Bead Bags

[leyh]

I love bead bags.My first and only (as of this writing)was actually a gift from a devotee that I met by chance.The wonderful thing was that I was on my way to buy a japa mala that day when I bumped into him.I told him thatI could not be a full-time vegetarian due to my parents' objections.The devotee told me that those who are not following the regulative principles properly should chant on neem beads.He gave me a japa mala with neem beads,a bag with a picture of Lord Jagannatha sewed on it,and a kanti mala made of neem.I was,and still is very grateful to him.

 

I also love the way those pictures of Srila Prabhupada where a bead bag would be hanging around his neck like a transcendental bullet pouch with ammonition for the war against maya...a fitting ornament for the great General of devotees

 

Is there a "colour-code" for bead bags? Are saffron bead bags reserved only for sannyasis and brahmacharis? Also,I've read in Gauri Pandita Prabhu's website that Srila Prabhupada once admonished a devotee not to show his beads.The story can be read by clicking:

 

http://members.aol.com/gauridas/vrindavan.htm#

 

Gauri Pandita Prabhu commented that:"My understanding of it was that when somebody looks at your beads there was some kind of subtle karmic exchange." Did Srila Prabhupada or any Vaishnava acarya ever said anything about this sort of "karmic exchange"?

 

I will be grateful if anyone can answer my questions.

 

Maybe the devotees here would like to have a bead bag "show and tell"?

 

[This message has been edited by leyh (edited 11-24-2001).]

[Gauracandra]

To some degree I think bead bags reflect the personality of the chanter. Personally I don't like very colorful ones. Some people will go with saffron, or plain white, but to me that is too bland looking as well. Others like colorful pictures on their bead bags. So I think it is a very nice accessory that helps reflect people's individual personality.

 

I have also heard in some parts of India some sadhus use a very unique bead bag. Basically it is like one long tube sock, but doesn't have the opening for the index finger.

 

I'm sure we'll be seeing them on the fashion runways of Paris any day now

[JRdd]

Nice thread, leyh! Last year I bought a white beadbag that had red printed Radha Krsna pictures on it, then someone sent me a beadbag their grandmother made! It was a beautiful godlenrod colour. I loved that the grandmother made this, so I gave the other one away and this is the one I use.

 

I have a das beadbag story, and that is that a few months after Srila Prabhupada left his physical body, I was shopping for the Deities in Oxford Circus in London, a weekly thing I did at that time. Suddenly I noticed my beadbag was gone. In a panic I ran back to the store where i thought it was, asked the clerk did I leave it there, no. Ran back to the costume jewellery store. No. Ran all over the place, working up a sweat, could not find it anywhere! I msut have run miles between all the back and forthing, retracing steps, doublechecking, looking on the sidewalks, etc.

 

I took the train back to the Manor very disheartened, berating myself too for having been so careless with my beads. Then I found from others that they too had recently lost their beads which Prabhupada had chanted on. I understood from this that Srila Prabhupada was always there, beads or not, and that any beads I chanted on would connect me with him. So this helped me feel more encouraged again.

 

In England I remember there was a craze among the women to have pretty flowered beadbags. They were usually small English type prints. Counting beads too were kind of fancy, but the best were made from maha jewellery, like pearl beads, from the Deities.

 

Personally, I love the ones with Jagannath embroideries. I would love to have one of those.

[gHari]

I've discovered that wearing two bead bags, one within the other is good for cold weather. You can even use the outer one as a pocket to keep Deity flowers in.

 

I remember when at the temple I had left my beads and camera (since it had Deity pictures in it, hmmmm) outside the washroom for a minute while I washed my mouth after a Sunday feast. When I came out someone had stolen the camera. I was so relieved that the beads were still there that it almost offset most of the anxiety about the loss.

 

Really, they are our only possessions.

[leyh]

I'm sure many of you here are seasoned devotees and would have no qualms about chanting on the bead-bag in public.I'm still quite hesitant about doing it.In Singapore,people going around chanting with bead bags are very rare,and so far I've only bumped into two (one of whom was the one who presented me with my bead bag).

 

I've chanted in on public transports or in other public places with just a japa mala before...but the bead bag is a little different,I think.People who don't know what's inside might think that I'm wearing a sling and walking around muttering curses to the guy who injured me

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Originally posted by <u>Gauracandra</U>:

To some degree I think bead bags reflect the personality of the chanter.

You must be right

I have no bead bag.

What to speak of personality .....

 

 

[Gauracandra]

The bead bag is kind of offsetting to people who don't know what it is. I remember walking in a park chanting a few years ago. Then some guy in a truck looked out the window and said "What do you have in that bag of yours?" He had a real concerned look on his face. So I pulled out my beads and said "Oh these are just prayer beads. The bag helps to hold them. I'm just praying". The person was very relieved.

