Guest guest Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Dear Guruji's, I have recently acquired a Japa Mala (Tulsi Mala) and plan to start japa on a regular basis. All the beads (54) are gray colored except one which is bright red/orange and is included like a pendant. I was reading one of the posts in Mid Dec about a similar topic. But I have some even more basic questions. Apologies for raising this topic again. Q) What is " Crossing the Meru " . Reading more about this, got me concerned - Just would like to get full practical understanding. Please explain this in detail. Q) Does the Japa mala go clockwise or counter clockwise.? Q) Usually we are supposed to do 108 (or multiples) japa - So in my case after 54 should I turn back (reverse) the direction or reverse the mala. Q) Is it okay to wear the japa mala on a regular basis. I would rather wear it than keep it down or away or get mishandled. This japa mala spent some time at Mantralaya Moola Brindavanam and is given to me by the Pontiff. Any help/directions on these questions is highly appreciated. Thanks Shrikanth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 7, 2009 Report Share Posted January 7, 2009 Namaste, (1) The pendant is the meru. You start from a bead next to it and keep going to the next bead. When you finish all the beads and come to the last one (on the other side of the pendant), you start the next cycle right there and go in reverse direction. Suppose beads are B1, B2, B3, ..., B53, B54. You go as B1, B2, B3, ..., B53, B54 and then go B54, B53, B52, ..., B3, B2, B1. Instead, if one goes as B1, B2, B3, ..., B52, B53, B54, and then again B1, B2, B3, ... etc, that is called crossing the meru. When going from B54 to B1, one crosses over the meru. It is better to avoid that and do as mentioned above. (2) Either is fine. (3) Yes. (4) There are two views. Some people keep the maalaa in pooja room and treat it auspiciously. Some people keep the maalaa on their body to protect them and be available at all times for do japam. If you keep it on the body always, the question is what do you do at the time of activities like emptying the bowels. Some people consider those activities as impure and remove the maalaa at those times.Some people keep it all the time no matter what they are doing. If there is any feeling of impurity in one's mind when doing certain things, it is a good idea to remove the maalaa. If one is fully comfortable and has no such feelings of impurity or guilt, then one can keep it on at all times. Good luck with the maalaa. Best regards, Narasimha Do a Short Homam Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/homam Do Pitri Tarpanas Yourself: http://www.VedicAstrologer.org/tarpana Spirituality: Free Jyotish lessons (MP3): http://vedicastro.home.comcast.net Free Jyotish software (Windows): http://www.VedicAstrologer.org Sri Jagannath Centre (SJC) website: http://www.SriJagannath.org - " Shrikanth Gopalan " <vgshrikanth Wednesday, January 07, 2009 11:31 AM Japa Mala handling > Dear Guruji's, > > I have recently acquired a Japa Mala (Tulsi Mala) and plan to start > japa on a regular basis. All the beads (54) are gray colored except > one which is bright red/orange and is included like a pendant. > > I was reading one of the posts in Mid Dec about a similar topic. > But I have some even more basic questions. Apologies for raising this > topic again. > > Q) What is " Crossing the Meru " . Reading more about this, got me > concerned - Just would like to get full practical understanding. > Please explain this in detail. > > Q) Does the Japa mala go clockwise or counter clockwise.? > > Q) Usually we are supposed to do 108 (or multiples) japa - So in my > case after 54 should I turn back (reverse) the direction or reverse > the mala. > > Q) Is it okay to wear the japa mala on a regular basis. I would rather > wear it than keep it down or away or get mishandled. > This japa mala spent some time at Mantralaya Moola Brindavanam and is > given to me by the Pontiff. > > Any help/directions on these questions is highly appreciated. > > Thanks > Shrikanth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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