That Way Of Giving A Name

It’s after all a name – one single name, of somebody or something, animate or inanimate.

What’s there so special in giving a child, a pet, a home you reside, an institution a name? Does this have any impact? Does this create any impression? Does this define something about someone or something? Is it capable of relating, remembering, or stimulating your imagination? Answers can be in affirmative and/or in negative.  

We can do without a name of a pet or our residence. But no human individual in the world is without a name! For, it’s basic to identify someone by a name. Our names help us to sign, register, attest, certify, clarify and prove a point. Pragmatically, name assumes significance at least for us humans.  

An adult may not have much to do with his or her name; but a child, a growing personality, has. It contributes a lot in shaping their self esteem, self-faith. They don’t want to be bullied or ridiculed among peers by their names given by parents! Meaningful names make them feel proud. And, interestingly, we see adults changing their names for various reasons! Thus names and for that matter name-giving do have major roles to play.

The name-giving tradition both in lesser and major cultures of India is as old as its civilization itself. It’s indeed a festival like special occasion involving people to observe with a lot of family and community rituals and with a deep feeling of belongingness. Name-giving ceremonies and celebrations vary from culture to culture and time to time. Also, we see how contemporary name trends and patterns evolve depicting generational gaps. Like inter-cultural, now even global relations determine name and name-giving trends and patterns. A purely Indian baby today may have a Chinese or French name and vice versa!

Priests, respectable persons of the family, close relatives and friends, teachers, community or organizational heads are generally entrusted to give name to a child, a pet or an institution. The name is accepted by all the concerned.

When entrusted to give a name how would you think and feel about it? You must take note of various conditions like time, culture, people concerned, necessity, future implication, heredity and other contexts before proposing a name. But in many cases the assignee’s emotion and complacency rule the roost. 

Whatever the name, name giving is well settled when the rightful or any hierarchy takes charge of the activity. Gladly or willy-nilly, others have to accept. The authority of parents to name their child is obvious. When the highest authority in politics, industry or bureaucracy name an institution, that gets final. Sometimes people without any portfolio are also asked for to give a name, may be for the sake of inclusiveness, acceptability, equality or some other good reasons.  

It’s when more people are engaged to propose a name the task gets tougher! Every single person with many ideas, emotions and expectations comes with a name to propose and get accepted. Here, all those involved in the whole process must have to reach at a consensus to opt a name by priority and broad-based context. Otherwise, take resort to voting.    

  

            Those who nurture an emotion to name someone or something and wish to be accepted among others they, instead of a single name, prepare a list of them and propose. Here’s a more possibility of getting accepted than rejected. It can be more interesting if you are the only proposer. Because, you with a name list give the party a chance to make their own choice! You involve the party in the process and make them feel they have also given the name.

            Ultimately, who has given the name? Ah, how wonderful!

Sometimes so happens, the party concerned may stumble at more than one out of the list and again seek your advice. You finally give one to settle the matter. Thus name giving becomes an activity of mutual love and respect – isn’t it a ceremony and celebration?   

Wish To Chunny

Zeal and zest

Best for JEST!

Test your quest

Make the most.

East or west

Dust your nest.

Rest the pest

Just in jest.

Vest to next

Guest a gest.

Wrest the crest

Time to fest.

Dear our Chunny

Shining sunny!

* * * 

01.01.2012

I am not a kind of person routinely sending new-year greetings to all friends and relatives. But this time I thought to wish almost all who found a place in my call-list. I jumped to the idea since when my daughter gave me the clue how using internet I could preset time and send group SMS at once.  

On 31.12.2011 afternoon I asked Chunnie to help me work for the mission. After she preset 25 mobile numbers for SMS to be automatically sent at midnight, the system refused to accept further. We left there and I decided to do this all next morning. I got up early on 01.01.2012 and little later woke up Chunnie, my daughter, only to discover the SMS greetings we set yesterday not being sent at midnight! Then taking cue from her I sat firm before the PC to send them one by one to everybody.            

