Why do Sikhs name their daughter "Maya" when maya is an obstacle etween us and Vaheguru?

[MrDoaba]

47 minutes ago, Kira said:

That's true but it depends on the Granth you consult, in Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maya is the illusion that the world sleeps in, the deceiver and the blocker to the pure nirgun saroop of Akaal, but in Sarbloh Granth Sahib, Guru Ji also writes "Adi Bhavani Esari Maya ta ko naam" translating roughly to the Primal giver of life is also known as Maya (in this context we can say Maya could be illusionist orrr generous), maya also being the power of Akaal Purkh that created all life.

100% agree with you there. I was going to quote the Mangalcharan of Sarbloh Granth Sahib Ji but I didn't want to be an id!ot by quoting something I have zero knowledge of lol.

47 minutes ago, Kira said:

Yeah I can get why your Dadi is against it, the oldies aren't all senile haha.

This is something my oldies taught me, that certain names should be avoided. I know some Sikhs dislike using the name Inder as they believe it refers to Indra Devta, but I had heard a Katha  a while back about how important naming a child is, as the name can have a psychological and spiritual effect on them

A lot of Sikhs are against any Hindu sounding names in general though, oblivious to the fact that so many of our names are composed of what is essentially Hindu vocab or standard Punjabi words. There seems to be a renaissance of allegedly 'Sikh' names which some people appear to have taken straight out of Mahan Kosh or something just because they think it's Sikh. I don't think it works all of the time but each to their own hey.

As for the effect a name has, I'm starting to doubt this a little, for obvious reasons. Or maybe I'm just becoming a cynic.

[Kira]

3 hours ago, MrDoaba said:

100% agree with you there. I was going to quote the Mangalcharan of Sarbloh Granth Sahib Ji but I didn't want to be an id!ot by quoting something I have zero knowledge of lol.

I wont sit here and act like a scholar on the the Granth's Gurbani haha, the granth is super mysterious, iv only recently started to read and do my own arths (using a steek), the complexity of it is (imo) as much as that of Dasam Granth, though Mahakaal96 user on here was really helpful in helping me get my head around some stuff.

Though I'm going to India soon and I'll be picking it up from there, I'm super excited about it. I've been trying to input the Manglacharan into my Nitnem for some time but the only online version iv found is this one.

http://www.sarblohgranth.moonfruit.com/

there formatting puts me off which is really bad I know but i can't help it.

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A lot of Sikhs are against any Hindu sounding names in general though, oblivious to the fact that so many of our names are composed of what is essentially Hindu vocab or standard Punjabi words. There seems to be a renaissance of allegedly 'Sikh' names which some people appear to have taken straight out of Mahan Kosh or something just because they think it's Sikh. I don't think it works all of the time but each to their own hey.

As for the effect a name has, I'm starting to doubt this a little, for obvious reasons. Or maybe I'm just becoming a cynic.

well to each his own haha, You're free to doubt it, with good reason too. In all honesty I totally see where you are coming from as I'm a total pessimist myself a-lot of the time.  I think its just the might of Kalyug influencing us all, to the point very little things hold any true spiritual meaning.

[sikhni777]

13 hours ago, MrDoaba said:

This is a very good point. But tbh the people who name their child maya probably don't concern themselves with such matters. The only context which matters is that it sounds modern, fashionable etc. However, if these people provided some valid reasoning for their choice such as the name referring to Maya Devi/Lakshmi Ji, I'd be less likely to dismiss it. Even so, in Sikhi the word maya usually has negative connotations or is at least perceived to.

I asked my Dadi and she strongly objected to the name saying "sade ni eh naa rakhde". Occasionally the oldies are right.

In your opinion what are some other names which would have been avoided?

The old are stuck in their own way of thinking, which they hand over to us. If a Sikh kept this name, would it also be to alert the mind over maya? Maya is everywhere. We are maya too. However we have to be alert not to get carried away by it. If you understand it this way, then you would not want to have great moh with your children because they are maya LOL

I wonder though, most of our name end with deep, preet, inder meet ..... where did these names come from? We have just assumed they are connected to Sikhi. However give it a second thought. Inder? Deep ? How does it connect to sikhi. No one in the Gurus age had such names as ..Inder!!!!

 

[simran345]

31 minutes ago, sikhni777 said:

I wonder though, most of our name end with deep, preet, inder meet ..... where did these names come from? We have just assumed they are connected to Sikhi. However give it a second thought. Inder? Deep ? How does it connect to sikhi. No one in the Gurus age had such names as ..Inder!!!!

I think it comes from when people weren’t so educated and lived in the type of environment where they wouldn’t know the meanings of names or how to go about choosing a name that had anything meaningful. Going onwards, it’s just a matter of fitting in with the crowd by having the same endings. 

[MrDoaba]

11 hours ago, Kira said:

Though I'm going to India soon and I'll be picking it up from there, I'm super excited about it. I've been trying to input the Manglacharan into my Nitnem for some time but the only online version iv found is this one.

That's epic. You should defo make a thread on your observations and veechaars.

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well to each his own haha, You're free to doubt it, with good reason too. In all honesty I totally see where you are coming from as I'm a total pessimist myself a-lot of the time.  I think its just the might of Kalyug influencing us all, to the point very little things hold any true spiritual meaning.

If I ever have kids I'll choose one of the 1008 names of Vishnu Ji to counteract this lol.

 

6 hours ago, sikhni777 said:

The old are stuck in their own way of thinking, which they hand over to us. If a Sikh kept this name, would it also be to alert the mind over maya? Maya is everywhere. We are maya too. However we have to be alert not to get carried away by it. If you understand it this way, then you would not want to have great moh with your children because they are maya LOL

I wonder though, most of our name end with deep, preet, inder meet ..... where did these names come from? We have just assumed they are connected to Sikhi. However give it a second thought. Inder? Deep ? How does it connect to sikhi. No one in the Gurus age had such names as ..Inder!!!!

 

Some may be stuck in their old ways of thinking but they do provide us with some gems. Little tidbits of info to piece together the past.

I'm just speculating but I think names which end in deep/preet/inder/meet became more prevalent when the Singh Sabha Movement and Akali Movement were gaining momentum, before then these names were virtually unheard of. Maybe it was an effort to try and create a more homogeneous Sikh identity? Just an example, my Dadi is the youngest of 5 sisters, yet she is the only one with a name which has a suffix like those above.

Tbh if I think back to all my Bazurg, none of them had names like that.

[Kira]

3 hours ago, MrDoaba said:

That's epic. You should defo make a thread on your observations and veechaars.

Will do  the Bani is really fascinating in its textual form too, You can feel Guru Gobind Singh Ji's signature within it but at the same time it echoes back to Guru Nanak Dev Ji's words and writing style. The interchanging form of God being described in both masculine and feminine terminology is really breathtaking. 

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The old are stuck in their own way of thinking, which they hand over to us. If a Sikh kept this name, would it also be to alert the mind over maya? Maya is everywhere. We are maya too. However we have to be alert not to get carried away by it. If you understand it this way, then you would not want to have great moh with your children because they are maya LOL

I wonder though, most of our name end with deep, preet, inder meet ..... where did these names come from? We have just assumed they are connected to Sikhi. However give it a second thought. Inder? Deep ? How does it connect to sikhi. No one in the Gurus age had such names as ..Inder!!!!

 Well not Inder as a name but there was a Gursikh of the highest caliber called Bhai Durga Ji i believe

[jkvlondon]

10 hours ago, sikhni777 said:

The old are stuck in their own way of thinking, which they hand over to us. If a Sikh kept this name, would it also be to alert the mind over maya? Maya is everywhere. We are maya too. However we have to be alert not to get carried away by it. If you understand it this way, then you would not want to have great moh with your children because they are maya LOL

I wonder though, most of our name end with deep, preet, inder meet ..... where did these names come from? We have just assumed they are connected to Sikhi. However give it a second thought. Inder? Deep ? How does it connect to sikhi. No one in the Gurus age had such names as ..Inder!!!!

 

maya throughout gurbani and  sakhian has been called enticer, trickster and other negative names for a reason because she/it  keeps the manukh trapped in a delusion instead of remembering Akal  Purakh, to forget the true purpose of life , so to name a person after such a force instead of Akal Purakh's gun/names is to dedicate that child to that force. Just because hindus name their children allsorts doesn't make it a valid choice for us , 

[jkvlondon]

remember Bhai Mardana's name was originally Marjana..Guru ji renamed him giving him love ..,why follow people who hurt their kids this way? 

[MrDoaba]

3 hours ago, jkvlondon said:

maya throughout gurbani and  sakhian has been called enticer, trickster and other negative names for a reason because she/it  keeps the manukh trapped in a delusion instead of remembering Akal  Purakh, to forget the true purpose of life , so to name a person after such a force instead of Akal Purakh's gun/names is to dedicate that child to that force. Just because hindus name their children allsorts doesn't make it a valid choice for us , 

What about names such as Karnail or Jarnail?

[jkvlondon]

Just now, MrDoaba said:

What about names such as Karnail or Jarnail?

traditional names from khalsa army days , if the singh is living up to gurmukh rehit standards I don't see a problem but if he's hundred light years from sikhi it is just a mockery