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Thread: A Western name...

  1. #1
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    A Western name...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~
    namasté

    Giving a name to a child is a big deal for parents. Many (not all) on HDF have most notable names given to the devatā-s or saints as
    their 'screen name'. Having this name as one's legal name found on documents or licenses are few, and a different matter. That is neither here nor there but thought to mention it.


    Yet one must think how will this child I name like the sound I give to them ? If I give them a foreign name that is not really part of the western culture ( where I happen to reside at the time), am I doing this little human a dis-service ?


    I found there are many profound sounds that can be applied that are most noble in manner, yet fit nicely into the culture one is born in. Let's take a few examples...

    The one I happen to employ for my daughter ( over 30 years ago ) was sarah. If we deconstruct the name we have sa + ra + h. ( for me, my intent was sā + rā + ḥ ) The name satisfies the divine, and the practical at the same time:
    • sārā = the substance or essence or marrow or cream or heart or essential part of anything
    • sāra = strength power , energy
    • ḥ - is called visarga - considered final emancipation , exemption from worldly existence; This visarga is written as : ( a colon sign, one dot above the other) in saṃskṛtam. Offically it is not part of the saṃskṛta alphabet but is part of the ~rules~ of saṃdhi¹
      This ḥ is owned by śiva ; in fact the ~lore~ is the top and bottom dots are considered śiva and śakti but we will leave that for another time.
    So , sārāḥ sound form is the essence, the essential part of anything, of the highest nature (ḥ). The implication is the Divine. So, when one addresses sārāḥ they are addressing the highest in her. If we went in depth we could go by each sound form (phoneme) sā + rā + ḥ but that may be a bit too much at this time.


    And what of another name that may be worthy of one's name ? How about lana or a ?
    • la is a name of Indra ; lā is to give.
    • a - is knowledge; this a also equals nirvṛti which is emancipation ( nir-vāṇa ); it is also complete satisfaction or happiness
    You can see the auspiciousness of a without me connecting the dots.

    Last one:
    ronnie or ranee or rāṇi = rāṇa = a peacock's tail ; raṇī = queen.

    ... just a few ideas.

    iti śiva
    1. saṃdhi , some write sandhi - In general, containing a conjunction or transition from one to the other .
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  2. #2
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    Re: A Western name...

    Namaste, Yajvan.

    There are certain names which can be significant in both Western and Hindu cultures.

    1. Līla (Leila, Leela) - Divine play of the Lord.
    2. Nathan (pronounced either as Nart-han or Naythan) - my sister in law chose this name for her son, looking for a name that can be both Hindi and English.
    3. Tāra - Star. In Australia and England, the 'a' is pronounced the same as the Sanskrit word. In America, it is not.
    4. Anya (Aanya) - Inexhaustible.

    I am still getting the hang of using these Aglicised, Hindi letters, so please forgive.

    I shall think of more names like these ones later.

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    Re: A Western name...

    hari o
    ~~~~~~
    namasté

    Quote Originally Posted by Necromancer View Post
    Namaste, Yajvan.

    There are certain names which can be significant in both Western and Hindu cultures.

    1. Līla (Leila, Leela) - Divine play of the Lord.
    2. Nathan (pronounced either as Nart-han or Naythan) - my sister in law chose this name for her son, looking for a name that can be both Hindi and English.
    3. Tāra - Star. In Australia and England, the 'a' is pronounced the same as the Sanskrit word. In America, it is not.
    4. Anya (Aanya) - Inexhaustible.

    I am still getting the hang of using these Aglicised, Hindi letters, so please forgive.

    I shall think of more names like these ones later.

    Very nice...

    we then can consider līna - attached or devoted to ; absorbed.
    Or līṇa (lī+ṇa )

    iti śivaṁ
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

  4. #4

    Re: A Western name...

    praNAm
    Quote Originally Posted by yajvan View Post
    we then can consider līna - attached or devoted to ; absorbed.

    iti śivaṁ
    Yes, one who is leen (vileen) [in paramAtmA] is leenA.
    (Also been told leen means 'namra' or 'vinamra' (humble) or modest.)

    That happens to be the name given by parents at birth chosen from a list sent by grandma.

    _/\_
    Last edited by smaranam; 27 August 2013 at 09:07 AM.
    || Shri KRshNArpaNamastu ||

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    Re: A Western name...

    Vannakkam: I wish I would have chosen a more Hindu name. I had it anglicised too often for my liking. Part of the reason for the name is a subtle and constant reminder of one's identity. If I had to do it over again, it would have been full out Hindu. After all, we are Hindus.

    My children all had more Hindu names ... Meenakshi, Shanmuga, Sadasivan, Sivakami, and Gayatri. They all normally get the first part only from friends and us. The only one that is easily anglicised is Shanmuga, because it becomes Shawn. None of them mind their names at all. In this multicultural world we live in (especially here in this area of the city I live in, cultural names (Chinese, Sikh, Islamic) abound and even amongst more traditional westerners, whatever that is, there are many 'other culture' names given.

    I know a few people who have the double name thing going on, and frankly, it sounds weird to me when Tara become Taira, etc.

    I think it's just trying to hide your Hinduness to anglicise it, but hey, that's just me. I happen to be a staunch Hindu.

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: A Western name...

