Why do we say Jai Bhagwan rather than Namaste?
Jai Bhagwan and Namaste are similar greetings in different languages. Swami Kripalu, for whom Kripalu Yoga was named, was born and raised in the Gujarat province of India. Gujarat is located north of the city of Bombay. The official language of Gujarat is Gujarati. Approximately 5% of the Indian people speak Gujarati, which was the language spoken by Mahatma Gandhi. Jai Bhagwan is a form of greeting in the Gujarati language and is often translated as “I bow to the light within you.” Namaste is a similar greeting in the Hindi language which is spoken as a first language by over 20% of the Indian people and a second language by over 40%. Namaste has many translations but is is also often translated as “I bow to the light within you.
