Acharya Prashant explains that the culture of addressing people with multiple names, as seen in the Bhagavad Gita and other Indic texts, is a beautiful practice. He states that it is an admission of multiple identities. This does not necessarily mean the person is fragmented, but rather that one's perception of and relationship with that person is multifaceted and keeps changing. It is an admission that the person is not just one thing to you. To illustrate this, he gives the example of the Vishnu Sahasranama (the thousand names of Vishnu) and points out that both Shri Krishna and Arjun are addressed by many names in the Gita, such as Partha, Kaunteya, and Gudakesh for Arjun. This practice signifies an intimate understanding of the person's various aspects or a recognition of the multifaceted nature of the relationship. He notes that it is too restrictive and egoistic to imprison someone within just one name, especially a name given at birth that may no longer reflect their reality. Acharya Prashant connects this to the nature of the self, stating that the practice is indicative of the impermanence and constant change inherent in nature (Prakriti). Since the entire self is a flux, it should not be contained in one permanent name. As a person's personality evolves, their name should also evolve. He suggests that naming can be an exercise in wisdom and almost a spiritual method, where names are given that are truly representative of a person's reality, even if they don't sound grand. This practice, he laments, is something that should be preserved in our culture.
