The very name fills the heart with delight.

What about his name? The name always goes with the form. It is ordinarily identified with a particular body. Not so Ramana's. He was named Venkataraman by his parents in 1879. Ganapati Muni changed his name to Ramana in an expression of his gratitude as a guru who revealed the truth to him. He re-christened him as Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. Bhagavan is an adjective to indicate that the person has in him all the six-fold powers of God. Maharshi means a preeminent one among seers of truth. The name itself was changed from Venkataraman to Ramana. This was in 1907. The new name has different shades of meaning, "dear darling," "one who revels in the Self," "one who is the Self." It has been a magical name for devotees and seekers. Just three syllables "Ra," "Ma," "Na." What power to draw within and fix one in the Self! The very name fills the heart with delight. The power of the name is such that though to begin with it may be integral only to meditation time, gradually the remembrance of the name goes on amidst all activities of life as well. For the beauty of the name grows on one. It becomes not just a name but a name amongst names. "The Name, It will be doing its job of ripening one to be rid of the dross, so that the inner pull of the Self would be felt strongly. Nurturing and protecting, it watches over loving devotees, whose delusion is immolated in the vast fullness of final realization." [last quote from Non-dual Consciousness, "Seventy Verses in Praise of the Guru's Holy Feet" by Muruganar]

~ A. R. Natarajan, Timeless in Time, Sri Ramana Maharshi