great soul', the pure soul.

Usual translation

great soul

Origin of the definition

आत्मा ātmā (sanskrit)

In BK teaching, the individual, imperishable conscious being, distinct from the body and the Supreme Soul, described as a point. The soul acts, learns and carries its sanskars from one body to another; its spiritual state can change. Considering oneself to be a soul is a fundamental practice.

महान्, महा mahān, mahā (sanskrit)

(prefix) Great, illustrious.
Mighty, strong, big, large, ample, excessive, grievous.
Very, extremely, very much.

महात्मा mahātmā maha:tmā: (a and nm) a saint, sage, saintly (person), noble / enlightened soul; hence ~पन (nm).