Moderator: off-topic- Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Friends Please chat privately and not on the list. Harish On 09/03/2023 08:32, Vedprakash Sharma wrote: Forgot to mention my name. It is Vedprakash Sharma. -Original Message- From:accessindia@accessindia.org.inOn Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 12:18 PM To:accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] My gender clarification Hi, Sorry I did not get your good name. You wrote: For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. > I'll be too nervous to try speaking to you in Hindi. I know very little by now. May be when I can say enough words to hold some sort of a conversation to save my life, I'll find the courage to phone you! Thanks for the offer. I'll remember it and call you when I have enough courage! For now I will feel way too stupid! Of course it's good to keep me humble! Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: Vedprakash Sharma Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 10:41 AM To:accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: RE: [AI] My gender clarification Nice to read this beautifully presented story of your present life. For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. I am now retired and have ample time to gossip and entertain. My mobile No. is: 9013000251 -Original Message- From:accessindia@accessindia.org.inOn Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 AM To:accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Kris
RE: [AI] My gender clarification
Forgot to mention my name. It is Vedprakash Sharma. -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 12:18 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] My gender clarification Hi, Sorry I did not get your good name. You wrote: > For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. > I'll be too nervous to try speaking to you in Hindi. I know very little by now. May be when I can say enough words to hold some sort of a conversation to save my life, I'll find the courage to phone you! Thanks for the offer. I'll remember it and call you when I have enough courage! For now I will feel way too stupid! Of course it's good to keep me humble! Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: Vedprakash Sharma Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 10:41 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: RE: [AI] My gender clarification Nice to read this beautifully presented story of your present life. For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. I am now retired and have ample time to gossip and entertain. My mobile No. is: 9013000251 -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word Dasa. Dasa means servant. So th
Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Dear Yamuna Jivana Dasa ji My prayers and blessings for you both, may you realize your ambition. As you said, we are living in human body but our real identity is that of the soul that never perishes, never changes. So, being male or female is just a formality. We are all Param pita's children. Regards and all the very best Sandeep On 3/8/23, Preeti Monga wrote: > Learning is something we all must keep doing! We are very fearful of > learning but it is a great virtue to be had! > Will hope to know you and your wife better one day! > > Preeti Monga – Chief Executive Officer > > > Inspiring INCLUSION! Fostering DIGNITY! > > > Mobile : 91 9871701646 > E-mail : preeti.mo...@silver-linings.org > Website : www.silver-linings.org > Our Services: Trainings- Unique Motivation Programmes, Diversity & > Inclusion, POSH. > > Your Choice to partner with us contributes towards quality Education & > Empowerment of Visually Impaired Girls, and providing them with secure > Hostel facility at SHIKSHA (A CSR Initiative of Silver Linings) > > -Original Message- > From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in [mailto:accessindia@accessindia.org.in] > On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) > Sent: 08 March 2023 14:31 > To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in > Subject: Re: [AI] My gender clarification > > Hi, > Thank you for your kind words. > I see you are into education of visually challenged girls. One of my > aspirations is to be able to teach braille or smart-phone accessibility to > blind people here in Vrindavana. It is what I did successfully in South > Africa. But first I have to learn Hindi from scratch, so that I can function > normally here in India. Once I have some proficiency I will move forward > with that. > > Someone mentioned here earlier that Hindi is not a difficult language to > learn. Any language to be learnt from scratch that is not mutually > intelligible with one's natively spoken home language will struggle. Word > order is different, words for absolutely everything must be re-learnt, and > even the writing systems are different. > In short, I have great respect for all of you here who speak and write in > English which is not your home language. I can tell you it is not easy as I > am only now starting to learn a new language. I have to translate everything > in my head that I want to say, adjust word order, hopefully find enough of > the correct words to say it with in my limited diction, then carefully speak > something hopefully that will not come out soundind like jibberish. > > Yet all of you here write English very well. I'm ashamed! > Anyway no use in complaining, I will just continue to learn. May be in 5 > years time I will feel brave enough to actually speak something in public. > Oh when will that day be mine? > > Yamuna Jivana Dasa > -Original Message- > From: Preeti Monga > Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 2:04 PM > To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in > Subject: RE: [AI] My gender clarification > > Very lovely and very interesting life story you have! > Dreams do come true and certainly we are just around for the experience on > this earth! > Warmly > Preeti > > Preeti Monga – Chief Executive Officer > > > Inspiring INCLUSION! Fostering DIGNITY! > > > Mobile : 91 9871701646 > E-mail : preeti.mo...