Off Topic Link Names

July 24, 2005

Referenced from:

http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/hbh/hbh_ch-8.html

Hindu Names

The most ancient and common source of Hindu names is from the names of

God and the Gods. Each child receives a name selected from those of

the family's Ishta Devata, chosen Deity. Such names are called

theophoric. The custom of choosing a name from the Gods is among the

most ancient, with examples in Persia, Greece, India and the early

Indo-European civilizations. In Vedic times there was a Sanskrit

convention for forming patronymics: if Garga was the father, then

Gargi was the son, Gargya the grandson and Gargyayana the

great-grandson.

Hindu names often indicate caste and sect. Iyer is for a certain caste

of South Indian Saivite brahmins. Sharma is for a caste of North

Indian brahmins. The God names Venkateshvara or Krishna indicate a

follower of Vishnu. Common names of Saivites are Nataraja, Mahadevan,

Sivalinga, Nilakantha, Subramaniam, Kandiah and Kumara. Das or Dasa is

a frequently used suffix meaning "slave" used by many denominations --

hence Sivadas, Kalidas, Haridas. Often the first name is chosen

according to the syllable mystically related to the individual's

nakshatra, birth star. There are 108 such sounds used to begin a

name: four for each of the twenty-seven nakshatras.

Hindus sometimes change their name during their life as a result of a

blessing at a temple or when a holy man initiates them. Swami

Vivekananda -- who said, "Certainly, there is a great deal in a

name!" -- was originally named Narendranath Dutt and had several

names as a monk. The Tamil Saint Manikkavasagar was originally named

Vathavooran. My own beloved Satguru, Siva Yogaswami, was given the

name Sadasivan at birth, then the Christian name John when he was

sent to Catholic school as a child, then renamed Yoganathan by the

village headman who did not appreciate the Christian influence. Later

in his life, Yoganathan was given the title Yogaswami -- "Master of

Yoga" -- and devotees used it so often that it became his name to

this day.

Similarly, Kadaitswami, the name of Yogaswami's guru's guru, simply

means the swami who frequented the kadai or marketplace. Yogaswami

gave new names to many of his devotees, and many of those names were

made legal. A good example is myself. Yogaswami gave me the name

Subramuniya in 1949. Returning to the United States, I had it made

legal in the courts in 1950. Such changes of name in Hinduism are

considered sacred moments, indicative of spiritual changes taking

place on the inside. In following this tradition of the Guru

Paramparai, we at Himalayan Academy require adoptives, converts and

born Hindus with non-Saivite names, such as those named in

Vaishnavite traditions, to adopt a Saivite name, first and last, and

have it made legal before entering our Saiva Siddhanta Church.

A Sign of Commitment

The change of name, and using it under all circumstances, and this

means all circumstances, is an important sign of religious sincerity

to the Hindu community. It shows the willingness of the newcomer to

stand up and be counted as a Hindu. So significant is the change of

name to the Hindu community that an adoptive with a Hindu name on his

passport can gain entry to many temples which categorically deny

entrance to Westerners on the grounds that they are assumed to be

non-Hindus. Proceed with confidence. Be a hundred-percenter. Don't

sit on the fence. It is risky to walk down the middle of the road.

Stand up boldly and declare who you are.

Western Hindus have been criticized in India for bearing Hindu names

when it suits them in day-to-day circumstances, but maintaining a

Christian or Jewish name on their passport, among relatives and for

legal matters. Mature Hindus consider such deception noncommittal,

immature and unacceptable. Legal name-change on all personal

documents is one of the clearest indications of full and honest

conversion. In the spring of 1988, after 20 years of dual identity,

members of the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna

Consciousness) community began a call for "non-Indian" devotees to

adopt Vaishnava names. Ashok Sarkar voiced the concern well in a

letter to the editor published in ISKCON World Review (May 1988): "I

would like to bring forth an important issue regarding the name

registration of Vaishnava devotees, an issue which has been

overlooked by the ISKCON administration.

"The non-Indian Vaishnavas or Neo-Vaishnavas around the world have not

officially changed their 'karmic' names yet. Can you imagine that

after 22 years of ISKCON's successful movement, suddenly you find out

that officially there are no Vaishnavas! Therefore, I strongly suggest

all Vaishnavas of ISKCON change their names officially as soon as

possible. It is time for the Vaishnavas to stand up and be counted in

the political world and thus have a voice in the administration of

every land we live in. Let the phone books show long listings of

Vaishnava names under Das and Dasi." Unfortunately, this stage of

commitment never happened. In fact, ISKCON later officially and

ardently declared that they, as an organization and as individuals,

are not Hindu and do not align themselves with Hinduism.

