Sri Swami Muktananda on Rudraksha

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Sri Swami Muktananda on Rudraksha beads

 

" 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 beautyfies himself were

also useful for the body. But today, unfortunately, the ways of

adormant are merely for fashion 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 artificial 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

 

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