@silver-linings.org Website : www.silver-linings.org > Our Services: Trainings- Unique Motivation Programmes, Diversity & > Inclusion, POSH. > > Your Choice to partner with us contributes towards quality Education & > Empowerment of Visually Impaired Girls, and providing them with secure > Hostel facility at SHIKSHA (A CSR Initiative of Silver Linings) > > -Original Message- > From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in > [mailto:accessindia@accessindia.org.in] > On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) > Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 > To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in > Subject: [AI] My gender clarification > > Dear Access India list members, > > On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am > male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha > name. > I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. > > At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, > (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in > the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from > South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling > our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should > they care? > > At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our > ancestors eventually liberated thems
RE: [AI] My gender clarification
Learning is something we all must keep doing! We are very fearful of learning but it is a great virtue to be had! Will hope to know you and your wife better one day! Preeti Monga – Chief Executive Officer Inspiring INCLUSION! Fostering DIGNITY! Mobile : 91 9871701646 E-mail : preeti.mo...@silver-linings.org Website : www.silver-linings.org Our Services: Trainings- Unique Motivation Programmes, Diversity & Inclusion, POSH. Your Choice to partner with us contributes towards quality Education & Empowerment of Visually Impaired Girls, and providing them with secure Hostel facility at SHIKSHA (A CSR Initiative of Silver Linings) -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in [mailto:accessindia@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 14:31 To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] My gender clarification Hi, Thank you for your kind words. I see you are into education of visually challenged girls. One of my aspirations is to be able to teach braille or smart-phone accessibility to blind people here in Vrindavana. It is what I did successfully in South Africa. But first I have to learn Hindi from scratch, so that I can function normally here in India. Once I have some proficiency I will move forward with that. Someone mentioned here earlier that Hindi is not a difficult language to learn. Any language to be learnt from scratch that is not mutually intelligible with one's natively spoken home language will struggle. Word order is different, words for absolutely everything must be re-learnt, and even the writing systems are different. In short, I have great respect for all of you here who speak and write in English which is not your home language. I can tell you it is not easy as I am only now starting to learn a new language. I have to translate everything in my head that I want to say, adjust word order, hopefully find enough of the correct words to say it with in my limited diction, then carefully speak something hopefully that will not come out soundind like jibberish. Yet all of you here write English very well. I'm ashamed! Anyway no use in complaining, I will just continue to learn. May be in 5 years time I will feel brave enough to actually speak something in public. Oh when will that day be mine? Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: Preeti Monga Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 2:04 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: RE: [AI] My gender clarification Very lovely and very interesting life story you have! Dreams do come true and certainly we are just around for the experience on this earth! Warmly Preeti Preeti Monga – Chief Executive Officer Inspiring INCLUSION! Fostering DIGNITY! Mobile : 91 9871701646 E-mail : preeti.mo...@silver-linings.org Website : www.silver-linings.org Our Services: Trainings- Unique Motivation Programmes, Diversity & Inclusion, POSH. Your Choice to partner with us contributes towards quality Education & Empowerment of Visually Impaired Girls, and providing them with secure Hostel facility at SHIKSHA (A CSR Initiative of Silver Linings) -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in [mailto:accessindia@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to unders
RE: [AI] My gender clarification
Dear Yamuna Jivana Dasa, wonderful dear! Your story and life style really speaks about you and your struggle. Hope to meet you oneday in India.. Best wishes -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 2:31 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] My gender clarification CAUTION: This email is originated from outside Canara Bank. Do not click any links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know that the content is safe. Hi, Thank you for your kind words. I see you are into education of visually challenged girls. One of my aspirations is to be able to teach braille or smart-phone accessibility to blind people here in Vrindavana. It is what I did successfully in South Africa. But first I have to learn Hindi from scratch, so that I can function normally here in India. Once I have some proficiency I will move forward with that. Someone mentioned here earlier that Hindi is not a difficult language to learn. Any language to be learnt from scratch that is not mutually intelligible with one's natively spoken home language will struggle. Word order is different, words for absolutely everything must be re-learnt, and even the writing systems are different. In short, I have great respect for all of you here who speak and write in English which is not your home language. I can tell you it is not easy as I am only now starting to learn a new language. I have to translate everything in my head that I want to say, adjust word order, hopefully find enough of the correct words to say it with in my limited diction, then carefully speak something hopefully that will not come out soundind like jibberish. Yet all of you here write English very well. I'm ashamed! Anyway no use in complaining, I will just continue to learn. May be in 5 years time I will feel brave enough to actually speak something in public. Oh when will that day be mine? Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: Preeti Monga Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 2:04 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: RE: [AI] My gender clarification Very lovely and very interesting life story you have! Dreams do come true and certainly we are just around for the experience on this earth! Warmly Preeti Preeti Monga – Chief Executive Officer Inspiring INCLUSION! Fostering DIGNITY! Mobile : 91 9871701646 E-mail : preeti.mo...@silver-linings.org Website : www.silver-linings.org Our Services: Trainings- Unique Motivation Programmes, Diversity & Inclusion, POSH. Your Choice to partner with us contributes towards quality Education & Empowerment of Visually Impaired Girls, and providing them with secure Hostel facility at SHIKSHA (A CSR Initiative of Silver Linings) -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in [mailto:accessindia@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transf
Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Hi, Thank you for your kind words. I see you are into education of visually challenged girls. One of my aspirations is to be able to teach braille or smart-phone accessibility to blind people here in Vrindavana. It is what I did successfully in South Africa. But first I have to learn Hindi from scratch, so that I can function normally here in India. Once I have some proficiency I will move forward with that. Someone mentioned here earlier that Hindi is not a difficult language to learn. Any language to be learnt from scratch that is not mutually intelligible with one's natively spoken home language will struggle. Word order is different, words for absolutely everything must be re-learnt, and even the writing systems are different. In short, I have great respect for all of you here who speak and write in English which is not your home language. I can tell you it is not easy as I am only now starting to learn a new language. I have to translate everything in my head that I want to say, adjust word order, hopefully find enough of the correct words to say it with in my limited diction, then carefully speak something hopefully that will not come out soundind like jibberish. Yet all of you here write English very well. I'm ashamed! Anyway no use in complaining, I will just continue to learn. May be in 5 years time I will feel brave enough to actually speak something in public. Oh when will that day be mine? Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: Preeti Monga Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 2:04 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: RE: [AI] My gender clarification Very lovely and very interesting life story you have! Dreams do come true and certainly we are just around for the experience on this earth! Warmly Preeti Preeti Monga – Chief Executive Officer Inspiring INCLUSION! Fostering DIGNITY! Mobile : 91 9871701646 E-mail : preeti.mo...@silver-linings.org Website : www.silver-linings.org Our Services: Trainings- Unique Motivation Programmes, Diversity & Inclusion, POSH. Your Choice to partner with us contributes towards quality Education & Empowerment of Visually Impaired Girls, and providing them with secure Hostel facility at SHIKSHA (A CSR Initiative of Silver Linings) -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in [mailto:accessindia@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insig
Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Hi, You wrote: ... However, you have not made it clear whether you and your wife are visually impaired or you are simply serving the visually impaired. > I am totally blind from birth, but my wife is fully sighted. Hope that clarifies. Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: Shyam M. Sayanekar Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 1:24 PM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] My gender clarification Hello, nice to read about your life jerney. Hindi is not a difficult language, and by mingling with the local people, you will learn working Hindi. However, you have not made it clear whether you and your wife are visually impaired or you are simply serving the vidually impaired. - Original Message - From: "Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan)" To: Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 6:35 AM Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word Dasa. Dasa means servant. So the full Sanskrit to English translation of my name is that I am a servant of that person who is the life of, or very dear to the Yamuna, namely Lord Krishna. Interestingly in 2008, I met my wife who has a very similar history to share. She was born of Indian parents in South America, Guyana, but whose ancestory are North-Indian, particularly of Bengali origin. She too came from a family who very closely kept their Indian culture and traditions, but remained in se
RE: [AI] My gender clarification
Very lovely and very interesting life story you have! Dreams do come true and certainly we are just around for the experience on this earth! Warmly Preeti Preeti Monga – Chief Executive Officer Inspiring INCLUSION! Fostering DIGNITY! Mobile : 91 9871701646 E-mail : preeti.mo...@silver-linings.org Website : www.silver-linings.org Our Services: Trainings- Unique Motivation Programmes, Diversity & Inclusion, POSH. Your Choice to partner with us contributes towards quality Education & Empowerment of Visually Impaired Girls, and providing them with secure Hostel facility at SHIKSHA (A CSR Initiative of Silver Linings) -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in [mailto:accessindia@accessindia.org.in] On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word Dasa. Dasa means servant. So the full Sanskrit to English translation of my name is that I am a servant of that person who is the life of, or very dear to the Yamuna, namely Lord Krishna. Interestingly in 2008, I met my wife who has a very similar history to share. She was born of Indian parents in South America, Guyana, but whose ancestory are North-Indian, particularly of Bengali origin. She too came from a family who very closely kept their Indian culture and traditions, but remained in search of Vedic truths. When
Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Hello, nice to read about your life jerney. Hindi is not a difficult language, and by mingling with the local people, you will learn working Hindi. However, you have not made it clear whether you and your wife are visually impaired or you are simply serving the vidually impaired. - Original Message - From: "Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan)" To: Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 6:35 AM Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word Dasa. Dasa means servant. So the full Sanskrit to English translation of my name is that I am a servant of that person who is the life of, or very dear to the Yamuna, namely Lord Krishna. Interestingly in 2008, I met my wife who has a very similar history to share. She was born of Indian parents in South America, Guyana, but whose ancestory are North-Indian, particularly of Bengali origin. She too came from a family who very closely kept their Indian culture and traditions, but remained in search of Vedic truths. When she took initiation also into the Hare Krishna society there in Guyana, she received the name Kalindi Dasi. This name is interesting because even before we met on-line across the seas, her name was linked to mine. The name Kalindi refers to the Yamuna river, but specifically to the personality which embodies that river. In Vedic understanding, even the holy rivers are embodied by living personality. Like me, she too
Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Dear Pavan, Hare Krishna. Thanks for your kind blessings. I'm grateful to have found friends like you here in India. Without you guys on Access India I would actually feel quite lonely. Thanks again. Hare Krishna. Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: pavan kallem Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 11:19 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: Re: [AI] My gender clarification Hare Krishna, Thank you for sharing this personal story with us. It's wonderful to hear about your cultural and spiritual journey. It's inspiring to see how you've sought out and found a connection to your heritage and spiritual practices. I wish you and your wife all the best as you continue your journey, and may you find joy and fulfillment in your new life in Sri Vrindavana Dhama. May your spiritual practice continue to bring you peace, love, and enlightenment. On 3/8/23, Vedprakash Sharma wrote: Nice to read this beautifully presented story of your present life. For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. I am now retired and have ample time to gossip and entertain. My mobile No. is: 9013000251 -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word Dasa. Dasa means servant. So the full Sanskrit to English translation of my name
Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Hi, Sorry I did not get your good name. You wrote: For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. > I'll be too nervous to try speaking to you in Hindi. I know very little by now. May be when I can say enough words to hold some sort of a conversation to save my life, I'll find the courage to phone you! Thanks for the offer. I'll remember it and call you when I have enough courage! For now I will feel way too stupid! Of course it's good to keep me humble! Yamuna Jivana Dasa -Original Message- From: Vedprakash Sharma Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2023 10:41 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: RE: [AI] My gender clarification Nice to read this beautifully presented story of your present life. For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. I am now retired and have ample time to gossip and entertain. My mobile No. is: 9013000251 -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word Dasa. Dasa means servant. So the full Sanskrit to English translation of my name is that I am a servant of that person who is the life of, or very dear to the Yamuna, namely Lord Krishna. Interestingly in 2008, I met my wife who has a very similar history to share. She was born of Ind
Re: [AI] My gender clarification
Hare Krishna, Thank you for sharing this personal story with us. It's wonderful to hear about your cultural and spiritual journey. It's inspiring to see how you've sought out and found a connection to your heritage and spiritual practices. I wish you and your wife all the best as you continue your journey, and may you find joy and fulfillment in your new life in Sri Vrindavana Dhama. May your spiritual practice continue to bring you peace, love, and enlightenment. On 3/8/23, Vedprakash Sharma wrote: > Nice to read this beautifully presented story of your present life. > For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. I am now > retired and have ample time to gossip and entertain. My mobile No. is: > 9013000251 > -Original Message- > From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in On > Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) > Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 AM > To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in > Subject: [AI] My gender clarification > > Dear Access India list members, > > On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am > male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha > name. > I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. > > At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, > (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in > the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from > South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling > our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should > they care? > > At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our > ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a > thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the > temptation. > > Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking > the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from > cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little > remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept > whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous > generations. > > No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my > parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my > official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. > > When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own > father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of > life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always > found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. > So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, > I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My > Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me > perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he > always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured > into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South > Africa. > > So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose > name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the > Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how > the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls > temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master > was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own > dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man > born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru > because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. > Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English > male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the > supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. > > So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. > My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. > > Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana > literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is > Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the > life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to > Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word > Dasa. Dasa means servant. So the full Sanskrit to English translation of my > name is that I am a servant of that person who is the life of, or very dear > to the Yamuna, namely Lord Krishna. > > Interestingly in 2008, I met my wife who has a very similar history to > share. She was born of Indian parents in South America, Guyana, but whose > ancestory are North-Indian,
RE: [AI] My gender clarification
Nice to read this beautifully presented story of your present life. For Hindi speaking, feel free to call me whenever you please. I am now retired and have ample time to gossip and entertain. My mobile No. is: 9013000251 -Original Message- From: accessindia@accessindia.org.in On Behalf Of Yamuna Jivana dasa (Yogan) Sent: 08 March 2023 06:36 AM To: accessindia@accessindia.org.in Subject: [AI] My gender clarification Dear Access India list members, On a few occasions on this list, people have been conjecturing whether I am male or female, because the name Yamuna appears in my Vaishnava diksha name. I thought I might as well take the time to clarify. At my birth, my parents named me Yoganathan. My family surname is Khandoo, (originally in India it would have been Kandu as per the name as found in the Srimad Bhagavatam,), but when my paternal Great-grandfather arrived from South India in the 1800s, the british slave-owners did little in spelling our names as they should be. After all we were captured slaves so why should they care? At this point I could go into the sad and painful history of how our ancestors eventually liberated themselves from slavery and established a thriving Indian community in South Africa, but I will resist the temptation. Over time and as generations passed, they were indoctrinated into speaking the English language of the colonizers. Still, our family kept away from cross-race inter marriages despite 4 generations in South Africa. Little remnants remained of the Tamil language of our ancestry, but we kept whatever we could by way of prayers and rituals coming down from previous generations. No wonder then when I was born, a South Indian priest was consulted by my parents and he offered the name Yoganathan. So that's my birth name in my official documents: passport, South African ID card Etc. When I grew up, my Grandfather always told me that I reminded him of his own father. You see, I had developed a yearning to understand the purpose of life, God, our purpose on earth and such existential concerns. I always found myself disturbed to see the suffering of others, both man and animal. So in 1997 when I first came across a Hare Krishna preacher of Vedic wisdom, I took to the study like a hungry man takes to water in a dry desert. My Grandfather noticed the transformation in my life, and as he watched me perform aratis and bhoga offerings to the deity, chanting of Japa Etc, he always remarked how I reminded him of his father who was a Brahmana captured into slavery but who kept performing his worship and sadhana in South Africa. So, when I eventually was ready for it, in 2005 my spiritual master whose name is Partha Sarathi Dasa Goswami, gave me Diksha initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya. By this time we had learnt how the body we live in is really insignificant because we are spirit souls temporarily inhabiting different bodies, and although my spiritual master was an English man born in England, I was impressed so much by his own dedication to the Vaishnava life despite him being a typical English man born from the land of our cruel colonizers, still I accepted him as my Guru because he was a disciple of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada. He had transcended his white English male body and was now a pure Vaishnava dedicated to serving and loving the supreme personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. So on that faithful day of 23 November 2005, I received Diksha initiation. My Guru gave me the spiritual name Yamuna Jivana Dasa. Yamuna refers to the holy river Yamuna in Vrindavana Dhama. The word Jivana literally means the life of. So that person who is the life of the Yamuna is Sri Krishna. So this name Yamuna Jivana refers to Sri Krishna who is the life of the Yamuna river. Therefore this is a masculine name referring to Lord Krishna himself. At the end of a Vaishnava name, we always add the word Dasa. Dasa means servant. So the full Sanskrit to English translation of my name is that I am a servant of that person who is the life of, or very dear to the Yamuna, namely Lord Krishna. Interestingly in 2008, I met my wife who has a very similar history to share. She was born of Indian parents in South America, Guyana, but whose ancestory are North-Indian, particularly of Bengali origin. She too came from a family who very closely kept their Indian culture and traditions, but remained in search of Vedic truths. When she took initiation also into the Hare Krishna society there in Guyana, she received the name Kalindi Dasi. This name is interesting because even before we met on-line across the seas, her name was linked to mine. The name Kalindi refers to the Yamuna river, but specifically to the personality which embodies that river. In Vedic understanding, even the holy rivers are embodied by living personality. Like me, she too was attracted to Sri
