Are all of God’s names the same or are there gradations of intimacy?
Krishna to Arjuna So it’s God has many names Are all these names the same Or are there traditions of intimacy In the names Essentially The intimacy is Based on the Consciousness of one who is Chanting the names So We connect with God Based on the devotion of our heart Somebody may chant A particular name with Great devotion Somebody may just choose the word God And they may chant the word God with great devotion And they will connect with God Now God can have So God we could say Is A generic name Generic in the sense that The head of the state The head of the state is a generic name The head of the state Is so and so person So head of state signifies a post And That post refers to a particular Person, the post is occupied By a particular person The head of state The prime minister, the president So and so So we could refer to that person as Mr. President We could refer to the person as Mr. if in our America Mr. Trump We could refer to them, somebody is a family member We could refer to them personally So Now all of these Refer to the same person So God is considered To be like a Name that conveys the position Just like the president Conveys the position Now that position Now whereas in this world The position is Occupied by different people at different times So one person will be the president Today and another tomorrow Whereas God’s position is eternal So the person who occupies the position Is eternally the same person And God who Occupies this position Is known by Personal names Just like the president Has his personal name So Krishna Is considered to be a personal name of God And God has many names In relationship with the activities That he does in his personal abode Just like Even the head of state May have a formal name A legal name And among at home Among family and friends The same head of state May also have a nickname And that nickname Or a nickname is used By intimate friends So like that God has Various degrees of names also So the important thing is That We connect with God Through a mood of devotion And If the mood of devotion is there That is what brings about the connection And there are There are names which To the extent the names refer to The position of God And to the extent the names Refer to the personal God To that extent Those names could be Graded on a different degree Of intimacy Mr. President to the formal address Addressing the president by the first name Is a much more informal address Addressing the president by nickname Is an even more intimate address So like that There can be different names of God Which Whose level of intimacy Will depend on Whether the name is related with God’s position or God’s personal characteristics