I started sending messages from names with alphabet ‘A’. Interestingly, the person whose name always came first in my call-list was many ways very dear to me! As a friend-brother and mentor he had a significant role to play in my school life. We are still intimately connected today. He was Abhinna Ch. Patra who needed a special and separate mention. Failed on the first attempt I sent him the new-year wish directly from the mobile.

Except few household breaks and frequent internet interruptions I sat before the computer from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. today sending greetings one by one. I never glued myself to the system as much as today; but I felt this was really irritating for others. Although I too got impatient due to frequent internet interruptions I stuck to the task to finish it anyhow. Mami (my wife) and Chunnie sent their remarks more than once but in vain. I said them to bear with me as this was for the first time ever I was sending new-year greetings to several friends and relatives at a time. They watched TV, Chunnie was from time to time buzzing though. But I was encouraged by new-year wishes from friends while I was sending SMS.

In fact the Odia new-year started from Maha Visub Sankranti with great festivity. January 1 was not a new-year’s day for all. So I, like many others, preferred either to wish or not to wish showing these external gestures although the real goodwill was always there. However January 1 has been universal and accepted widely. This has successfully adapted to local trends and existed side by side with native new-years. Isn’t it that of descending The Kingdom of God upon earth?

Today morning Rabi Mohanty came to present The Mother’s calendars and diaries as his routine new-year wish. Ramesh Behera one of my friends came with his family to share few times with us in the afternoon. In the evening Jayant another family friend also visited with his son to gift us something. There were new-year phone calls and SMS from a hoard of other friends too. All this was indeed a kind of making oneself happy by wishing others to be happy.

Sitting for hours before the PC it was essential I should have a refreshing feel outside. I tagged this to a    walk to Sri Aurobindo Bhawan for meditation at the shrine. Jayant was happy to accompany me. Back home I tried to reflect myself a bit about the past and the present before going to bed. Peace, peace, peace to all.      

Can't Flee!

As we know every point of time is both an end of a year and beginning of another. We divide the years at a particular moment to memorize and observe some individual and /or collective events. But this is not all. While evolving towards ever greater possibilities humankind has developed myriad ways to achieve them. Imbued with such a perception I believe in New Year to be a symbol of growth and rejuvenation.  

When you become conscious about the receding years and the coming ones, two things may happen – you may either despair or aspire. For, we begin our journey of life with desire, and desire modified becomes despair or aspire. But in the world as we live chances of desire becoming despair are more. One has to monitor one’s desire to give it a positive turn despite unfavorable conditions. Being provided with a conscious will to be, we the humans must hew our ways in virgin lands to shape desires into ardent aspiration with humility.

The year 2011 was same way the same as preceding ones; but still differently different. This marked     the century’s 2^nd decade which saw great changes in national and international politics, economics, social relationships and so many other spheres. After fights for freedom, social revolutions and cold war shrills, the world seemed to be under unipolar sway. Then globalization saw the rise in consumerism, terrorism, threat to environment and economic recession. They and the hypocrisy of rulers caused common people to protest which gave birth to Arab Springs, Occupy Wall Street, India Against Corruption and other mass movements. Disasters natural and human sent warning messages to every nation to be alert and comprehend. These were not merely some significant world incidents but also, if we can sense, symbols signifying a step forward in the evolution of human consciousness. 

Now 2011 recedes leaving behind a lot of projections for 2012! To a great extent this is up to us how and what 2012 should deliver. Years are repeated when we lead our desire to gross enjoyment leading to despair. They appear and become new if we modify our desires to aspiration with grace and gratitude. 2011 or 2012 we the humankind can seldom escape their challenges! They are there for us to enrich.   

Sri Aurobindo

You come out brighter

Day by day every day

As the embodiment

Of human aspiration

For freedom, unity and god,

Though not in a popular way

You emerge and appear

Reappear time and again

Beyond brainy imaginations

At all turning points

Of life and the world

To involve and evolve them

Victory to you -

The divine forerunner!

* * * 

DO I WISH TO GIVE A START?

