Lord Krishna in the 21st Century
Chapter 14 - What's in a Name?
Upon opening this blueprint, the first thing we notice is the logo printed at the top: Krishna Disaster Relief.
You might be surprised at how much time and thought went into selecting this name. At first I used the name: "Hare Krishna International Disaster Relief Agency", or HKIDRA. I also tossed around the name, "International Disaster Relief Agency," or INDRA.
Actually, there were several factors that eventually led me to settle on Krishna Disaster Relief. Most importantly, the first had to do with noticing the graphics used by the television networks when reporting live from disasters. While a TV reporter was interviewing a relief worker I saw that close to the bottom of the TV screen there were two lines of type, separated by a solid line. I soon noticed that this same format was always used by the media.
First was the person's name being interviewed. Below the solid line was the name of that person's organization. I began to notice this format during a famine in Somalia. For example:
The obvious thing is that not much space is provided for the organization's name. "Hare Krishna International Disaster Relief Agency" would never fit into this format.
These facts set the limits and clearly I needed to come up with a shorter name. This is when I asked myself, "What's in a name?"
To answer this question it helps to picture yourself in that big easy chair, knowing very little if anything about Krishna, and watching the nightly news.
As Rush Limbaugh said often, "words mean things." For example what would this tell the world?
Absolutely nothing. This would be a very bad choice! Or, what about this?
Yes, INDRA is somewhat more pronounceable, but what does it really say? Again nothing. This would also be a very bad choice!
Finally let's look at this:
"Oh, isn't that a bread company or some Christian group?" Again, not a good choice. Sorry, the average person has no idea what "Food For Life" means. In fact, if you go to www.FoodForLife.com you reach a bread company by that name.
Remember, place yourself in the shoes of someone who knows very little to nothing about Lord Krsna. And keep our goal in mind. Also, sometimes news interviews are rather short and to the point, which makes the name used even more important. They don't necessarily mention the group's name. But they always print it out. Now look at this:
What a significant difference the right words make. Krishna Disaster Relief tells anyone who reads it so many things, plus it includes the Holy Name. After seeing this, the person sitting in that big easy chair will naturally think: "Well, I'll be, the Hare Krishna people are helping the victims of that horrible disaster. Gee, I never knew that they did that sort of thing. That is really nice of them." Sounds like appreciation to me. Everyone loves a hero.
The name, Krishna Disaster Relief states who we are, and what we are doing. This name accomplishes the very thing that this blueprint is all about. It brings people in touch with the essence of God: the Greatest Hero and heartfelt appreciation is the natural result. This is an excellent name to use!
