Japa Mala

Set of Japa mala, made from Tulasi wood, with head bead in foreground.

A Japa mala or mala (Sanskrit:माला; mālā, meaning garland)) is a set of beads popular in India and Buddhist countries, commonly made from 108 beads. It is used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or name/s of a particular deity, a practice known in Sanskrit as japa.

A mantra (from Sanskrit: man- "to think" and -tra meaning, tool) literally means "instrument of thought." It refers to any sacred utterance (syllable, scriptural verse, or sacred formula), which can be repeated silently or chanted explicitly for different reasons and purposes. Used predominantly by the Eastern religions as aids to meditation and devotion, mantras are sound vibrations that instill one-pointed concentration in the devotee and facilitate spiritual growth. It is said that a mantra, when recited with proper understanding and intonation, can revitalize the mind with mystic power, and help deliver it from illusion to enlightenment. Mantras have also been used in religious ceremonies to accumulate wealth, avoid danger, or even allegedly to eliminate foes.

Mantras originated in India with Vedic Hinduism and were later adopted by Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. They are now popular in various forms of modern spiritual practice and play a comparable role to prayer in the Abrahamic religions.

Etymology

The Sanskrit word japa is derived from the root jap-, meaning "to utter in a low voice, repeat internally, mutter".

Materials

A wide variety of materials are used to make mala beads. In Hinduism, Vaishnavas generally use the Japamaala of Tulsi beads. The Shaivites use that of Rudraksha beads. Aghori practitioners typically use fragments of human skull for their malas.

Some Tibetan Buddhist traditions call for the use of bone (animal, most commonly yak) or sometimes human, the bones of past Lamas being the most valuable. Others use wood or seeds from the Bodhi Tree or seeds of the Lotus plant. Semi-precious stones such as carnelian and amethyst may be used, as well. The most common and least expensive material is sandalwood. In Hindu Tantra as well as Buddhist Tantra or Vajrayana, materials and colors of the beads can relate to a specific practice.

Religious Context

Japa (Sanskrit: जप) is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of God. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind. Japa may be performed whilst sitting in a meditation posture, while performing other activities, or as part of formal worship in group settings. The practice of repetitive prayer is present in varied forms within most religions in the world, although the religions of India generally give more emphasis to it as a specific discipline.

The aim, or goal of japa varies greatly depending on the mantra involved and the religious philosophy of the practitioner. In both Buddhist and Hindu traditions mantras may be given to aspirants by their guru, after some form of initiation. The goal could be moksha, nirvana, bhakti, or simple personal communion with God in a similar way to prayer.

In most forms of japa, the repetitions are counted using a string of beads known as a japa mala. Within Hindu traditions Vaishnava devotees commonly chant on beads made from the Tulsi plant (Holy Basil), held as a sacred manifestation of Tulsidevi; whereas Shaivites use Rudraksha beads. The number of beads in the Japa mala is generally 108, which has great significance in both traditions. It is not uncommon for people to wear japa beads around their neck, although some practitioners (such as Gaudiya Vaishnavas) prefer to carry them in a bead-bag in order to keep them clean.

Independent of all beads or prayer devices, many Hindus will recite mantras, either under their breath or in mental introspection, at any given time of the day. This sort of casual chanting is said to be a way of inspiring reflection on either the self or God at all times, thereby attaining a life which, though interrupted by daily chores and concerns, is a constant flow of prayer.

Some Catholic prayer forms that involve repetition of prayers, such as use of the Rosary or one of various chaplets, could be classified as forms of japa, as with other Christian prayer forms (see Hesychasm). Also Tibetan Buddhists include japa meditation as a large part of their religious practices.

Usage

Mantras are often repeated hundreds or even thousands of times. The mala is used so that one can think about the meaning of the mantra as it is chanted rather than thinking about counting the repetitions. One mantra is usually said for every bead, turning the thumb clockwise around each bead, though some traditions or practices may call for counterclockwise or specific finger usage. When arriving at the head bead, one turns the mala around and then goes back in the same direction. This makes using the mala easier as the beads will not be so tight on the string when you use them.

If more than 108 repetitions are to be done, then sometimes in Tibetan traditions grains of rice are counted out before the chanting begins and one grain is placed in a bowl for each 108 repetitions. Each time a full mala of repetitions has been completed, one grain of rice is removed from the bowl. Often, practitioners add extra counters to their malas, usually in strings of ten. These may be positioned differently depending on the tradition; for example some traditions place these strings after every 10th bead. This is an alternative way to keep track of large numbers, sometimes going into the hundreds of thousands, and even millions.

