{{Short description|Honorific title for Hindu monks; Indian surname}} {{other uses}} thumb|Swami Saradananda '''Swami''' ({{IPA|sa|sʋaːmiː|}}; {{Langx|sa|स्वामी|svāmī}}; sometimes abbreviated '''sw.''') in Hinduism is an honorific title given to an ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa'').<ref name="Boeving">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Boeving |first=Nicholas Grant |year=2014 |title=Swamis |editor-last=Leeming |editor-first=David A. |editor-link=David Adams Leeming |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion |pages=1760–1761 |edition=2nd |publisher=Springer Verlag |location=Boston |doi=10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_673 |isbn=978-1-4614-6087-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=E. Cobham |last1=Brewer |author-link=E. Cobham Brewer |editor-first=Camilla |editor-last=Rockwood |isbn=9780550104113 |at="Swami" entry |title=Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable |location=London |publisher=Chambers Harrap |date=2009 |ol=2527037W}}.</ref> It is used either before or after the subject's name (usually an adopted religious name). An alternative form, '''swamini''' ({{IAST|svāmini}}), is sometimes used by female renunciates.
The meaning of the Sanskrit root of the word ''swami'' is "[he who is] one with his self" ({{lang|sa-Latn|swa}} stands for "self"),<ref>{{cite book |last=Yogananda |first=Paramhamsa |date=1997 |title=Autobiography of a Yogi |location=Mumbai |publisher=Jaico Publishing House |page=14}}{{unreliable source?|date=July 2018}}</ref> and can roughly be translated as "he/she who knows and is master of himself/herself".<ref name="Boeving"/> The term is often attributed to someone who has achieved mastery of a particular yogic system or demonstrated profound devotion (''bhakti'') to one or more Hindu gods.<ref name="Boeving"/> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives the etymology as:<ref>{{cite web |url= http://oed.com/view/Entry/195404?rskey=Cbewbm&result=1 |title=swami |work=Oxford English Dictionary |edition=online |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=31 August 2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Hindi {{lang|hi|svāmī}} 'master, lord, prince', used by Hindus as a term of respectful address, < Sanskrit {{lang|sa-Latn|svāmin}} in some senses, also the idol or temple of a god.}}
As a direct form of address, or as a stand-in for a swami's name, it is often rendered ''Swamiji'' (also ''Swami-ji'' or ''Swami Ji'').
In modern Gaudiya Vaishnavism, ''Swami'' is also one of the 108 names for a sannyasi given in Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's ''Gaudiya Kanthahara'', along with ''Goswami'', also traditionally used as an honorific title.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Narasingha |first1=Bhakti Gaurava |title=Bhaktivedanta |url=https://gosai.com/writings/bhaktivedanta |website=Sri Narasingha Chaitanya Ashram |access-date=5 January 2022}}</ref>
''Swami'' is also the surname of the Bairagi caste in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. In Bengali, the word (pronounced {{IPA|bn|ˈʃami|}}), while carrying its original meaning, also has the meaning of "husband" in another context. The word also means "husband" in Malay, in which it is spelled {{lang|ms|suami}},<ref>{{cite web |title=Istilah Malaysia |url= http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Search.aspx?k=suami |work=Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu |publisher=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Malaysia |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> and in Khmer, Assamese and Odia. The Thai word for "husband", {{lang|th-Latn|sami}} ({{lang|th|สามี}}) or {{lang|th-Latn|swami}} ({{lang|th|สวามี}}) is a cognate word.
==See also== * Dashanami Sampradaya
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Worship in Hinduism}}
Category:Honorifics Category:Culture of India Category:Sanskrit words and phrases Category:Titles and occupations in Hinduism
{{Hinduism-stub}}