Mahatma is Sanskrit for "Great Soul" (??????? mah?tm?: ??? mah? (great) + ????? or ????? ?tman [1]); it is similar in usage to the modern Christian term saint. This epithet is commonly applied to prominent people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Jyotirao Phule. Many sources, such as Dutta and Robinson's Rabindranath Tagore: An Anthology, state that Rabindranath Tagore first accorded Gandhi this title. Dutta, Krishna and Andrew Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore: An Anthology, p. 2 Others state that the title "Mahatma" was first accorded to Gandhi on January 21, 1915 by Nautamlal Bhagavanji Mehta at Kamribai School in Jetpur, India. Kamdartree.comThe term is also used to refer to adepts, liberated souls, or professionals.The word, used in a technical sense, was popularised in theosophical literature in the late 19th century when Madame Helena P. Blavatsky, one of the founders of the Theosophical Society, claimed that her teachers were adepts or Mahatmas who reside in Tibet.According
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma