the meaning of my name

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: the meaning of my name 📨 

before i was born, my parents were pretty attached to the name “sehaj,” which signifies a state of natural, effortless ease, calmness, and balance. in the context of sikhism, “sehaj” represents a spiritual state of inner peace, where one is aligned with the divine will and experiences contentment without being disturbed by external circumstances.

the more i continuously reflect and experience what life has to offer, the more i resonate and change to embody this meaning. after all, i live with balance and deep optimism at the forefront of my mind. 🧘‍♀️ 

my name isn’t sehaj though — that’s a nickname solely granted to my family.

in sikhism, the names of children are chosen through a ceremony called the hukamnama (roughly translating to divine order), where families open the guru granth sahib, our religious scripture, to a certain page and choose a name that starts with the first letter on the page. my parents landed on the gurmukhi character corresponding to the letter “h” in english, which is “ਹ” (ha).

“har” is a common prefix for sikh names, thus combining “har” with “sehaj” to form my name: harsehaj. 😁 

although it’s sometimes a minor inconvenience to spend a whole minute introducing myself and guide someone to the correct pronunciation of my name (har-seh-hedge), i love my name and its meaning.

it’s also pretty convenient to have a somewhat unique name. easy usernames, and i only ever need my first name as an identifier. i only ever write out my full name if i’m required to.

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