Sri Swami Muktananda on Rudraksha beads

[Guest guest]

Sri Swami Muktananda on Rudraksha beads

 

Message Number 2

 

Posted by David Zaremba at RSBC on 23 May 2002

 

In , zarembadavid wrote:

 

 

"Satsang with Baba"Vol 2,1972.

 

Visitor: What is the importance of wearing rudraksha beads,and who is

qualified to wear these beads according to the scriptures? Are these

beads a sign of beauty?

 

Baba: Rudraksha are not a small sign of beauty,they are a most important

symbol of beauty. Just as in worldly life the beauty aids which you use

are cosmetics,different ornaments, cremes and powders,in spiritual life,

it is your rudraksha mala which is the best beauty aid. In ancient

times,the ways in which one beautyfied himself were also useful for the

body. But today, unfortunately, the ways of adormant are merely for

fashon and have no use for the body or for other aspects of ones being.

 

There was a time when people wore silk and pure cotton. These materials

have great qualities;they are very good for the body. But today people

wear artificcial silk or things made of synthetics,and these are not at

all good for the body;they create all kinds of trubles,and they affect

the skin very badly. Whatever was recommended by rishis was good for the

body, good for people in different ways,and it also enhanced beauty.

Take another custom:for instance, here our women used to wear gold

ornaments. Gold not only adorns the body,but it also has great medicinal

value, because gold destroys all kinds of diseases. When our women used

to wear a lot of gold, they would not fall prey to diseases so easily.

But today, now that they have stopped wearing gold, they have to resort

to ointments and bandages much too frequently.

 

Rudraksha beads not only adorn the person, but they also are very useful

in spiritual life. Moreover, rudraksha beads destroy germs, and they

keep the blood pressure normal. Rudraksha beads free us from so many

other troubles. It is essential for spiritual seekers to wear rudraksha

beads because they are extremely useful. They insulate a seeker from all

misfortunes and calamities. Besides, it is also the question of

following the example of great people,and that is what the Lord

emphasises in the Bhagavad Gita. There was a time when Mahatma Gandhi

wore a plain and simple cap, and all his followers started wearing that

kind of cap.

 

It was Lord Shankara, right in the beginning of time,who was the first

to wear rudraksha beads, and after Shankara, all the spiritual seekers

started wearing them. There are different ways of keeping the body pure,

say touching the body in different places with the repetition of

mantras, wich is called nyasa,and washing it a number of times. But

these ways cannot keep the body pure even for twenty-four hours. But if

you are wearing rudraksha beads, they keep the body pure at all times,

and you do not have to resort to other practices.

 

All those who have faith and devotion are qualified to wear rudraksha

beads. There is no other special qualification required for wearing

them.Women are as qualified to wear them as men. Rudraksha beads have

been honoured from time immemorial. They are mentioned in the Upanishads

and also in the Vedas. If I were to put it concisely, I would say that

rudraksha beads are Rudra Himself, Lord Shiva Himself.

 

Posted by David Zaremba from Sweden, 23 May 2002.