What’s in a Name? 🤔
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet 😊
Let me begin with my all-time favourite disclaimer: I LOVE MY NAME! 😊 followed by a ‘LONG READ, READ AT LEISURE’ warning!!
How beautifully Shakespeare had put it… so elegantly through Juliet – “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”. I like his choice of words there. He chose not to say “That which we call a tiger by any other name would bite as much” 😂 That is all it takes to flip the coin, to smell the roses, to look at the glass half full, to look at the bright side…
With a name like mine, “What’s in a name?” has occurred and appealed to me several times at different levels in my life… I am very grateful to my grandparents to have chosen this name. I am sure they did not think it through so much… Who knew how all it could pan out? 😂
I think they were a fan of Ms. Vyjayanthimala Bali, the great Indian dancer and actress. No one can tell. That in my view could have been the nudge but the real reason why they named me Vyjayanthi Mala is… they were an ardent fan of ‘Sri ranganatha’, Lord Hari. My name in Sanskrit means ‘a special garland around Sri Hari’s neck’ – now you know the reason why I love my name… 😊 I am right there with Him, breathing down His neck all the time literally… He cannot get rid of me now, can He? 😂 Oh, by the way, my name in Hindi means ‘flag’ – suits the rebel I am! 😊
My name has been an ice-breaker conversation innnnnnnnnumerable number of times! It has piqued the curiosity of many… it has brought smiles on many faces… it has opened up more ‘get ragged’ opportunities but also has saved me from a lot of ragging in the college… I could just slip away from the seniors while they were just amused by my name!
As much fun as it was to be immediately recognized as belonging to a particular tribe, to be teased about such a long classical name, to be asked if I can dance as well as Ms. Vyjayantimala Bali, if I am related to her by any chance, to feel privileged that we both are referred in the same breath, to listen to funny phonetics of my name in tongues across the globe, so on and so forth….. it took a loooooooooooooooooooot more life experiences to ultimately figure out – “IT IS JUST A NAME” (the name I love nevertheless). Just the name of THIS body I am in right now. I still passionately but detachedly explain the ‘what and why’ of it all about my name to everyone who asks… look at me writing this loooong blog!!! 😊
Talking about passion, as a great friendof mine, a spiritually evolved soul once told me – Vairagya should not be a dry feeling that feels difficult and a chore! It should be enjoyable.. one that we look forward to! And that’s why he coined this phrase “GREAT PASSION, EQUAL DETACHMENT” so that great passion is still alive in all that we do and that makes it something we love to do. At the same time the sense of equal detachment ensures that we don’t become the “karta”, karta to WOH hai!!!! 😊
‘Guru’ is also a ‘tatva’, an element, a phenomenon. We cannot box Guru in a name or a form or a shape. It does not matter what name we call our Guru with… it is the ‘feeling of an all-pervasive PRESENCE’, of grace, protection, guidance on our path! आख़िर नाम में क्या रखा है? 😊 (After all, what is in a name? 😊)
Incidentally, there have been too many signs for me to pen down this thought. Whatever I am reading or hearing off late, all of them point to one direction – Nothing we usually hang on to thinking it it’s permanent in life, is permanent.
What IS in a name after all? Everything but also Nothing!!! 😊
This reminds me of a very beautiful classic bollywood song… I have tried to sing a couple of lines from that song (https://soundcloud.com/vyjayanthi-mala/naam-gum-jayega), casual unplugged singing, please ignore mistakes, if any🙏 :
नाम गुम जायेगा, चेहरा ये बदल जायेगा
मेरी आवाज़ ही पहचान है, गर याद रहे
वक़्त के सितम कम हसीं नहीं, आज हैं यहाँ कल कहीं नहीं
वक़्त से परे अगर, मिल गये कहीं
(Translation:
Name will be lost, This face will change…
My voice is the identity, If at all remembered…
The atrocities that time bring are beauteous, today we’re here, tomorrow nowhere…
Far away from time… may be somewhere…)
– Vyjayanthi Mala
Energy | Inspiration | Love