The 109th bead on a mala is called the sumeru, bindu, stupa, or guru bead. Counting should always begin with a bead next to the sumeru. In the Hindu, Vedic tradition, if more than one mala of repetitions is to be done, one changes directions when reaching the sumeru rather than crossing it. The sumeru thus becomes the static point on the mala.

There are numerous explanations why there are 108 beads, with the number 108 bearing special religious significance in a number of Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

In Hinduism

Hindu tradition holds that the correct way to use a mala is with the right hand, with the thumb flicking one bead to the next, and with the mala draped over the middle finger. The index finger represents ego, the greatest impediment to Self-Realization, so it is considered best avoided (as with the ego) when chanting on a mala.

In Northeast India, particularly those in the Shakta traditions in Bengal and Assam, the mala is often draped on the ring finger of the right hand, with beads moved by the middle finger with aid of the thumb and avoiding the use of the index finger. However, draping the mala over the middle finger and using the thumb to move the beads is also acceptable in these regions.

In Buddhism

Malas are also used in many forms of Mahayana Buddhism, often with a lesser number of beads (usually a divisor of 108). In Pure Land Buddhism, for instance, twenty-seven bead malas are common. In China such malas are named "Shu-Zhu" (数珠）; in Japan, "Juzu." These shorter malas are sometimes used for counting prostrations because they are easier to hold when enumerating repeated prostrations. In Tibetan Buddhism malas are also 108 beads: one mala counts as 100 mantras, and the 8 extra are meant to be dedicated to all sentient beings (the practice as a whole is dedicated at its end as well).

In Christianity

The Rosary (from Latin rosarium, meaning "rose garden" or "garland of roses") is a popular traditional Roman Catholic devotional practice, which denotes both a set of prayer beads and the devotional prayer itself. The prayers consist of repeated sequences of the Lord's Prayer followed by ten recitations of the Hail Mary and a single recitation of "Glory Be to the Father"; each of these sequences is known as a decade. The recitation of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which are events in the lives of Jesus Christ and his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The traditional fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary were finalized by the 16th century. The mysteries were grouped into three sets: the joyful mysteries, the glorious mysteries, and the sorrowful mysteries. In 2002, Pope John Paul II announced five new optional mysteries, the luminous mysteries, bringing the total number of mysteries to twenty.

Emphasis on the rosary is part of the Roman Catholic focus on Mariology, as exemplified by Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae which builds on the "total Marian devotion" pioneered by Saint Louis de Montfort. On the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7.

In Roman Catholicism, the rosary provides a physical method of keeping track of the number of Hail Marys said. Many similar prayer practices exist in popular Roman Catholicism, each with its own set of prescribed prayers and its own form of prayer beads, such as the prayer rope in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The fingers are moved along the beads as the prayers are recited. By not having to keep track of the count mentally, the mind is more able to meditate on the mysteries. A five decade rosary contains five groups of ten beads (a decade), with additional large beads before each decade. The Hail Mary is said on the ten beads within a decade, while the Our Father is said on the large bead before each decade. A new mystery is meditated upon at each of the large beads. Some rosaries, particularly those used by religious orders, contain fifteen decades, corresponding to the traditional fifteen mysteries of the rosary. Both five and fifteen decade rosaries are attached to a shorter strand, which starts with a crucifix followed by one large, three small, and one large beads before connecting to the rest of the rosary. The recitation of the rosary is started on the short strand, reciting the Apostle's Creed at the crucifix, an Our Father at the first large bead, three Hail Marys on the next three beads, then a Glory be to the Father on the next large bead. The recitation of the decades then follows. Although counting the prayers on a string of beads is customary, the prayers of the rosary do not actually require a set of beads, but can be said using any type of counting device, by counting on one's fingers, or by counting by oneself without any device at all.

The beads can be made from a wide variety of materials including wood, bone, glass, crushed flowers, semi-precious stones such as agate, jet, amber, or jasper, or precious materials including coral, crystal, silver, and gold. Rosaries are sometimes made from the seeds of the "rosary pea" or "bead tree." Today, the vast majority of rosary beads are made of glass, plastic, or wood. Early rosaries were strung on strong thread, often silk, but modern ones are more often made as a series of chain-linked beads. Our Lady's Rosary Makers produce some 7 million rosaries annually that are distributed to those in economic and spritual need.

The rosary is sometimes used by other Christians, especially in the Anglican Communion and the Old Catholic Church, and also by some Lutherans. Evangelical Protestants, however, such as Baptists and Presbyterians do not use it and actively discourage their members from using this method of prayer.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Apte, Vaman Shivram. The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1965. ISBN 81-208-0567-4
• Winston-Allen, Anne. "Stories of the Rose: The Making of the Rosary in the Middle Ages" Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-2710-1631-0

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