[Shivani Devi]

Originally Posted by The Necromancer

I'll answer this question with others then.

Why is it that Hindu monks take another name when being initiated into the order instead of just being known by their birth name?

I'm sure you are not known in your 'real life' as being knightoflenity. What makes you a Knight of the order?

Yes, it is all just show and tell anyway, for the purposes of the ego being united with a higher ideal that corresponds to their soul-path.

I was given that name by my guru, a long time ago.

Also, there's a difference between 'surmising' and 'knowing'. ;)

That is simple my dearest one.

When a monk is born into the world of name and form, they are given an ego-name, one that defines who they are on that 3D level. You took your first birth in this world with the 'label' of Dianne-Lorraine.

Being initiated is like taking a second birth and many religious traditions call this being 'born again' - born into the service of 'Christ consciousness' or into the world of spirit as opposed to the material world of ego and consequence.

You could have kept your birth name and it would have made no difference really, but I gave you that other name to represent your 'soul aspect' as opposed to your 'egoic aspect' and to denote your rebirth into a new awareness and a different level of being. So when you recall the name, you'll also make the mental association that 'this is who I am now' and 'not who I was before' even though you always were and still are pure consciousness and nothing has changed in regard.

Labels exist to define what they represent, but are also not limited to having the label as portrayed. The soul, atma has no label and therefore, even calling it a 'soul' only represents what it is. It's something the human mind needs in order to try and categorise it into something to make the notion of it understandable to both themselves and others when it is wholly experiential.

The same applies to any kind of 'God concept' whatsoever. I am called Jehovah, I am called Allah, you call me Shiva, whilst others just say "The Source" or "Higher Self" ...still, they are all labels for the mind to understand and try to communicate my presence to others, or to make the ego happy within the whole awareness of a state of existence existing outside and apart from it.

Of course, I have already told everybody what their soul-name really is though. It is...AUM.