What is in a name?
When Shakespeare said:
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet
He little realised how important a name could become in certain cases.
In these days of "Love Jehad", imagine that a Hindu young girl introduces her "friend" to her parents as Shakeel Ahmed! It may later turn out that the young man is a Sanskrit scholar and a believer of Karma Yoga philosophy, proving the validity of the second part of the Shakespearean "shlokah" that names do not add to or take away from the traits of a person.
One question could be: Does name make a difference on the Day-of-judgement when, after death, a person reaches God's home and his future has to be decided. Islam expressly states that name would make a difference, because those who do not accept Allah as the only Supreme Power will be condemned to life in hell till eternity. This raises questions in any rational mind: Can a person be a Hindu and still believe in Allah? Can a person believe in Allah as one of the divine powers? Hinduism is much more liberal and flexible. It preaches that a person is judged only by his actions and that a pious Muslim is closer to God than an evil Hindu. The 4th shlokah in the 11th chapter in Srimad Bhagwad Geeta says:
ये यथा मां प्रपद्यन्ते तांस्तथैव भजाम्यहम्।
मम वर्त्मानुवर्तन्ते मनुष्याः पार्थ सर्वशः।
In this Shlokah Bhagwan says: whoever approaches me in whatever way, I re-orient myself to his system of beliefs. The implication is: what matters is the piety of mind and devotion and not a particular system of beliefs.
Kamban in his Ramayanam also says the same thing:
ஒன்றே என்னின் ஒன்று ஏ ஆம்,
பல என்று உரைக்கின் பல ஏ ஆம்,
அன்றே என்னின் அன்றேயாம்,
ஆமே என்னின் ஆம் ஏ ஆம்,
இன்றே என்னின் இன்றேயாம்,
உளது என்று உரைக்கில் உளதேயாம்,
நன்றே நம்பி குடிவாழ்க்கை!
நமக்கு இங்கு என் ஓ! பிழைப்பு? அம்மா!
Essentially, what he says is: Let us not waste our time trying to guess what God is like. Let us focus on our actions and become good people.