 

I have also been told by one devotee that he was once pulled over by some cops who thought he might have had a gun in the bead bag. This is what I suspect the person in the park thought I had. It is kind of funny when you just tell them "They're like rosaries. Just praying in the park". So maybe in public it might be better to just string the japa mala around your neck and chant. This way there is less confusion

 

[This message has been edited by Gauracandra (edited 11-25-2001).]

[gauraprema]

Haribol!!

 

Jai Sri Sri Guru GAuranga!

 

This is an awesome thread! I've always had a thing for beadbags, and I do agree with Gauracandra on how they definitely reflect the personality of the devotees who use them. I used to use those really beautiful beadbags with Lord Jagganath embroidered on in His different pastimes.. my special favourite was the one with Him manifested as Lord Nrsimhadeva.

 

Now I use a white beadbag for simplicity's sake, it's just easier to take care of too, because with the embroidered beadbags I had some trouble trying to keep them from getting snagged on stuff!!

 

To leyh: Hey I chant in Singapore all the time with my beadbag!! =)

 

I like chanting with my beadbag, it helps to keep my beads clean, and it sometimes gives me a chance to say a little something about chanting when people ask me what I have on my hand. So I chant with it all the time, especially on my way to Uni, and while I'm there. I always try to remember that this beadbag and the beads that it contains is my life and soul. It is my umbilical cord with my Gurudeva, connecting him and me together in a spiritual bond.

 

Thanks for sharing everyone, I hope to hear more about this topic soon! Haribol!

 

Your humble servant

Sudevi dasi

[leyh]

 

To leyh: Hey I chant in Singapore all the time with my beadbag!! =)

 

I have chanted on my bead bag in public a few times,but I'm still trying to get used to the stares...

 

If I see anyone chanting with his/her bead bag anywhere,I will offer them my humble obeisances!

[leyh]

 

To leyh: Hey I chant in Singapore all the time with my beadbag!! =)

Sudevi dasi:

I have chanted on my bead bag in public a few times,but I'm still trying to get used to the stares...

 

If I see anyone chanting with his/her bead bag anywhere,I will offer them my humble obeisances!

[livingentity]

Sudevi dasi? Singapore? May I ask if this is the same Sudevi dasi from Singapore who went to university in Australia?

Originally posted by leyh:

 

 

[Gauracandra]

How about ideas for improvements to bead bags? Here is mine. The only part that wears out on my bead bags is right where the chanting fingers (thumb and middle finger) rub against the cloth. After a while a hole starts to tear in the bead bag right at that spot. So we can design bead bags with extra tough cloth at that point, or perhaps doubled up with some sort of additional padding. Thats my improvement. I'm putting a patent on it and will make a mint now no one steal my idea

[gHari]

Ahah! But you will only make a mint if you can spread this wonderful japa pastime throughout every town and village. I hope you make a bundle.

 

BTW, that's how I discovered double-bagging it. I was too attached to the picture on the worn-out bag.

[gauraprema]

Haribol living entity..

 

Tis me.. Sudevi dasi from Singapore.....

stil in OZ finishing up my studies and trying to preach Krishna Consciousness here at Uni. It's fun! The beadbag slung around my neck or on my hand when I am chanting really helps to generate interest.

 

Who are you, living entity? Do i know you?

 

Take care, Hare Krishna!

 

Your servant

Sudevi dasi

[livingentity]

Haribol,

 

It is a small small material world. We know each other through a mutual friend - LPdd and a project we were trying to help her with.

 

I have been wondering how you are doing. I still have the gorgeous deity pictures you sent to me.

Originally posted by gauraprema:

Haribol living entity..

 

Tis me.. Sudevi dasi from Singapore.....

stil in OZ finishing up my studies and trying to preach Krishna Consciousness here at Uni. It's fun! The beadbag slung around my neck or on my hand when I am chanting really helps to generate interest.

 

Who are you, living entity? Do i know you?

 

Take care, Hare Krishna!

 

Your servant

Sudevi dasi

 

[JRdd]

gHari's ingenius idea about doublebagging (now I'll never be able to grocery shop without remembering this one) reminds me that long ago I made very warm beadbags, I think they were either quilted (padded) or out of some really thick warm stuff, can't remember. But what I do remember is that I sewed a warm stuffed finger-glove out of the left side of them to keep the index finger warm. This is the absolute truth. And as far as GC's patenting idea, I already did that one; I also made beadbags with prepatches, inside, right at the area that men seem to wear out. My hands seem to stay still when I chant. A lot of people seem to wiggle them, sometimes furiously, sometimes not.

