Hari-Nama: Renaming Your Story

Hari-nama—the name of God, invoked through sacred chanting—represents the power of naming to shape reality. Mirabai was born with one name, married into another, but became known by her chosen spiritual identity. Names carry identity; they carry how others see us and how we see ourselves. Your grief for a lost identity is partly grief for the name you no longer wear, the name others called you. Bhakti teaches that you have the right to rename yourself in alignment with your deepest truth. This isn't about rejecting your history but about claiming authorship of your story. The practice is to examine the names and identities you've inhabited: daughter, son, employee, spouse, the successful one, the failure, the dutiful one. Which of these names do you still carry? Which are you grieving? Can you consciously release the names that no longer serve you? Can you claim a name—a way of being—that honors both your history and your authenticity? This is the spiritual work of hari-nama.