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This article was written by me, Safih Choat- ©2017 BEADS 4 MEDITATION, and it's part of this store. Copying of texts or total reproduction will only be permitted if both references beads4meditation.com.br and my authorship are mentioned. In case of omission, they will be subject to fair compensation, given the provisions of Law 9,610/98.

How to use your prayer beads

*** A video of how to use is at the end of this article! ***

Considering my deep respect for this instrument, which has greatly impacted my life for the past 15 years in various positive ways, and in consideration of YOU, the client, who seeks balance in the physical and spiritual aspects, I've decided to compose this detailed and informative text below to help demystify and clarify everything you need to know. This includes information on permitted materials, the significance of 108 counts, what to recite, the languages of the mantras, and guidance on choosing and using your Japa mala (Prayer Bead) to fully experience the enduring tradition and obtain its significant benefits.

Japa mala is an ancient meditation tool used by Buddhists and Hindus for spiritual practice. It consists of a necklace with 108 beads or a number that is a multiple of 108 (such as 54, 27, or 18 beads) with the beads joined by a larger bead representing divinity.

The practitioner repeats a chosen mantra, recommended by a guru, counting each repetition on the beads. This practice, among others, is used to aid spiritual elevation, leading to enlightenment or nirvana.

Japa malas are crafted from various materials, and it is recommended to purchase one made from specific materials to fully benefit from its use. Additionally, it is advised to practice with the Japa mala for at least 40 days to imbue it with energy and protective qualities.

Which materials can it be made from?

Please take note of the following information:

Japa malas only can be made from stones, wood (such as sandalwood and rosewood), or bodhi and rudraksha seeds. Some are also made from bones but it's important to have a qualified guru recommend these due to their different energies.

Materials like Murano, glass, plastic, and resin might lower the cost of your Japa mala, but they are not recommended as they lack vibrational energy and are just handmade accessories without protective properties.

The physical explanation for determining suitable materials for japamala is that they are porous. This allows sound waves to enter and interact with it [1], creating an energetic impregnation that makes the Japa mala a sacred amulet.

Over time, japamalas made with these materials develop an "aura" due to their molecular properties, allowing them to store energy throughout use. This can be described by the "Kirlian" explanation. [2][3]

Rudraksha Seeds:

The seeds of rudraksha (in Sanskrit rudra (रुद्रः) = god of thunder + *āk**ṣ**a* = *eye* - name was given to both this tree and its small fruits and seeds), a symbol of spirituality, fearlessness and a source of power, health, peace, and prosperity, are considered true jewels in the Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads,[4] since a long time it is been associated with the mythological figure of Lord Shiva (It is said that Shiva sat in meditation for 1000 years with his eyes half-squinted until his eyes finally gave way and the first tear that fell from his eyes on the ground became a Rudraksha[5] .

Each Rudraksha is like an energy generator, charging the wearer's energy field, chakras, kundalini energy and the 108 sensitive nerve centers in the human brain.o.[6]

For a long time, it has been reported and reported that people suffering from hypertension, diabetes, heart problems, stomach problems, stress, arthritis, and phobias provide beneficial results by consuming Rudraksha consistently. It has been proven that the use of Rudraksha has positive effects on people with high blood pressure and control of stress, anxiety, depression, and palpitations. Mentally, it provides a tremendous amount of tranquility, and power of concentration and helps one achieve serenity of mind with ease.[7][8]

Medicinally they are known to cure many of the ailments of the mind and body, be cooling when used against the skin, reduce heart disease and lower blood pressure, increase mental clarity, memory, and general awareness, irritate the central nervous system, Free of negative thoughts, increases immunity, energy and stamina, and rejuvenates the entire mind and body. [6]

Extensive scientific research has been conducted over the years by scientists mainly at universities in India, and also in the West, where their discoveries have proven that Rudraksha beads have certain electrical and magnetic properties, and when worn against the skin, and especially over the heart, acts on our human neural network in several beneficial ways. It can balance the heart's magnetic field, control the pulse rate, improve blood circulation, and purify the blood. When Rudrakshas we are charging oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen against our bodies as we absorb the vibration of these pure living organisms. [6]

Rudrakshas increase negative ion levels and act directly on our central nervous system, releasing certain chemicals in our bodies that are responsible for positive emotions and a calm mind.

