How to Name it!!!

How to name it - One of Ilayaraja's wonderful musical treatise... But I am not describing that here..

I am narrating here my free-flow thoughts on the significance of "Name" in someone's life.
 
The recent movie by sivakarthikeyan wherein he carries the name "kunchithapaadam" and the comic attacks that he faces because of his name in the society is well scripted.

I keep thinking that, casually I am so intimate with my name that I say "I am Shriram". In extra ordinary scenarios, when I meet a stranger, whom I believe is superior to me I tend to keep even my name away from me and say "My name is shriram" - i am taking off my name from myself!!!

Name - the one that identifies me with the society; says that I am one among them; i was wondering what happened to all the tamil names which were there a 1000 yrs back - nambi, mudhaliaandaan, koora-kulothama dasan, embaar, emperumaanaars, etc.... when the society undergoes a change, their way of life, thinking, etc, it is primarily the name of people which undergoes the subtle change. Recently I find all the "shs" names - like ramesh, suresh, rajesh, etc and the names like vadivelu,govindan, murugan, etc have almost gone extinct. Name is the reflection of Society

According to me, Name is the implicit contract by a person to abide by the societal laws - and ofcourse its his choice to abide or not. However if he breaks the law, carrying the name of his society, there is every chance that he might feel guilty.

Japanese mgmt theory has it that, if at all there is one word which everyone likes - its his Name. Call someone by his name and ask him to do a job, he is more likely to do it. Perhaps its one of the most influencing factor.

I still remember one of my college professor who has the unique ability to remember every student's name (within a week of college opening) and he calls everyone of us by our name. He demanded more respect in the college [unfortunately I forgot his name now!!]

Going to vedic tradition, in "upanayanam" (the sacred thread ceremony), in every stage, at the end of every mantra the work "asow" (i.e., the name of the boy) must be repeated. When the child gets to know a mantra wherein his name is embedded, he feels more interested in the ritual, thereby creating a bondage to the tradition.

I firmly believe that the student whose name starts in "A", would have enjoyed enough tortures in schools, as he is going to be the first person to be tested. Hence this should definitely have an impact on his emotional intelligence. [though I dont know whether any proof exists for my belief]

All the epics and puranas have the characters whose names are symbol of their Personality. Believe me its not X, Y or Z in epics... Its surpanakha (one who has got a sharper nail), ravan (man of terrifying sound). Not even one character in Indian epics have a name without a reason.

In the epics, the naming ceremony is done by a spiritual guru, who correctly visualises the future personality of child and names in accordingly. But what about present days????

Is the converse of the above theorem true? Can a name shape the character of a man?

Name a person as akhilesh, sharvesh, etc you will find him more sporty; name a person srinivasan, ramanujam, etc by default he should feel a pulling force. Again its a sub-concious feeling. Exceptions are there always.

Giving the name of ancestors, saints, people of demonstrated success - might have an impact on the child's level of enthusiasm.

Say for example, when you name a child ramanujam and the child gets 100% in its third standard maths exams - any passing reference that "you are like maths genius ramanujam" will take the child to extra-ordinary heights and he will start believing that he is a maths genius [atleast a one step advantage towards the subject].

i have even seen the tradition, where spiritual leaders will name the child of followers. the parents will for sure tell the child and cherish that the child's naming ceremony is done by the guruji and so his blessings are always with the child. This by itself is a positive factor for the child's entire life that he will not be let down anytime by the grace of guruji.

it is interesting to note that parents tend to think that their twins share the same identity. so they name them similary - say ramesh and rajesh; suresh and ramesh; atleast viswanathan and ramamoorthy (finding a musical duo). this can have an impact that the twins will start believing that they are similar. i really dont know why parents name the twins that way... probably some sample research will answer this.

So many rationales I find before naming someone. My father named me, after the chit fund where he worked, when I was born!!!

So what??? As shakespeare says, A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet...