WHAT is in the name?
WHAT is in the name?
Why do we want to "earn" our name (Naam Kamaana) while others "make" their name? Is the Indic concept of name tied into our karm (work or achievement not destiny)?
I was thinking about the concept of names in different cultures. Why do we “make a name for ourselves”? Why do Indians have to “earn” our name?
The Chinese have two names - one English and one Chinese. Western names are names of relatives (whose wealth or brand they hoped to inherit) or derived from biblical history. Scandinavian surnames are, in fact, names of fathers; Andreessen means Andre’s son.
It appears that the western concept of a name is about putting your name on things that you own. Brand your cattle, stamp your coat of arms over your property. Then we add pet names and stage names, and all these names with no meaning, only a created identity defined by external aspects.
The native Americans are named (i.e. their native names) based on their personality or trait and their relation to nature. The Native American names can change if their character changes. The Native American names thus move from external aspects to personal internal aspects, the inherent, the personality.
But those are not Indic names.
In an Indic sense, we are meant to acquire various names throughout our lives.
In the early part of life, our name refers to our identity. But here, Indic names add more variety. The earliest names in our life come from the mother. A Karna gets called Radheya, Krishna is called Devaki-Nandan or Yashoda-Nandan, and Devvrat becomes Ganga-Putra. Then father too Dashrathputra or Pandu-Putra. A husband, Ram, becomes “Sitapati”, and Vishnu becomes “Laxmikant”. The identity of some is derived from unique circumstances of their birth, e.g. Acharya Drona was conceived in a pot. Some identifying characteristics are physical attributes - Ram was called Ajanubahu (person with long hands fingers touch knees), others by their conch or bow, e.g. Chakradhar comes from Sudarshan chakra.
The name we earn comes from our “karm”, i.e. the exceptional work we do (not destiny). We have 1000 names for our deities and people in the epics. Each of these names refers to an extraordinary achievement of that person. Neel-Kanth tells us of Lord Shiva, who drank the vilest of poisons that coloured his throat blue forever. And Ganga-Putra Devvrat becomes Bhishma as he takes the great vow.
I think we haven’t forgotten this naming style as we still call someone “God of cricket” or “The Wall” or when we call Patel “Sardar”. Dr E. Sreedharan was often called Railway Man or Metro Man after his work in Railways. G. R. Khairnar was called “demolition man” when he began demolishing illegal structures in Mumbai.
This naming system seems to be a tremendous psychological power as it prods every person to “earn” their name from society. It drives the individual to contribute to the community. Maybe we should revive this style of naming.