Many personal accounts have noted finding its use freedom from stress, depression, and less lethargy when using Rudrakshas. They are said to absorb and store solar energy, and thus release and distribute this solar energy to all parts of the body. [6]

Most rudraksha's japa malas use the 5-faced seed or 5-mixer Mukhi Rudraksha, which represents Shiva or the Absolute and is considered beneficial for healing the liver, kidneys, lungs, heart, breasts, sexual disorders, memory, bone, arthritis, ears, thighs and regulate blood pressure, diabetes, fat and purifies the blood. It is also here to promote fame, peace, and prosperity, and dissolve karma and fear, as well as for spiritual evolution. [6]

Wearing Rudrakshas results in the destruction of negative karma from previous births that cause difficulties in the present life. [6]

Experiments proving the effectiveness of its properties can be consulted in the links at the end of this article, in references.[9]

Bodhi Seeds:

The Bodhi tree holds great cultural and spiritual significance for Sri Lankan Buddhists. Every Buddhist temple on the island proudly nurtures a bodhi tree as one of the three sacred objects. Thus, every bodhi tree in Sri Lanka is considered a close or distant relative of the original bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, which was planted in the third century BC.

The bodhi tree is an essential part of Buddhist ritual due to its association with the life of the Buddha. Buddhists believe that this tree possesses magical powers unlike any other in the world. The term "bodhi" is used to refer to two meanings: specifically, it denotes the religious ficus tree under which Siddhartha Gautama achieved Enlightenment, and more broadly, it denotes any tree under which a Buddha attained Enlightenment.

Practitioners use malas made from these "enlightened" seeds, valuing their inherent essence and teachings. Over time, these seed compounds naturally darken as the oils from the skin permeate the seed, which is considered normal use and practice.

Reciting Mantras using your japa mala

Mantra, from the Sanskrit Man (mind) and Tra (lever), is a religious syllable or poem normally recited or chanted in Sanskrit and the Sanskrit word (samskrta) means refined. It is formed by the verbal root kr which means "to do" plus the prefix sam - "together, perfect".

The use of mantras or devotional songs originated from Hinduism, where the evolution of music begins with the Vedas, absorbing influences from the Islamic World, mainly from greater Persia, however, they are also used in Buddhism and Jainism. [10]

Originating in India around 500 BC, Buddhism reached China in the first century AD, Korea in the early fourth century, Japan in the sixth, and Tibet in the eighth. As Buddhism became an established religion in these countries, it was influenced by the diverse cultures with which they came into contact, and in this way, Buddhism was relevant, among others, the rosaries of the Hindus. [11]

A long time ago, in the most absolute stillness of the snow-covered Himalayan caves, the Rishis, ancient riches in deep meditation, removed their minds from external noise and focused on their inner children. Through centuries of assiduous practice, generations of Masters were able to detect the specific frequencies emanating from each of the organism's subcenters (called Chakras), and therefore verbalizable, creating a language that is the resonance of the deepest level of life: Sanskrit. [10]

These 49 sounds – vibrational cadences of the core of our Being, then passed 49 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, the oldest vibratory language of the Indo-European family, whose position in the cultures of South and Southeast Asia is discovered in Latin and Greek in Europe, being a proto-language, has influenced several other modern languages, such as Latin. [10]

It is linked to the origin of the languages ​​of Europe, except Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, Turkish and Basque. This relationship can be seen with obvious similarities as: pitr – pater (Latin) "father"; matr – mater (lat) "mother"; bhratr – brother (ing) "brother"; grdha – greed (ing) "greed". [10]

Considered a particularly refined or perfected way of speaking, those who had knowledge of Sanskrit were a privileged class, a language taught mainly to members of higher castes, through in-depth analysis of grammatical terms. Due to its syntax, Sanskrit is considered an ideal language for computer programming, with its regular and mathematical structure considered a very useful characteristic for this purpose. . [10]

Its linguistic perfection explains why it has existed for more than five millennia, as it has the power to touch the heart, offering everyone direct access to a higher plane, where both mathematics and music, the brain and the heart, the reason like intuition, science and religion – become one, generating clarity and inspiration. To speak of Sanskrit, therefore, is to speak of the Geometry of Divinity, given its perfection in the deepest resonant terms, a language directly responsible for illuminating creative expression in a way never before seen in the world. [10]

The practice of using japamala through the intonation of mantras has the power to remove conditioning from the mind, as it is in subtle and direct tune with the invisible and archetypal harmony of creation, providing changes on all dimensional levels of being. . [10]

Why 108 beads?

When practicing counting the number of repetitions of the mala, 100 counts of it are stipulated as the amount necessary for practice. The remainder is here to cover errors, and omissions, or serve as an offering to God and Guru.

