Sri Aurobindo

Letters on Himself and the Ashram

The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo. Volume 35

His Life and Attempts to Write about It
The Terminology of His Writings

Brahma — Brahman — Brahmin [2]

You have given me the spellings of ब्रह्म [brahma] (the Eternal) and ब्रह्मा [brahmā] (the Creator). Kindly write to me the correct spelling of ब्रह्मण [brahmaṇa] (a caste) also.

I spoke of Brahma the Creator in order to explain why the n was necessary in transliterating ब्रह्म the Eternal.

As for the other word the correct English is Brahmin, but it is often transliterated Brahmana or Brahman in order to be nearer the Sanskrit. Usually, I write Brahmin but in the Press it gets altered into Brahman.

2 February 1933