JAPA / JAPAMALA
"... for a lady who had a large Japamala of seeds, Baba created a Japamala of matched pearls, and showed her how to use it :
The thumb, standing separate, may be taken to represent God. The first finger, representing the individual person, is joined to the thumb, to the Divine. The three remaining fingers represent the three gunas - the three modes of temperament, thought, and action observable in all people - the middle finger being the Sathwic guna (calm, pure, balanced nature). The Japamala is then drawn across the Sathwic finger by the thumb and the forefinger movement"
(John Hislop in My Baba and I, pg 219)
"The japamala teaches you the Unity, though it has 108 beads! If it is sphatika mala (crystal beads), you can see the string running in and through each bead, the inner reality on which all this is strung! If the beads are not transparent, you will still know that the string passes through, holds together, and is the basis for the mala to exist! Why 108 beads! 108 is the product when 12 is multiplied 9 times; 12 is the number of Adityas (the Sun), Luminaries that reveal the objective world... , 9 is the screen on which the pictures appear, the basis, the rope which deludes you as the snake in the dusk, Brahman, the Nameless, Formless, Eternal Absolute. Nine is the Brahman number, for it is always 9, however many times you multiply it! It is immutable, for 9 into any number adds up to 9 only. So when you turn the beads, impress upon yourself the fact that there is both truth and travesty in the world, that the travesty attracts, distracts and delights in deceiving you, diverts you into devious paths; the truth makes you free!
"Now about the beads : Before everything you must know the symbolism of the fingers. The thumb represents the Brahman, the eternal absolute, the immanent principle. The forefinger, the index one, which indicates this and that, you and other, is the Jivi, the individual, feeling separate and distinct. When these two are joined at the tip, held in that position, it is the Jnana mudra, the Gesture of Wisdom, for wisdom consists in the Jivi becoming One with the Brahman, the mergence of that which felt that it had emerged! The other three fingers represent Prakrithi, the Objective World, which is negated when the mergence is effected. They are the three Gunas, the Sathwic, the Rajasic and the Thamasic, that by their interplay create the phenomenal world.
"Hold the rosary over the middle finger, keeping the three Guna fingers together. This means that you are now transcending the world of attributes and qualities, of name and form, of multiplicity that is the consequence of all this transformation, and proceeding towards the knowledge of the Unity. The Jivi finger now slowly passes each bead towards the thumb (Brahman), touching the tip of the Brahman finger when the bead passes over, so that the mergence is emphasized with every bead and every breath, for while the fingers learn and teach the lesson, the tongue too repeats the mantra or the Name, with the Pranava. The japamala is very useful for beginners in Sadhana, but as you progress, japa must become the very breath of your life and so the rotation of beads becomes a superflous and cumbersome exercise in which you have no more interest... You should not be bound to it forever; it is only a contrivance to help concentration and systematic contemplation...
"Be regular in the beginning, in the hours you devote to Japa. On Sundays, when you have no worry of office or shopping, do more Japa until 9 in the morning. Do it with love and enthusiasm. It should become natural with you to do so."
(SSS Vol VII, Chap 9, Pg 36 - 38)
"There is no need for counting beads or sitting in meditation while your mind is preoccupied with worldly matters. The japa you have to perform is constantly to remind yourself of the Divine within you. This is the supreme message of the Vedas."
(SS Aug 1996, pg 213)
(Extract from 'A Compedium of the Teachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba'
by Charlene Leslie-Chaden)
