A recent, widely publicized study showed how our faces evolve based on the expectations and stereotypes associated with our names. For example, my face has changed over the years to look more like a “Tuomas,” based on what society expects someone with the name Tuomas to look like.
Doesn’t that just blow your mind?
Here’s how the scientists came to this groundbreaking conclusion: A group of Israeli researchers showed images of faces to both adults and children and asked them to match the faces with different names. Both groups were able to connect the names and faces significantly above the level of pure chance. Interestingly, when the subjects were shown the faces of children, they could not successfully match the faces with their names.
To confirm their findings, the researchers fed a large database of images of human faces to a machine learning system. The system found that the correspondence between the facial features of adults with the same name was significantly higher than between adults with different names. However, the computer could not recognize any connection between the names and facial features of children.
In one sense, this is a terrifying discovery: It highlights how much the society or community we happen to be born into molds our identities. If group expectations and norms can change even our facial features—an aspect of us that science previously thought was fully determined by our genes—then what to speak of our dispositions, morals, ethics, prejudices, and biases? It’s fair to ask: Are we powerless to choose our own destinies? Are we nothing but constructs of our genes and our environment?
Based on this study, as well as my personal experience, it seems to me that the most effective way to exercise our free will lies in choosing our company. It’s a decision that could mold us for the rest of our lives. Instead of constantly guarding ourselves against the adverse influence of the society or community we were thrust into at birth, choosing a community that corresponds with our ideals—who we want to become—will automatically take us in the direction we want to go. Of course, this is a ridiculously simplistic and naïve idea of how communities work (problems and conflicts seem to be baked into any group of people), but if there are difficulties in our chosen community, at least the struggle is for something we believe in rather than something the dominant society believes in, which we just go along with.
One reason this new study made me really happy was that it further confirmed I made the right decision by dropping everything and moving to the ashram at 25. Although I’m grateful for the protection and prosperity my native culture granted me, I never felt fully at home there. It couldn’t provide what I wanted most: a clear understanding of higher, more spiritual states of consciousness and a method to reach those states. I yearned for spiritual wisdom and realization. And I knew I had to move to an environment aligned with my aspirations if I wanted to truly pursue my ideal.
And here’s the kicker: What did my spiritual teacher, Swami B. V. Tripurari, do soon after accepting me as a student? He gave me a new name! In light of the study I’ve referenced above, the age-old custom of name changes at initiation—a shared feature in all the oldest and largest wisdom traditions—makes that much more sense now.
I received my spiritual name, Guru-nistha das, almost exactly twenty years ago. The term Guru-nistha means unshakeable trust (nistha) in the spiritual guide (guru). It’s important to note that “guru” is not only a human teacher. Anything or anyone who helps one move toward spiritual realization is a guru. In a more general sense, Guru-nistha can mean firm trust in the benevolence and friendliness of reality: that there is a purpose to it all, and that we are not alone or doomed to suffer.
The “das” part of my name means “servant.” What is implied with “das” is the kind of approach to life where one seeks to give to and nourish their environment rather than to take from it. It’s the most basic building block of selflessness. That’s why politicians, for example, are (at least theoretically) civil servants: they are supposed to help their community—something greater than themselves—and provide for it, instead of looking out for their own gain.
So, in brief, my spiritual name belongs to the kind of person who has firm trust in the ultimate goodness of existence and is generous and kind to others. The beauty and utility of spiritual names is that they serve as a prototype of the person the practitioner wants to become. They are a daily reminder that there’s an ideal to work toward—a path forward.
Now the big question: During the two decades that I’ve had my name, has my face changed to look more like Guru-nistha das? Have I lived up to my name, or has it been just another superficial religious symbol? I’d like to believe that my face, along with my heart, has undergone at least some changes. I’ve kept myself in powerful company and tried my best to grow. But in all honesty, I am disappointed in the amount of progress I’ve made in the past twenty years. Those deeply ingrained material desires and false identities—the innate selfishness of being embodied—are incredibly difficult to overcome. Every day, I’m reminded of how I keep falling short in so many ways from living up to my spiritual name. But all I can do is keep good company, make an effort to trust in the goodwill of my guides, and not be a selfish dick. Easier said than done!
I met someone called Presence a few weeks back, and she indeed had a distinct, powerful presence. It got me thinking: What about naming ourselves based on who we want to be? Many artists and public personalities do this to boost their personas. Think of Sid Vicious (what a bad ideal that is!), Andre the Giant, Lady Gaga, Charlemagne Tha God, and so forth. With this in mind, I’d like to ask you: Say, for example, a murderous crime family wanted you dead, and you had the chance to start your life all over by going undercover. What would you name yourself? What would you like everybody to call you throughout your life that would slowly transform you into the kind of person you’ve always wanted to be?