The beads maintain awareness and keep the psychic system in check...
We use a mala as a method for checking and detecting those moments when one becomes unaware and forgets what one is doing. It is also used to give an indication of how far one has progressed in the practice. At a certain stage in japa, when the mind becomes quite calm and serene, it is possible for the fingers to become inert. They become momentarily paralysed and you become completely unaware. Sometimes the mala may fall to the ground. When these things arise you should know that you have strayed from the aim of japa, that is, you have failed to maintain awareness. If you don't have a mala in your hand when you practice japa, how will you know what you are experiencing? You might be under the impression that you have experienced a state of spiritual ecstasy, when all you have really experienced is total unconsciousness. That happened to me once. One evening at six o'clock I sat with my mala for japa. I sat in padmasana and used a wall to support my back. I finished my practice at about four o'clock in the morning, and except for terrible pains in my knees and thighs, I felt so happy. I was so overcome with happiness that I went directly to Swami Sivananda. I said: "Swamiji, I have just spent ten hours in samadhi." He just laughed at me and said : "That is very nice."
At another time, Swamiji asked me if I was still practising japa. By this time I had given up using a mala and I said: "Yes, Swamiji, I'm still practising" "Do you use a mala?" he then asked. "I don't have a mala," I replied. "Where is the mala I gave you?" he asked. I told him that I didn't believe in malas so I had given it away. Swamiji then said : "You may believe in a mala or not, that is only intellectual, this is not a question of belief, but a question of need." Then he reminded me of the night I had spent ten hours in 'samadhi'. "Do you remember that night?" he asked. "Very clearly, Swamiji" I replied. "Well then, can you be sure that you were aware throughout or did your mind go blank?" I said : "I don't know." Then Swamiji said : "There must be some method where we can know and directly check." I then asked : "What could that method be, because in deep states of consciousness it is not possible to remember anything." Swamiji finally replied : "It is the continuity of a mala that will tell you of your state of consciousness. If you are conscious of the mala and the fingers moving each bead, then you are aware. That night you were not in samadhi but in a state of unconsciousness. You were asleep."
When japa is done correctly and concentration takes place, the mala will continue to move almost automatically. At the same time, the number of rotations of the mala should be counted on the fingers of the left hand. I am not going into any more detail on the need for a mala. I only want to say one thing more: a mala may not be something that your intellect can accept, but for successful practice of japa, it is a necessary tool for the mind.
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