    I chose Hindu names for my children, I do not like the idea very much of keeping names belonging to other faiths for Hindu children, although some people suggested, or rather voiced their strong criticism against choosing Hindu names. I feel that, living in USA, the spirit of America is appreciating diversity but 'oneness' in spirit, thus each person can live life as described by their faith but just feel patriotic towards the land that gave them a fruitful life - America. I see Islam women in Hijab, Jewish men and women all dressed in Jewish way (more particularly their hairstyle) and I admire them for preserving their uniqueness. We Indians living in the West, are Westernized for the most part, just we observe few festivals and choose Hindu names.
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

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    Re: A Western name...

    hariḥ o
    ~~~~~~
    namasté
    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    I think it's just trying to hide your Hinduness to anglicise it, but hey, that's just me. I happen to be a staunch Hindu.
    Aum Namasivaya
    I respect what you say, but see things just a bit differently...

    If we look to the aitareya upaniṣad (1.3.14) we are informed by the ṛṣi¹ that the devā-s are fond ( priya) of what is indirect. The word the seer used for indirect is parokṣa. In fact this fondness of being indirect it is called out 2X times in the same śloka.
    priya = fond, liked, agreeable
    parokṣa = beyond the range of sight , imperceptible manner .

    So, being discreet ( to me) is favorable and within reason. Being discreet is a form of being humble, but at the same time lays open to the wise observer the real essence of an idea. They can 'see' beyond the apparent to the hidden. So too with names. There is the gross level name then the real story is found behind each phoneme. Behind each sound form we find the qualities of the divine.

    I find this quite attractive and a reasonable course of action that I gravitate to most often in my life i.e. subtle, less obvious (parokṣa).

    iti śivaṁ

    1. the ṛṣi of the aitareya upaniṣad is aitareya mahīdāsa. Aitareya mahīdāsa is also called out in the chandogya upaniṣad saying he lived to 116 years of age. It is said he was the incarnation of viṣṇu. He is known as aitareya mahīdāsa. Aitareya means the decendent of itarā his mother, and mahīdāsa is the servent (dāsa) of mahī or bhūmi devī. It is he aitareya mahīdāsa, that has brought the wisdom of the aitareya brāhmaṇa , aitareya āraṇyaka, and the aitareya upaniṣad to mankind.
    यतसà¥à¤¤à¥à¤µà¤‚ शिवसमोऽसि
    yatastvaṠśivasamo'si
    because you are identical with śiva

    _

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    Re: A Western name...

    Quote Originally Posted by Viraja View Post
    I chose Hindu names for my children, I do not like the idea very much of keeping names belonging to other faiths for Hindu children, although some people suggested, or rather voiced their strong criticism against choosing Hindu names.
    Vannakkam: Good for you. There is something quite unsettling when you're at a temple when Sivakumaran and Sunita introduce their new son Benjamin to you. Something's not right here.

    But it really is to each his own. If Hindus aren't confident enough to even keep Hindu names, then surely within 3 generations of coming to America, there will be very little left at all, if anything. A name is a very basic component of one's identity. Muslims have Muslim names. Jews have Jewish names. Africans generally keep their tribal names like Mutumbo. Is it only the Hindus who like to have Christian names?

    I understand it better if it's purely because of pronunciation, and not shame. My Chinese student Xian became Shawn because he got frustrated with everyone not saying it right.

    Aum Namasivaya

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    Re: A Western name...

    Quote Originally Posted by Eastern Mind View Post
    Vannakkam: Good for you. There is something quite unsettling when you're at a temple when Sivakumaran and Sunita introduce their new son Benjamin to you. Something's not right here.

    But it really is to each his own. If Hindus aren't confident enough to even keep Hindu names, then surely within 3 generations of coming to America, there will be very little left at all, if anything. A name is a very basic component of one's identity. Muslims have Muslim names. Jews have Jewish names. Africans generally keep their tribal names like Mutumbo. Is it only the Hindus who like to have Christian names?

    I understand it better if it's purely because of pronunciation, and not shame. My Chinese student Xian became Shawn because he got frustrated with everyone not saying it right.

    Aum Namasivaya
    Absolutely! I chose the names 'Anish' and 'Akshaya' for my son and daughter respectively. Both are easy to pronounce and have profound meanings. Their friends are finding it very easy to pronounce their names. On the contrary, some HIndu parents are choosing names such as 'Pranil', 'Niharika', etc, which are quite hard to pronounce..Our motto was to go Hindu but choose easy-to-pronounce names.
    jai hanuman gyan gun sagar jai kapis tihu lok ujagar

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    Re: A Western name...

    Quote Originally Posted by Viraja View Post
    Absolutely! I chose the names 'Anish' and 'Akshaya' for my son and daughter respectively. Both are easy to pronounce and have profound meanings. Their friends are finding it very easy to pronounce their names. On the contrary, some HIndu parents are choosing names such as 'Pranil', 'Niharika', etc, which are quite hard to pronounce..Our motto was to go Hindu but choose easy-to-pronounce names.
    Vannakkam: Nice names. I think Hindu names are all so beautiful, even the ones that are hard to pronounce. (I find Vietnamese tougher personally) Obviously one has to be a bit careful if they happen to have a corresponding vulgar or obscene term in English. On a side note, my son Sadasivan, who just goes by Sada, figures he got more job interviews in his search, as he's a computer engineer. The guys who interviewed him were sort of shocked when this white kid showed up, as they were thinking, "these Indian guys know their tech stuff,' which, of course is a stereotype on it's own. But hey he has a good job.

    Aum Namasivaya

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