You all may have noticed a name change on my profile: Purnacandra Sivarupa. This is my chosen Saiva name. I’m not going to force everybody to switch to using it all at once (at least not the folks I know in person!), but I’d appreciate it if my friends at least started to accustom themselves to it. I’ll be happy to let anybody know exact pronunciation when convenient. And, yes, I will be making this legal. I’m going to give it a bit of a “feeling-out”, to make sure that it seems to fit where I’m at. If, as with English names, “Purnacandra” is a bit long for common address, and you feel the need to shorten it, “Candra” is my preferred “nickname”, as that is the deity name at the heart of it. (“C” in Sanskrit is pronounced like “ch” in English.)
“Purnachandra” means “Full Moon”; “Sivarupa” means “form of Siva”. The name took a lot of time for me to decide upon, after much research, prayer, and meditation, and is very meaningful to me in this current place along my spiritual journey. Thanks, everybody, for being patient with the process. Aum Santih Santih Santih
Hi Brother. I am happy for you. Purnacandra Sivarupa is a wonderful name! May it be auspicious for you, guided by the Auspicious One.
I was given a Dharma name by my lama as part of a tantric abhisheka, though I haven’t used it publicly because I am uncertain at the moment if it is meant to be a ‘secret name’ or not (choosing to err on the side of caution here). I will have to confirm with my lama when I get a chance. This is in a different tradition – Vajrayana – but I feel there are some interesting similarities and comparisons that can be made between Indo-Tibetan Vajrayana and some forms of Saivism (more so than what might be apparent to some at first glance). Of course, there are important differences as well and I do not mean to minimize or dismiss the distinguishing factors in any way, yet I do see some resonate characteristics and rejoice in that.
As always, thanks for your encouragement. 🙂
For my lineage, the “Hindu name” is definitely intended to be used publicly in all areas of life, both as a show of one’s full adoption of Hindu-dharma, and as a link to God by way of a deity’s name or title.
You are, of course, quite right that there are definite similarities between Saivism and Vajrayana, I think largely due to the Yoga and Tantra connection and the emphasis (at least as the more esoteric forms of Saivism are concerned) on metaphysical non-dualism. The differences are equally important and useful, as you say, but I think that in many ways Tantric and Yogic Saivism and Vajrayana Buddhism are more or less addressing similar spiritual needs.