I think it is so important to understand and respect the tradition that mala beads have come from and to use them for their intended use. I do wear my malas in my day to day life but I know their significance and I use them to hold me to that practice and remind my of my intentions and my spirituality.
There is much cultural appropriation in our globalised world. This might be intended as cultural appreciation but when we lose sight of the original practice or meaning, this can be insulting and degrading to the people of the culture that something has been taken from. I see it a lot with mala beads and anything from the yogic tradition. It is our own responsibility to examine our use of these things to make sure we are always informed and respectful and to use them in the way they are intended. As a maker of mala beads, and someone who is not from the original cultures that used malas, I see that I have a duty to continue to emphasise their meanings, their power and their spiritual value. I want everyone to see the beauty and the significance of mala beads so I wanted to share my own understanding of them and how each aspect of the mala holds meaning.
So, mala beads have been in existence since the 8th century BC, a good few thousand years! They are used to help keep count of mantra. I’ll do a deep dive into mantras in another post.
They consist of 108 beads, although you can get half-malas containing 54 beads, and bracelets containing smaller factors of 108, 27 or 18 for example.
The reason they have 108 beads, or the reason we say a mantra 108 times, or in sets of 108, is because the number is significant for many reasons in the traditions that use malas - namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism.
Some of the reasons are:
There are 108 energy lines or ‘nadis’ in the body.
There are 108 energy points or ‘marmas’ in regards to acupressure.
In Tibetan Buddhism there are 108 ‘delusions’
In the Sanskrit alphabet there are 108 forms (54 shakti or feminine forms and 54 shiva or masculine forms)
There are 108 volumes of the Upanishads, an ancient Indian spiritual text.
The distance from the Earth and the Sun is about 108 times the diameter of the Sun.
Similarly the distance from the Earth to the Moon is about 108 times the diameter of the Moon.
If we were to stand in the form of a five pointed star, each angle between the star points would equal 108 degrees.
To me, a mala therefore speaks to the sacred geometry of life, to the organising intelligence of Nature, of Source. It connects us to the governing forces of this and all realities. By reciting our mantras 108 times, we create a wave of energetic vibration that matches the creative forces of the universe.
The guru bead is where the power is held and stored. It represents our teacher and it is traditionally never crossed over when pulling the beads through the fingers. Instead, it is advised that we turn the mala around and continue our mantra practice going the other way, so that the guru bead continues to hold the power or the resonance of the mala. The guru bead is sometimes known as the 'meru' bead. This translates as mountain, i.e. that which cannot be crossed.
Because mantra practice is vibration based (more on that another time) I like to use crystals in most of my mala designs as they too are highly vibrational objects (although all matter does vibrate). Using crystal beads means of course we get to ruminate in their energy and feel their recalibrating effects on our energetic fields.
There are various styles of mala. Traditionally malas have a tassel but more modern versions finish in a pendent or token of some kind. The different styles require different processes to make them and there is a reason I favour the tassel version. Despite it being the traditional style, the tassel represents the cords than connect all life, like rays of light, or like the thousand petal lotus flower of the crown chakra, it speaks of interconnectedness and unity.
But there is another reason that I favour this style. I always start knotting a mala from the guru bead, knotting each bead in turn and then ending back at the guru bead, just in the same manner that the mala is used in meditation. This creates a directional flow, the cord running through each bead and I see it like a beam of light. It is a connecting line, again speaking of interconnectedness and representing the flow of energy and the seemingly directional appearance of time.
When making a mala with a pendant, it is often knotted from the pendent upwards and culminating at the neck. This doesn’t hold the same meaning to me and without it being 'wrong' in any way, it doesn't feel the same to me when there isn't this sense of circular flow. I would say this though; to me this style does invoke a helix type structure and references the entwining serpent-like quality of the shakti (feminine) and shiva (masculine) but as you can see it holds a different meaning and just isn't my personal preference.
The knots between the beads represent spaces, breaths, pauses between the mantras. Moments of stillness, of witness and of calm. This is why I prefer the knotted version rather than the free strung version. It is said when making a mala, each knot that is made is an unknotting within the self. We release and let go as we tie the knot in the cord and this is why it is important to make a mala in a mindful way. Every one is made in a meditative practice and this feels right for a meditation tool.
Malas often have a 'marker' bead, to tell you where you are in the number of recitations of mantra. So these typically fall on the 27th, 54th and 81st positions, indicating a quarter, a half and three quarters way through. I like to base my crystal designs around these positions, because they correspond with the chakras very well. My 'message from the mala' readings are very much informed by the position of the crystals. i.e. the crystals at the base around the guru bead are focusing on the root and sacral chakras and lower chakras too, like the Earth star in the feet. The crystals at the 27th and 81st position work more in the solar plexus, heart and higher heart chakras. And the crystals at the 54th position work with the throat and the third eye and upper chakras. Although the crystals all work synergistically and their energies will carry to wherever they are required in the energy body, it is often a way in for me to discern what the energetic signature of the mala is.
As I have said elsewhere, I work with a pendulum to guide me to the crystals that wish to work together for a specific intention or person. But I also use the pendulum to inform the quantity of a crystal and the position it wants to sit in, and even who it wants to sit next to. Yes I often ask of my pendulum, "does this crystal want to sit next to that crystal?" This is so the energy in any given position is balanced and blended in the way that works best.
Hopefully, this explains the deeper meaning to my malas and gives a little bit of information about their use as spiritual tools. If you have never tried a mantra and don't know how to best USE your mala, I will be sharing more about this in posts to come. I hope this has been enlightening!
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