There are numerous explanations for why there are 108 beads, such as the number 108 having special religious significance in several Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

The number is also attributed to the Mokugenji Sutra, where Shakyamuni Buddha instructed King Virudhaka to make such beads and to recite the Three Jewels of Buddhism. [12]

In the heart chakra (it is said that there are a total of 108 energy lines that converge to form the heart chakra), one of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and this is where the path to self-realization is. [12]

In the Sanskrit alphabet: There are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet. Each has masculine and feminine, shiva and shakti. 54 times 2 is 108. [12]

Some say there are 108 Upanishads, wisdom texts from ancient sages. [12]

In the Sri Yantra there are marmas where three lines intersect, and there are 54 such classifications. Each intersection has masculine and feminine qualities, shiva and shakti. 54 times 2 equals 108. Thus, there are 108 points that define the Sri Yantra as well as the human body. [12]

The sacred river Ganga measures a longitude of 12 degrees (79 to 91), and a latitude of 9 degrees (22 to 31). 12 times 9 equals 108. [12]

In astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets. 12 times 9 equals 108. [12]

There are 108 Indian names of goddess. [12]

In the Krishna tradition, there were said to be 108 gopis or servants of Krishna. [12]

1, 0 and 8: Some say that 1 means God or higher Truth, 0 means emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 means seniority or antiquity. [12]

The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun. [12]

The average distance of the Moon from Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.[12]

In astrology, the silver metal represents the moon. The atomic weight of silver is 108. [12]

Numerical scale: The 1 of 108, and the 8 of 108, when added together equals 9, which is the number of the numerical scale, i.e. 1, 2, 3...10, etc., where 0 is not a number . [12]

The number 108 is divided, as in half, third, fourth or twelfth, so that some malas have 54, 36, 27 or 9 beads. [12]

The number 108 is used in Islam to refer to God. [12]

In Jain religion, 108 are the combined virtues of five categories of saints, including 12, 8, 36, 25 and 27 virtues respectively. [12]

The Sikh tradition has a mala of 108 knots tied on a woolen rope, rather than beads. [12]

In Buddhism, according to Bhante Gunaratana, this number is progress multiplying the senses smell, touch, taste, hearing, sight and consciousness by being painful, revealing or neutral, and again whether these are generated internally or externally, and again through the past, present and future, we finally have 108 feelings. 6 × 3 × 2 × 3 = 108. [12]

 In Japan, at the end of the year, a bell is rung 108 times in Buddhist temples to end the old year and welcome the new year. Each ring represents one of the 108 earthly trials (Bono) that a person must overcome to reach nirvana. [12]

In Jewish culture and numerology, Jews give gifts and charitable donations in multiples of the number 18, associated with the Hebrew word 'chai (??)', which means 'alive', 'alive' or 'life'. See Chai (symbol). The number 108 is a multiple of 18 (6 times 18) and contains the numbers 1 and 8 that make up the number 18. [12]

There are countless explanations for the question 108 accounts used in japa mala.

Should I recite the mantra or just do it mentally?

Sound is the raw material of the Universe. There is sound in nature, in our communication, that is, our universe is made of sound, and it is a vehicle within this interrelationship, as a form of expression, knowledge and manifestation of the most diverse senses[10].

Children cross the body, penetrate the organs and make everything resonate when they exist. A vibration is likely to give rise to another vibration in different elements. When a musical note is played on a piano, even if only one string is struck, other strings still vibrate as well. Expanding a little further, Life is permeated by vibrations. This is what is called resonance, observed by the physical laws, which govern this manifestation, about which there are sufficient studies in science. [10].

Routinely, and although we think we don't realize the reflection, our words spoken on a daily basis, whether to qualify our feelings, such as love, peace, happiness, or to communicate in general, all these words are sounds, vibrations, which together with our mind force strengthens, attracts, strengthens or repels attuned emotions.

Thus, sound stimuli, depending on their quality, can produce positive or negative effects. The sound waves are captured by the ear and reach the ear canal and eardrum, whose vibrations reach the middle ear, where they are converted into nerve impulses. These impulses reach the brain through the optic nerve and are all interpreted. Depending on the harmonic quality of the sound, positive or negative effects are produced, beneficial or not to the psycho-bioenergetic system [3].

Nerve fibers convert the captured sound into a nervous stimulus. The chain of stimuli produces effects on the organisms of humans, animals and plants. Calm, harmonic music provides an analgesic or anesthetic effect. The opposite effect occurs with shrill, very strong, disharmonious sounds, which create hyperstimulation of nerve cells and stress on neurons[13].

Therefore sound can reorganize molecular structure. This is a scientific fact [10].

