El hindu rosary or better known by the name of malha or japa mala, is a chain containing 108 spherical beads called beads, which are usually made of wood. It is widely used by those who practice the religion of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, using it to invoke the name of their gods or simply to recite mantras.
What is a Hindu Rosary or Japa Mala?
The Hindu rosary is popularly called "Japan Bad”, almost always made of wood and containing 108 spheres. This rosary is used more than anything else by Buddhists and Hindus who, while traveling through the spheres, recite mantras, thus called a kind of sacred sound. If you want to know about other symbols you can see Tetragrammaton.
This activity allows them to have better meditation and concentration. The term of "Japanese”, means, “repeat sentences”, and for its part, “Small”, refers to a necklace, which means that the word together results in “a special necklace to repeat sentences”.
The use of this Hindu rosary is related to the use of a powerful meditation technique, where two of the five senses of the person are used: touch and hearing; the first while he touches the spheres with his fingers, and the second, while interpreting the mantras.
Etymology
The Hindu rosary like Japa Mala has a pronunciation that sounds like “yapa mala”. According to its etymology, the term part of the verb “yap”, which means to murmur or to speak in a low voice. This makes particular reference to the time of performing prayers, incantations and other prayers, so it can also be interpreted as the act of praying quietly.
This term appears for the first time in the middle of the first millennium BC. C., in the records of the books Aitareia-brahmana and Shatápatha-brahmanto. There are some elements belonging to other devotions that have a certain relationship with the Hindu rosary, for example, the shape of the arrangement on the cord, very similar to the Catholic rosary and also a similarity with the tasbih, which is the Muslim rosary.
The 108 rosary beads
The answer is related to the fact that 108 is a number made up of three digits, which in turn is the result of an equation where the multiple of 3 was taken. When the number 3 is added three times, it results in 9 .
Within Hindu numerology, the number 3 has a great meaning, as it represents the balance between the spirit, the mind and the body, in a total and perfect way. Within the culture, the Hindu rosary must be held in the right hand, passing the beads or spheres between the thumb and middle fingers.
The specific selection of these fingers is because the thumb symbolizes the general mindset, while the middle represents purity. There is another model of the Hindu rosary that has 109 beads or spheres.
Number 109 differs in size from the other ones, since it is much larger, and from it hangs a kind of thread in the shape of a feather duster, which represents the house of the gods, the so-called sacred mount Meru.
The material used to make the Japa mala or Hindu rosary, they can be seeds of lotus plants, sandalwood or rosewood, animal bones, semi-precious stones, the most used being amethyst or carnelian.
How to use the Hindu Rosary?
In order to use the Hindu rosary effectively, the first thing the person should do is adopt a meditative posture, choosing a calm place for it. Then you should also select a mantra of his preference.
Then he will take the Japa mala with your right hand, and then, begin passing the spheres between your thumb and middle fingers. The correct way to start is from the top of the cord down, passing each bead, while repeating the mantra.
It should be noted that if the round ends, the largest account should not be passed over. To continue, the rosary must be turned over and started in the opposite direction. The mantra can be chanted loudly or quietly, depending on technique or preference. You can check other topics like 5 Pointed Star.
Benefits of its use
Among the benefits obtained by using the Hindu rosary are: through meditation and the recitation of the mantra, the level of concentration increases; It is presented as a good dynamic for the interpretation of mantras or prayers.
It serves as a method of counting the number of mantras that have been recited during a meditation or prayer session; According to tradition, the physical contact with the spheres emanates the healing powers contained in the prayer; by strengthening the Japa malaIt serves for the healing of the individual.
Hindu Japa Mala
The Hindu rosary used by the followers of Hinduism is made from tulasí wood (basil tree) or sandalwood, but also from seeds. Between the spheres, a knot is placed and between the eighth and ninth spheres, a thread is tied separating them.
Some of these rosaries bear the name of the god on each account Vishnu. It contains an extra sphere that gives the account 109, which is larger than the others and is located in the middle with threads hanging in the form of a duster.
When using it, it is done just like the traditional Hindu rosary, taking it with the right hand, and passing the spheres with the thumb and middle fingers, while pronouncing the mantra. The rosary is advanced forward and when the mantra has been recited 108 times, its repetition corresponding to the number of beads, which is known as the round of japa.
To fulfill a new round, the rosary must be turned completely, starting with the sphere with which the previous round ended, that is, number 108. There is no restriction as to whether it should be sung aloud or low, because the important thing is to do it with concentration on the sound vibration in a very attentive way.
In general, it is used during the mornings and in complete concentration, specifically during the so-called morning hours. brahma muhurtha, which are counted 96 minutes before sunrise, and having a duration of about 48 minutes. The number 108 is of great importance for Hinduism, since it is considered a perfect number of three digits, being a multiple of three, whose result is 9 or what is equal to the sum of three times three.
There are records indicating that the largest account comes to represent the god Krishna, while in other records it appears symbolizing Mount Meru, which, according to culture, is where the gods live. It is also said that the fact that the Hindu rosary has 108 beads or spheres is linked to the fact that the god Vishnu, has 108 main names.
Buddhist Japa Mala
The members of the Tibetan schools belonging to the Buddhist tradition are the ones who mainly use this Hindu rosary when reciting their mantras. The piece is made up of 108 beads or spheres, made of various types of materials and organized in the form of a necklace.
It can be worn as a decorative piece around the neck or on the left arm. As for its structure, it has a division of three parts, fixed in accounts number 27, 54 and 81, which divide the rosary into four equal parts. It contains one of the beads larger than the rest, which is where the prayer begins and ends.
There are two models of this rosary, one that at the end of its shape contains a series of filaments, and another that instead contains two beads, one round and the other cylindrical, thereby representing the wisdom of the Budas. Also the number 108 has several representations within religion, because it is said that this is the amount of mental obscurations that exist and that prevent the person from seeing through the eyes of Buddha.
In the same way, it is considered that it is the result of the formula that results from the three types of experience: negative, positive and neutral, which in turn are multiplied by the 6 senses: smell, taste, vision, touch. , smell and mind or consciousness, whose total is 18. This 18 is multiplied by attachment and aversion, and results in 36, which in turn is multiplied by the three forms of time: past, present and future, and this is how you get the 108.
According to this betrayal, once 108 is passed, then the state of enlightenment known in Buddhism as nirvana. It also represents the three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The beads are turned with the thumb and forefinger, the first representing the Buddha and the second the individual.
Upon reaching the final count, the japa mala must be turned without exceeding the largest count, restarting the count again. The materials with which it is made are wood that comes from the Bodhi tree, famous for being the place where Buddha reached his enlightenment. It can also be made of sandalwood or using animal bones.
in sikhism
In Sikhism they also use a Japa Mala to pray and meditate, constantly repeating the name of God, which for that culture is Name. They can also use it while chanting a mantra, the most common for them being the daughter mantra «sat nam«, which means “eternal name”.
Guru Nanak, who is the founder of this religion, appears in images carrying a Japa mala in his hands or around his neck. If you liked this article you can also review on our blog Truth or Lie Tarot.