Sadly, today many Hindus relinquish their beautiful Hindu names when

then come to the West or alter them to fit into Western society.

Thus, Sanmugasundaram may become Sam or Daram. Taking a further step

away from the Hindu dharma, parents may even begin giving Christian

names to their Hindu children. Alarmed at this trend, the late Swami

Tilak of the Vishva Hindu Parishad noted, "Westernization is rapidly

penetrating the well-to-do urban Hindu families everywhere. Although

they assert that Westernization does not mean in any way the

acceptance of the non-Hindu values, they are drifting away more and

more from their traditional way of life. first, they change their

names: Gyani becomes Johney and Mira becomes Mary, on the pretext

that non-Hindus find it difficult to follow Hindu names. This

contagious disease is not limited to Trinidad or Guyana alone; Hindus

all over out of Bharat [india] have begun to follow this obnoxious

trend. To some it may look to be simply a business trick, but it is

fraught with dire consequences. Lack of self-confidence works in its

base way, which may lead one to demoralization. All caution must be

taken against this awful tendency" (Hindu Vishva, July/August, 1985).

Sanskrit Birthstar Syllables

According to traditional jyotishis (Indian astrologers), among the

most auspicious Hindu first names begin the syllables that

corresponds to one's birthstar, called nakshatra, which is the

constellation with which the moon was aligned at the moment of birth.

Below is a list of the twenty-seven nakshatras and the distinct

Sanskrit syllables that correspond to each. To choose a nakshatra

name (namanakshatra), first determine the birthstar of the child or

adult, then look for the star in the list below to determine the

syllable(s) with which the name should begin. There are four sounds

for each nakshatra, corresponding to the four quarters (padas) of

each constellation. If you know the pada under which the child or

adult was born, it is best to choose the syllable of that pada.

Several of the nama-nakshatra syllables are quite rare in actual

usage in the Sanskrit language. For example, someone born under the

fourth pada of Purvashadha nakshatra may not find more than two or

three qualifying names beginning with the syllable dhaa (long "a")

even in extensive name lists, so it is common practice to choose a

name starting with a similar syllable. In this case the syllable dha

(short "a") ight be used, such as in the name Dharana, or dha as in

Dharma. It is also common to resort to the syllable of another pada

within the same nakshatra if too few names are available.

Why chose a name based on nakshatra? The first reason is that it

vibrates in harmony with the nature of the individual in this

particular incarnation, by virtue of its unique relation to the moon

at the moment of birth, which has a significant impact on the inner,

emotional nature. Secondly, by simply hearing the name, an astute

jyotisha shastri, priest, swami or satguru would immediately know the

nature of the person, cognizing that he was born under, say, the

shravana nakshatra. He would thus be able to wisely counsel or

console, advise and encourage accordingly. In ancient days, as today,

this first sound of the first name was extremely important to

knowledgeable preceptors.

Note, in this HTML presentation of the book, the diacritical marks as

well as the devanagiri sanskrit image for the syllables have been

removed. You should consult the printed edition of "How to Become a

Hinds." or consult with a qualified Sanskrit, jyotisha shastri or

Pandit before making a final decision.

Ashvini Nakshatra

Chu (as in Fu-Manchu)

Che (as in chase)

Cho (as in choke)

La (as in lava)

Bharani Nakshatra

Li (as in lilt)

Lu (as in lute)

Le as in leg)

Lo (as in local)

Krittika Nakshatra

A (as in ananda)

I (as in iridescent)

U (as in uvula)

E (as in egg)

Rohini Nakshatra

O (as in odor)

Va (as in vanilla)

Vi (as in Vina)

Vo (as in vote)

Mrigashira Nakshatra

Ve (as in Veda)

Vo (as in votary)

Ka (as in Kanji)

Ke (as in Kenya)

Ardra Nakshatra

Ku (as in Kuwait)

Gha (as in Ghana)

Ng (pronounced "ng")

Chha (as in Churchill)

Punarvasu Nakshatra

Ke (as in Kenya)

Ko (as in kodiac)

Ha (as in hardy)

Hi (as in hither)

Pushya Nakshatra

Hu (as in hurrah)

He (as in heyday)

Ho (as in homogenous)

Da (no English equiv.)

Ashlesha Nakshatra

Di (no English equiv.)

Du (no English equiv.)

De (no English equiv.)

Do (no English equiv.)

Magha Nakshatra

Ma (as in maya)

Mi (as in miracle)

Mu (as in mudra)

Me (as in megabyte)

Purvaphalguni Nakshatra

Mo (as in motion)

Ta (no English equiv.)