Do you get up early in the morning afresh, before sunrise? What do you think first? It’s interesting to watch one’s thoughts at the outset of the day. Let us see whether we recall the dream/s we saw last night, some happenings of yesterday or imagine new activities and ideas. May be you are not able to think or recall anything at all or your mind remains blank.  

Unless trained, mind is never blank! However, this can be a starting point to read your own thoughts. For we hardly observe our thoughts. What would be the results of going through one’s own thoughts? You can regulate them, make choices to speak and work, take decisions and save your time, energy. This is a very basic practical psychology, a kind of dialogue with oneself to lead a life different from what we were and are. The practice not only help us study our thoughts but also know and explore other activities going on within and around us creating scope of leading a voluntary life, a more conscious life. Our life becomes meaningful. Indeed as we think so we live. You know the process we are discussing here is a very powerful tool of doing Yoga!

Do you watch sunrise every day? How do you feel like? Have you ever asked some other people about how they feel it? Are they all same and similar? Actually, it is not the same to all, even to you always! I find in it an unbound beauty and bliss of Nature. So the same sun rising every day in the east is no more the same; but all new and different just as an ancient river flows ever new. If we were open, it would pour limitless zeal and zest within us.

People say, some realise and even show in practice that getting up early gives rise to creative ideas and activities. Those who walk out in the morning meet more wonders. Of course, it much depends on the person and their choice of life-style. Do I really wish to give a start?     

* * *

Sri Aurobindo: A Relevant Challenge

Of all the national heroes who fought for the freedom of India Sri Aurobindo an all-new spiritual trail-blazer was distinctly different & divinely creative. He clearly defined what it meant by freedom of a country like India and gave to the fight for it a definite new turn. He was the first among all who openly and boldly declared total freedom of the country from the ugly clutches of British rule when others dared not to even dream about it.  

Today when India observes its 64 independent years on the 139^th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo reeling amid a plethora of socio-economic, political, ethical, cultural and religious problems he, though almost forgotten in socio-political arena due to inappropriate presentation of historical facts and events, should be the most felt, most remembered and most sought after genius to come to our rescue. Indeed he has the solution to each of our crises with most modern, nay futuristic and prophetic interpretation of the very ancient spiritual scriptures of great Indian civilization. All he said and did based on the solid realization of his completely new spiritual adventure and exploration.

 The present sordid scenario of India is such that all are clueless and groping in the dark to find a right path. We all will agree that comprehensive development must always remain a distant dream unless transparency in all sections of the society is well established. But unfortunately, in sharp contrast to this, corruption now seems to be all pervasive and deep rooted in the very mind-set of almost all, top to bottom.

Today the hooded head of corruption probably tries in full swing to fight its last battle taking control of those who are in the peaks of power, money and politics. Political leaders, bureaucrats and business honchos have turned to be its octopus like instruments. They endorse and promote corruption, pile up black money and love to flourish sucking the blood of all else. They are in a hurry to run away from life and hide quickly enjoying what-ever comes on their way. They try to sustain their selfish motives at any cost mercilessly supressing every attempt to eliminate the evil.

But there are always rays of hope to overcome problems when they are most acute. Civil societies and even leaders from the schools of yoga have taken formidable stands to protest injustice and fight against corruption. Time has come; they can give it a shape of revolution with the massive support of common people of the country. Here come the many choices of strategies Sri Aurobindo devised to follow in fighting against the British rule in India. Interestingly, later when Gandhiji entered into politics he had precisely implemented them of his own during the freedom struggle. But now there is no foreign rule to fight against so they cannot be aped to apply to the present crises. Only their core ideas have to be contextually interpreted and implemented.    

To realise the relevance of Sri Aurobindo today is simultaneously a great chance and a challenge for every one of us. Ironically when we are very much in terms with to always maintain our status quo and still find an easy go, he was not the kind of a seer to be content without total spiritual transformation of all the deformities we have created out of ignorance. So our will to change, to be and to study Sri Aurobindo can only open the gate to a glorious future.