Through the resonance of mantras, you can contribute to the re-establishment of the body's harmonic vibratory frequencies, (the sound waves communicate their energies to the internal regions of the body and if these have the same frequency caused by the vibration, they will also initiate a vibratory movement), in addition to having the ability to expand consciousness to a subtle level of vibration, modifying the rhythms of brain waves, whose sound radiations penetrate electrical pulsations of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies, modifying their vibratory patterns and consequently invigorating through the sounds the energetic flow of the body, since the physiological principles of the body are interconnected to the energetic dimension that vibrates through the muscles, breathing, heart, which are interconnected to the energetic flow of the vital current. [15]

Answering this question, it would be better if you verbalized the mantra during the meditation, because as you can see, the vocal sound also enhances the effect, makes your body vibrate, and reverberates in the environment, also changing it with good energy. However, you can mentalize the mantra, and for example, hear it from your favorite singer throughout the day. We have several! This will even help you pronounce it correctly.

The more practice, the more results!

In line with this, adding the properties of the mantric words in Sanskrit, the effects of sound, combined with a paced practice (through repetition in a continuous flow for a certain time taken when reciting the 108 x the same mantra daily), in this process of repetition and By using it, you will physically bring an improved note to your concentration, memory and logical reasoning, and, little by little allowing your mind to enter “alpha”, the brain can begin to vibrate at an appropriate frequency so that a precise expansion of the awareness, of who I am, access to our psyche, our soul, so to speak, and with this, not only contributes to the harmony of oneself but also expands to those who live together[10].

Take as an excerpt the words of Krishna Das, (an internationally known mantra singer whose story is very interesting, see the book - Singing to live):

"When we turn inward, to the deepest place within ourselves, everything we want in life - our beneficial desires, or the things that help us in life, eventually come to us. Through the reproduction of the Name, all The desires that serve us along the way will be fulfilled, and the things that hurt us will be removed."

Spiritual practices are capable of slowing down the film of Me Even though everyone drives tirelessly every day....

Gradually with this practice, we will negotiate a ruler with what we perceive as a world external to us: the immediacy of minute impulse responses and we have the chance to not react so quickly. We make a deal with ourselves not to believe everything we think, to allow time to pass before we can see if the reactions are based on what is happening or are supported by what we think is happening. (and this of course, with the help of the physical resonance of sound in our organs.

By practicing mantras and their musicality, we move toward the place within ourselves that is not so impulsive, where we feel better about ourselves because there is more peace. That's where love hides. This experimental truce is the same as a preliminary one. We draw closer to the Beloved One who lives within us and in all beings - and we begin to experience what love truly means.

Over time, we will create within the brain and our unconscious a space of peace, of serenity where when we experience a turbulent experience, for example, we immediately "pull" and connect with this side and we will have more wisdom and serenity to deal with.

When we start practicing how to chant mantras, we don't think it can work. We kind of hope that it might be good for us, but we can't imagine what the result of practice will be and that's the goal. If we were able to imagine, it would just be a projection of the mind and not something that emerges from deep within us.

It's all in here and not out there. But we have been programmed not to trust, to not be aware of our feelings and intuition about things.

It's all here waiting for us, inside, but we have the wrong phone number. So we dialed all the definitions of that number trying to get it right. One day we will enter the Name the right way once, from the heart and the connection will be complete.

Chanting the name takes away those thoughts that tell us: Oh, it will never happen; I will not be able to. I am not enough, whatever that is. All these stories we tell ourselves and tune out - and that's what we manage to let go of in the middle of practice. What remains is what was always there.

In the words of Anandamayi Ma:

If you keep rubbing a dirty bowl, your own swarup (true form) gradually reveals itself, and then you find out whether it is copper, brass, silver, etc.

Thus, with the reproduction of the Name of God, your own swarupa reveals itself.

So do this all the time, regardless of whether you feel like it or not.

The way we feel about ourselves is what governs our quality of life.

With practice, we begin to truly relax about ourselves and feel good. The negativity of others dissolves when it comes to us. By not reacting and not expelling a person, we naturally help them to resolve their issues as well. "Krishna Das-Sing for a Living.

Someone once said to Maharaj-Ji:

-Should I repeat the name of God even without having faith or feelings of devotion?

He replied:

-Well, something is better than nothing. At first, the person may not be sincere, but over time, the heart opens and a pure desire comes to the surface.[..]The simple act of doing is a devotion. With the constant repetition of these Names, the presence that hides within us is revealed. The precious stone is already there, but it is simply discovered by our questions." Krishna Das - book Singing to Live.

My Japa mala - My amulet

To ensure that your Japa mala can also serve as a protective tool, it should be made with the materials mentioned earlier and magnetized with the power of the chosen mantra for at least 40 consecutive days. After 108 days, the prayer bead will store this charged energy. You can then gently place it on yourself or others to transmit the energy of the mantra.

When you are not using your mala, store it in a clean and sacred place. The best place to keep it is on a personal altar or near a sacred figurine of a deity.