By Praghosa dasa
Names play such an important role in all cultures and societies. Historically many people were not only known by their name but their name often identified their occupation, also a name can reveal nationality or ethnic origin.
We even name cities and streets and pets and football teams and rivers and mountains and lakes and seas and so many more things besides. Yes names certainly play a huge role in society and we couldn’t really function without them. I often remember the inconvenience of driving around looking for a certain road in an unfamiliar area, if the road name was missing or obscured you could waste ages trying to locate the place you were trying to find.
Giving a name to a living being or anything else is by definition personalising that entity or item, while on the other hand if a person remains nameless then there is little more that could be more impersonal.
Srila Prabhupada writes in one letter to a disciple:
“One thing, on the invitation card you have written All Glories to Our Guru Maharaja. This is impersonalism. As soon as we offer obeisances to guru, the name should be there. We are strictly personalists. The sahajiya’s, they write Glories to Guru. Why you are learning this impersonalism, who has taught you? Daily I am offering obeisances to my Guru by vibrating his real name, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, otherwise it is impersonal”
So giving names, having names and using names are all essential for increasing the personal touch.. Of course as devotees we receive even more mercy when we are given names related to Krsna and His devotees at the time of initiation. These names not only serve as a way of identifying us but they also remind us of the supreme Lord and His devotees and can award us unlimited spiritual benefit, as in the case of Ajamila.
What then to speak of the holy name itself, which is the ultimate pinnacle of all names and all things personal:
“The Lord smilingly explained to the devotee brahmana why the Mayavadi cannot utter the holy name of Krsna. “The Mayavadis are offenders at the lotus feet of Krsna, although they utter always brahma, atma, or caitanya, etc. And because they are offenders at the lotus feet of Krsna, they are actually unable to utter the holy name of Krsna. The name Krsna and the Personality of Godhead Krsna are identical. There is no difference in the absolute realm between the name, form or person of the Absolute Truth because in the absolute realm everything is transcendental bliss. There is no difference between the body and the soul for the Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Thus He is different from the living entity who is always different from his outward body. Because of Krsna’s transcendental position, it is very difficult for a layman to actually know the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, His holy name and fame, etc. His name, fame, form and pastimes all are one and the same transcendental identity” Introduction to Srimad Bhagavatam
Taking all this into account the staff at Dandavats have a humble request. This request is also desired by many of our readers and it is that whenever you want to make a comment or submit an article, you include as much information about yourself as possible, the absolute minimum being your name! Ideally when making a comment if you could start by saying “Comment by …………. das/dasi that would be fantastic. If you are also inclined to give a short bi op all the better. If you look at the posting guidelines for Dandavats you will see that a real name (not an alias) is required when posting a comment or article.
The more we know about each other the more we can nurture and develop a family spirit.
“The relationship of the Vaisnavas is always that of a family. The guru is father, and there are god brothers and god sisters. The param-guru is the grandfather, and the uncles and aunts are the guru’s own god brothers and god sisters. In this way the philosophy of personalism is practically applied. To the extent that we relate on this level, to that extent our hearts have been melted by the chanting of the Holy Name so that we actually see each other as a spiritual family” Radha Damodhara Vilas
Thanks to all our readers and contributors for your continued support and the staff at Dandavats look forward to getting to know you all better (at least your names:-)
Your servant,
Praghosa dasa.
Comment by Madhusudan das (ACBSP): It would be nice if everyone would identify who their guru is. I believe it would encourage everyone to utilise (or not) the principle of Vaisnava etiquette.
Praghosa Prabhu,
Thank you for all your efforts, hard work, and patience at your site. Thank you for doing so much, over and above your existing duties, to provide an opportunity for devotees to discuss their issues and air their views.
One idea I had for your site is to provide a section where devotees can know who their leadership is , what areas they are in charge of, and how they may be contacted for direct questions.
It might also be a good idea to offer a way for one member to contact another (member list), so they may network with each other, outside of Dandavats. Some sites allow this feature, along with the option for individual members to keep their info private. At the same time member info is blocked from the outside to prevent spam from coming in.
Hare Krishna,
Suresh das
Comment by mahavidya das ACBSP
A very good point,thank you.
a mistake i make all the time.
All glories to His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
mvdas
Since I am unable to edit my comment once I click “Say it!”, where can I go to understand how to use the tags, and to see if they if worked right?
You can use these tags:
HARE KRISHNA!
THANK YOU FOR MY PROFILE UPDATING WITH THE VAISNAVAS OF ISKCON. I HOPE TO HELP & SERVE YOU IN FUTUR IN SOME WAYS OR OTHER TO HAVE THE MERCY OF THEM THROU SRILA PRABHUPAD & GURUVARGA.-THANK YOU.-Ramatirthadas Adhikari.-LONDON.
I believe it would encourage everyone to utilise (or not) the principle of Vaisnava etiquette.
There are two aspects to respecting ones gurus. One is not to pronounce his/her name in vain of without respect. Another is to glorify him by pronouncing his name fully and with faith.
There is a strange email system (that spills over to internet) when an abbreviation of gurus name seems to be an identifications stamp of an online person. There is hardly any if no requirement for such a false etiquette and in many cases such reference is contrary or even offensive to traditional Vaisnava etiquette. When pronouncing gurus name one should offer obeisances at least in the mind and of course one should pronounce his name fully. I do not think that shorthand and id. stamps has anything to do with vaisnava tradition and were invented without much reference to it.
Names as given by guru are different and should not be shorten. I personally can not stand when someone just out of share laziness shortens my name that I love as given to me by my spiritual master.
your servant,
Caitanya candrodaya dasa (Dublin)
Dear Praghosa Prabhu,
I’m sorry to have bothered you.
The comment eventually was posted. It was the first thing I had posted
and then I didn’t see it come up. I had to go back and read the site
to learn that you review all submissions before publishing.
During that experience I also learned that you do not allow
pseudonyms, which I completely understand but was not aware of before.
When I chose my username, I did not use my initiated name (Jamadagni
das) and I assume I am in violation of your policy. Vishnu das is the
name I use on other websites, which are mostly non-devotee in nature.
(I am a big fan of the Independent Media Center movement, which has
over 200 websites. http://www.indymedia.org). I hope you will forgive
me for this and I am surrendered to whatever measures you may want to
take to remedy the problem. Perhaps, it might be best if my username
is changed. Vishnu das can simply drop out of all the discussions he
is currently in.
Thank you for everything. I love your website. Its the most healthy
thing I have seen manifest among the devotees in years.
Sincerely,
Vishnu das (Jamadagni das)