Japamala

A String of Beads Filled with Wonders

- Shri Suren Rao

A Japamala is a whip to goad the mind towards God." - Sivananda

Introduction:

As a child, I remember seeing a few of my revered elders carrying a Japamala and rolling the beads even during their conversations with others. Once, at an airport, I met a young gentleman from the Hare Krishna sect who was holding on to something in his right hand hidden in a clean bag. When I politely enquired about it, he explained that it was a Japamala and he has to roll the beads over several thousand times a day mentally saying Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare.

One also often sees people, especially priests, wearing string of beads around their neck and wrists as a part of their daily attire for various reasons. A decade and a half ago, I got my personal Japamala at the Sivananda Ashram in Neyyer Dam, Kerala, whilst undergoing the Teachers Training Course. A few years later, my daughter got me one, made up of Rudraksha beads, from Varanasi. However, I seldom used them for my meditation practice or Japa or teaching classes. About six weeks ago, I met with a mishap, incapacitating me to sit and meditate. So I picked up my Japamala and started using it to recite my meditation Mantra. I find it a good tool to stay focused, like Satguru Sivananda said “a Japamala is a whip to goad the mind towards God”.

The Japamala has its origins in Vedic times in India and over centuries, it has transcended geographical and religious boundaries to become a universal symbol of faith, meditation and other spiritual practices.

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