In all written materials addressed to her, whether they are business related, or cards of a more personal nature sent on special occasions such as Christmas, my opening salutation is always, “Miss Saraswati” (not her real name, and not a Punjabi name, as far as I know).
I always address her by her full first name, never the “casual short form” version, even though that is how she introduced herself to me when we first met.
I’ve got a really bad case for a young Punjabi woman who works at a company I do business with on a daily basis. Casual informality and an utter lack of respect for anyone or anything is all-pervasive in all Yankee commercial exports. NamasteĪdoption of Western Ways (the ways of the U.S, Hollywood, and American popular music culture) is a certain telltale sign of decline in any culture.
I am happy to hear opposing perspectives and be corrected. If you disagree with my views, please share that as well.
Please feel free to share this to help educate the new people just getting on to the spiritual path on the proper use of the term “ji”. Just my two cents and homespun wisdom for the day. Real spiritual growth and Self Realization have absolutely nothing to do with such things at all. For a true devotee, however, change of name and dress for outward show is not important. All such things, of course, have some entertainment value and I do not diminish that part of the spiritual circus. There are other examples as well of people adopting high sounding spiritual names, etc. This addition of “ji” as part of a name reflects the fear that no respect will be forthcoming without the added “ji” to the name. Such a practice appears to be an attempt by some people (based on insecurity) to ask others for some respect when referring to them. The practice of adding the “ji” behind one’s own name is a distinctly Western practice based on a misunderstanding of the Indian culture and how the term “ji” has been historically used and is actually used. This practice of adding “ji” to one’s own name has always struck me as a bit odd and also comical and shows a cultural misunderstanding. Recently, I have noticed that some of the students of such teachers have also started adding “ji” to their own made up spiritual nicknames. The name Fooji is hence imposed on the innocent whether they wish to use the term “ji” to refer to the person or not. Foo, Fooji! This essentially means “Respected Foo.” The option to call Mr. By adding “ji” to it, the name itself is made into Fooji. Some modern Satsang teachers have made “ji” simply part of their chosen spiritual nickname, hence forcing people to use the respectful term “ji”, whether they want to or not, when they refer to such teachers.įor example, let us say that a satsang teacher has chosen the spiritual nickname of Foo. In the Western world, this phenomenon of adding the term “ji” after someone’s name is not well understood. In referring to one’s teacher, one typically calls the person Master-ji or Guru-ji, etc. Grandfather and Grandmother on mother’s side are called Nana-ji and Nani-ji respectively. Grandfather and Grandmother on father’s side are called Dada-ji and Dadi-ji respectively. For example, the father may be called Papa-ji or Bapu-ji (instead of just Papa or Bapu) and the mother may be referred to as Mata-ji (instead of just Mata). Younger people when talking to their parents will automatically add “ji” after the designation. Similarly, friends greeting each other will not add the term “ji” to the names of their friends as they are equals. Typically, the older people when calling on younger people or children will not use the term “ji”, but just call them by their name.
There is no compulsion that we have to add “ji” to the name of everyone we meet and greet. It is up to us when we want to add the “ji” after the name of the person. However, in the Indian culture, no one will ask or demand that we add “ji” when addressing them to show respect. If someone’s name is Maya, we call her Maya-ji. For example, if someone’s name is Ashok, and we want to convey warmth and respect, we call him Ashok-ji. In the Indian culture, we sometimes add the word “ji” at the end of someone’s name to convey respect. The Meaning of the Term “Ji” in the Indian Culture: By Dr.