My name is Ma Nithya Puranjani. It means Eternal Embodiment of Life! When I say my name, hear it, see it, write it, or even think it, I feel it happening continuously inside me! I feel tremendous energy and joy. I am literally exploding with life. I smile so widely, joyfully, and with so much laughter as I have never before experienced. Nithyananda (Swamiji) gave me this name on February 13, 2010. When I received my name, along with a group of devotees with whom I had been living at the ashram for the previous three months, we all erupted into blissful dancing. There was so much dancing. One might think you go to an ashram to sit cross-legged for hours on end, stretch your body into impossible positions, and chant in Sanskrit, and those things will be there of course, but actually there is so much dancing. And the more I danced, the more I felt this name, this feeling, this “embodiment of life” overflowing inside me.
You might wonder what is the purpose of a spiritual name. Before I came to the ashram, I carried so many negative emotions: incredible shyness, guilt, judgment, anger, and so on. Without even realizing it, I had the idea that these things were a part of me. I was unknowingly attached to perpetuating these thoughts and feelings. All of those feelings completely melted away when I received my name—embodiment of life—which is the very opposite of anything negative. How can I ever be depressed or discontented when my name stands in such stark opposition to those feelings? During the three months I spent at the ashram, I experienced such a beautiful peace and vibrant stillness radiating from within me. My name continuously reminds me of this experience until it is not just a thought in my mind, but a physical sensation that I feel in my very muscles. Whenever I see emotions, behaviors, or patterns of thought happening inside me that are disharmonious and unproductive, I remember my name… PURANJANI! EMBODIMENT OF LIFE!
When Swamiji gives a name, he meditates on that person’s energy and gives a name that represents what the individual is expressing at a being level. It is such a beautiful thing because I feel so loved and supported to have such a blessing. It is a blessing to live that, become that, reach the fullest potential of that, a reminder that I already am that. At the temple, there is a picture of Swamiji with the caption TAT TVAM ASI, which means “you are that.” It is a very beautiful statement to inspire us to find our inner light.
Living a conflict-free life is nothing other than having the right memory about who you are and living continuously with the feeling evoked by that memory. I am Ma Nithya Puranjani! Thank you for reading.
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