“However you name a rose, it smells as sweet,” once said my favourite maths teacher, Amartya Sir, when I was cross with him for mispronouncing my name, ‘Swasti’ which can be quite a tongue-twister sometimes. But the etymology enthusiast in me begs to differ. Do you think you would feel like smelling a rose if someone, for instance, addressed it as a ‘fart flower’??? Apologies for just coining this disgusting phrase! Even though the nose knows a rose, I think the name plays a part in the mind atleast!
‘Being
referred to by a name’ is something that all proper nouns like people, things
and places hold in common and according to me, a name does hold deep
significance. It plays a role especially in case of the Homo sapiens variety of
beings, because a name resonates in one’s consciousness so many millions of
times in a particular life cycle.
Have we ever
asked ourselves, "What does my name mean?" It often comes as a shock
to me that many people I meet don’t even have a remote idea of their name’s
meaning or origin.
I had heard a
knowledgable saint say that if a child is named according to the first letter
of his or her ‘Rashi’ or horoscope, it is considered auspicious in Hindu mythology.
I have also always believed that it’s nice to have a name with a good meaning
or implication.
In my school
days I would get irritated by the way people would mispronounce my name, but
with time I gradually grew very fond of it, particularly after I heard Guruji
explain the meaning of my name while I was watching a video of one of his
knowledge discourses in Bali.
He spoke thus
,” There is a beautiful greeting in Bali. ‘Om Swasti Rastu.’ It
says it all. ‘Swasti’ means one to be established in the self
. ‘Swa’ means ‘Self’ and ‘Asti’ means ‘being in one’s Self’ -the
big Self, the higher Self. Swasti also means physically, mentally,
emotionally and spiritually sound- Healthy. ‘Swaasth’ means
‘Health’. So Swasti in Sanskrit means to be healthy mentally, spiritually and
physically. That’s a wonderful greeting ‘Om Swasti Rastu’- May
God keep everyone healthy. Keep you healthy, keep me healthy, keep the whole
planet healthy."
No prizes for guessing the reason behind the choice of the name of my blog! And I'm grateful to my parents too for gifting me with a so to say 'narcissistic' but beautiful name:) People often say, “What’s in the name,” but something within me thinks, “There is lots in the name.”
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