Ti (no English equiv.)

Tu (no English equiv.)

Uttaraphalguni Nakshatra

Te (no English equiv.)

To (no English equiv.)

Pa (no English equiv.)

Pi (no English equiv.)

Hasta Nakshatra

Pu (as in purusha)

Sha (as in shanti)

Na (no English equiv.)

Tha (no English equiv.)

Chitra Nakshatra

Pe (as in Peru)

Po (as in pole)

Ra (as in Rama)

Ri (as in Rio de Janeiro)

Svati Nakshatra

Ru (as in rumor)

Re (as in regulate)

Ra (as in Rama)

Ta (as in Tahiti)

Vishakha Nakshatra

Ti (as in East Timor

Tu (as in tune)

Te (as in terrace)

To (as in total)

Anuradha Nakshatra

Na (as in Nagasaki)

Ni (as in Nicaragua)

Nu (as in numeral)

Ne (as in Nepal)

Jyeshta Nakshatra

No (as in noble)

Ya (as in Yama)

Yi (as in yield)

Yu (as in Yukon)

Mula Nakshatra

Ye (as in Yemen)

Yo (as in yo-yo)

Ba (as in ball)

Bi (as in Bini)

Purvashadha Nakshatra

Bu (as in Buddha)

Dha (as in dharma)

Bha (as in bhakti)

Dha (no English equiv.)

Uttarashadha Nakshatra

Be (as in beta)

Bo (as in Bohemian)

Ja (as in jar)

Ji (as in jiva)

Shravana Nakshatra

Ju (as in Jupiter)

Je (ay as in hay)

Jo (as in joke)

Gha (as in Ghana)

Dhanishta Nakshatra

Ga (as in garden)

Gi (ee as in keep)

Gu (as in guru)

Ge (as in Gestault)

Shatabhisha Nakshatra

Go (as in go)

Sa (as in Sahara)

Si (as in Sita)

Su (as in Surya)

Purvabhadhrapada Nakshatra

Se (as in Seoul)

So (as in sonar)

Da (as in Dante)

Di (as in dipa)

Uttarabhadhrapada Nakshatra

Du (as in duty)

Tha (as in Thar Desert)

JNa (as in Jnana)

Da (as in Tahiti)

Revati Nakshatra

De (as in deva)

Do (as in donut)

Cha (as in chakra)

Chi (as in chief)

July 24, 2005

Very interesting information on naming traditions, Melissa.

The author certainly takes a strident position.

Jai Maa!

Chris

, "Melissa" <honor@p...> wrote:

> Referenced from:

> http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/hbh/hbh_ch-8.html

> Hindu Names

>

> The most ancient and common source of Hindu names is from the names

of God and the Gods. Each child receives a name selected from those of

the family's Ishta Devata, chosen Deity. Such names are called

theophoric. The custom of choosing a name from the Gods is among the

most ancient, with examples in Persia, Greece, India and the early

Indo-European civilizations. In Vedic times there was a Sanskrit

convention for forming patronymics: if Garga was the father, then

Gargi was the son, Gargya the grandson and Gargyayana the great-grandson.

>

> Hindu names often indicate caste and sect. Iyer is for a certain

caste of South Indian Saivite brahmins. Sharma is for a caste of North

Indian brahmins. The God names Venkateshvara or Krishna indicate a

follower of Vishnu. Common names of Saivites are Nataraja, Mahadevan,

Sivalinga, Nilakantha, Subramaniam, Kandiah and Kumara. Das or Dasa is

a frequently used suffix meaning "slave" used by many denominations --

hence Sivadas, Kalidas, Haridas. Often the first name is chosen

according to the syllable mystically related to the individual's

nakshatra, birth star. There are 108 such sounds used to begin a name:

four for each of the twenty-seven nakshatras.

>

> Hindus sometimes change their name during their life as a result of

a blessing at a temple or when a holy man initiates them. Swami

Vivekananda -- who said, "Certainly, there is a great deal in a name!"

-- was originally named Narendranath Dutt and had several names as a

monk. The Tamil Saint Manikkavasagar was originally named Vathavooran.

My own beloved Satguru, Siva Yogaswami, was given the name Sadasivan

at birth, then the Christian name John when he was sent to Catholic

school as a child, then renamed Yoganathan by the village headman who

did not appreciate the Christian influence. Later in his life,

Yoganathan was given the title Yogaswami -- "Master of Yoga" -- and

devotees used it so often that it became his name to this day.

>

> Similarly, Kadaitswami, the name of Yogaswami's guru's guru, simply