More than 40 years ago I attended a Talmudic class which discussed the question how a lower being like man can bless a higher being like God. I remember it very vaguely, and may well be mistaken, but I think that blessing in this context was understood to express gratitude. However, I no longer remember the series of steps that took us from blessing to gratitude. Best wishes, Eli
Sent from my iPad > On 30.09.2022, at 10:12, Matthew Kapstein via INDOLOGY > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear Dr. Haas, > > I should add that the English usage is no doubt based on much older > liturgical formulas. The common Hebrew prayers, for instance, often begin: > baruch atoi adonai elohenu melekh ha-olem > for which the standard English rendition is "Blessed art thou o Lord, our > God, King of the universe..." Similarly, in French > "Béni sois-tu, Seigneur, notre Dieu, Roi de l'univers," though French tends > to use other locutions in varying contexts, for instance, "bien-aimé > Seigneur" where English would use "Blessed Lord." > > Matthew Kapstein > Directeur d'études, émérite > Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris > > Associate, The Divinity School > The University of Chicago > > https://brill.com/view/title/60949 > > https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein > > From: INDOLOGY <[email protected]> on behalf of Matthew > Kapstein via INDOLOGY <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 2:51 AM > To: Dr. Dominik A. Haas, BA MA <[email protected]>; > [email protected] <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Translation of bhagavān / bhagavatī > > Dear Dr. Haas, > > In English usage the phrase "Blessed Lord" is current in reference to the > deity of the Western monotheisms. I believe that this usage was extended to > Indian religions > during the nineteenth century. > > sincerely, > > Matthew Kapstein > Directeur d'études, émérite > Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris > > Associate, The Divinity School > The University of Chicago > > https://brill.com/view/title/60949 > > https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein > > From: INDOLOGY <[email protected]> on behalf of Dr. Dominik > A. Haas, BA MA <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, September 30, 2022 1:18 AM > To: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Translation of bhagavān / bhagavatī > > Dear native speakers, > to me “blessed” implies that someone has pronounced a blessing on a > person/object. How does this work with a deity such as Kṛṣṇa? Or can > “blessed” be used in a more figurative sense (is this what you have in > mind?)? > Best regards, > D. Haas > > > __________________ > Dr. Dominik A. Haas, BA MA > [email protected] | ORCID 0000-0002-8505-6112 | academia.edu DominikAHaas | > twitter DominikAHaas | hcommons DominikAHaas > ÖGRW | DMG | SDN | WPU > DOC Fellow, Austrian Academy of Sciences (2020–2022) > > <foasaslogosmall.png> > The Initiative for Fair Open Access Publishing in South Asian Studies > foasas.org | [email protected] | tweet #FOASAS > > > > > >> Am 30.09.2022 um 01:41 schrieb Harry Spier via INDOLOGY: >> Tracy Coleman wrote: >> Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Blessed Lord Krishna >> >> Thank you Tracy for this. "Blessed" is exactly what I need. And of course >> thank you to everyone else who answered, Rajam, Donald Davis, Dean Michael >> Anderson, and Matthew Kapstein. >> >> "Blessed" is a little more concise than this definition of bhagavat in the >> Vishnu Purana translated by Sw. Tyagīśānanda >> "That which is imperceptible, undecaying, inconceivable, unborn, >> inexhaustible, indestructible; which has neither form, nor hands, nor >> feet, which is almighty, omnipresent, eternal; the cause of all things >> and without cause, permeating all, itself unpenetrated, and from which >> all things proceed, that is the object which the wise behold, that is >> Brahman, that is the Supreme State, that is the thing spoken of by the >> Vedas, the infinitely subtle, supreme condition of viSNu. That Essence >> of the Supreme is defined by the term Bhagavat; the word Bhagavat is >> the denotation of that primeval and eternal God; and he who fully >> understands the meaning of that expression is possessed of holy wisdom, >> the sum and substance of the three vedas. The word Bhagavat is a >> convenient form to be used in the adoration of that Supreme Being, to >> twhom no term is applicable; and therefore bhagavat expresses that >> Supreme Spirit which is individual, almighty, and the cause of causes of >> all things. . . . >> >> Harry Spier >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> INDOLOGY mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology > > _______________________________________________ > INDOLOGY mailing list > [email protected] > https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology
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