What’s In a Name?

What’s in a name? Everything. Just as the musical notes of a melody carry vibrations that evoke certain feelings and moods, a name carries energy and meaning specific to each individual.

My teacher, the living saint Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, also known as Amma (Mother), has given me the name Tapasya. It is a great honor to be given a name from this self-realized master and I am so eternally grateful for this gift.

The name Tapasya has many layers in the depth of its meaning. Its root, tapas, translates to “heat” and refers to the spiritual practices which “burn up” the impurities of the mind. Spiritual practices, to me, are not confined to yoga, meditation or prayer. Spiritual practices can be the very breath of every living moment, from washing the dishes, to journaling, having an argument with your partner, driving your car, doing your taxes, or playing with your children. Ultimately it is the awareness that dawns within us that liberates us from the apparent limitations of the mind. It can all be fuel for the fire that clears out everything in the way of realizing our True Nature.

For this reason and reasons beyond my understanding, I have been named Tapasya, “the one who is always in spiritual practice”. Though most of you know me as Katarina, I would like to ask to be called Tapasya from now on as a way to integrate this energy into my life and the life of those around me and to honor the connection to my teacher, Amma.

If you’d like to learn more about Amma and the tremendous humanitarian and environmental work she is doing globally through her many charities, please visit www.amma.org

 

From the Heart,

Tapasya