I have been part of Vaishnavism for quite a while, five or six years. As a result, and because of some personal reasons, I legally changed my first name to a Hindu name a year ago.
But the thing is, I never had Vaishnava diksha (officially taking on a guru). I just simply converted. And while many Hindu groups have samskaras (and Shaiva Siddhanta Church encourages conversion with a namakarana samskara), samskara ceremonies are downplaid by the Gaudiya tradition at large.
I just adopted the name, and the local temple just began calling me by my Hindu name at that point in time.
Because of shame however, I have gone by my (Christian) middle name with my friends and family. But when I go to the government, or the doctor's office, I always end up hearing my first, legal, Hindu name.
Should I just continue to utilise my Hindu name at this point, or should I still bother with a namakarana samskara (from a non-Vaishnavite group) despite its de-emphasis in my tradition? Or shall I just wait until a guru finds me in the midst of my own maya to bring me to the path of bhakti?
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