 

I am not at all inclined to wear a beadbag in public now. That started after all the scandals broke out with New Vrindaban. Clickers started gaining in popularity aroudn then. I think if I had company, other devotees with me, I would maybe feel stronger about chanting aloud and with beadbag in public. It would be better to be brave and be willing to show the world that there are normal and nice devotees too (assuming those qualities apply somewhat to me).

 

 

 

[Tarun]

I ride NYC Buses & Subways to & from HarinAm sankIrtan 2x/week with dhoti, kurta, chadar, tilak, beadbag...

I stretch out my arm now & then to slightly show off beadbag.

As Bushman stated: "You're either with us or against us."

Why hide your beadbag?

The most glorious pouch you've/you'll ever worn/wear!

Gaudiya Math devotees including sannyAsis use white beadbags.

I began chanting japa with clicker/counter while driving in 1981.

I don't do it anymore.

If I drove a Greyhound Bus, I'd get back into it at once.

I must admit one thing: I never 'lost count' back then.

One devotee stuck a tulasi bead on his clicker's clicker (no, you're not seeing double) for further purification, id est, to avoid "HEAVY METAL" contact.

Every jIva is literally dying to know y u wear that pouch...

And why your lips are moving. And what's that humming noise?

 

[Gauracandra]

And as far as GC's patenting idea, I already did that one;

NO WAY, NO HOW I've got the patent... uh... right here... yeah, patent number 58434678.... But Gaurahari is right, I'll actually have to get people to chant if I ever expect people to buy my new and improved bead bag... what about this idea - do you remember the Swatch watch fad... I'll create a different designer bead bag every month... this way all the trendy people will have to buy a new one every month.... hey, come to think of it "FIRST!!!!", I have now patented that idea as well

 

Gauracandra

 

[This message has been edited by Gauracandra (edited 11-27-2001).]

[gHari]

Okay, here is the scam: as your marketing manager, Gauracandra, I propose the following marketing strategy. It is similar in nature to popular pyramid schemes and utilizes minimal collateral investment. It is guararteed to work; providing the all-important volumes we will need to make the monthly astrological bags the must-to-own too-cool designer style of the third milennium.

 

Each devotee here will choose a local park in his neighborhood and sit down quietly and chant japa daily, perhaps concluding with a little bhajana with an instrument. People will hear and eventually become curious.

 

They will be told that this is the method to enter into the Kingdom of God. The sincere Christians are already seeking the Kingdom. The really sincere ones will hear the truth and feel the power of the Mahamantra.

 

Once they are addicted, they will of course want a new bag for each month, and then can select their own neighborhood park in which to chant. Gradually passers-by will become intrigued and they too will learn the secret. And so on, and so on, and so on.

 

Current market estimates, based on North American demographics, would give us about one percent of the population, mostly younger unattached people who have not yet abandoned the search for the Kingdom (NOTE: excludes some 49% who are just going through the motions appearing to search but who are actually just fitting in to their peer group). However, as an initial target market this still represents several million chanters, at twelve bags a year which will generate a revenue of at least 100 million bucks a year.

 

You can have all the proceeds. My cut is that the new designer chanters will worship me and those I may designate in the future as God. If JR objects, I will cut her in on the glory - perhaps even giving her sole rights for bead bag design. It will be a boon to her feminist thing, having a female worshiped as God.

 

AGREED TO November 27, 2001

 

 

-------------------

Gauracandra

 

 

-------------------

Guru gHari

 

<font color=red>[stay tuned for JR's jihad against Mayavadi Guru gHari]</font>

[JRdd]

Well I can't find my feminist thing, but I still wouldn't mind playing a part in all this. What about MLM? Or were you just trying to trick us into spreading the Holy Names around?

[atma]

 

When I started chanting I was in college and everybody used to asked me what was wrong with my hand, like I had an accident and my hand was wrapped around. It was good preaching and wasn't only me, they were 3 more devotees in the same college and the students got used to us going around chanting in the beads.

 

You can really do a fashion thing with the bead bags. I know a few ladies that have as many they can because they match them with the different outfits that they wear. Once Atma Tattva showed up in my friend's house and when he saw the quantity of bead bags hanging behind the door he asked who was selling them because there were so many of them. Gauracandra I can give you the address of this lady then you can start selling them.

I recommend matching cholis and bb's. The ones with the pocket outside are really practical for the maha flower that you get once in a while and for the few rupees to pay the riksha walla.

 

Leyh, don't feel shy with your bb's in public. While in Singapore I always chanted in public and never had a problem. Wore sari everywhere I went even thought at that time they didn't want foreigners in devotional cloth. How is the government with the devotees now?

[Gauracandra]

Gaurahari,

 

Seems like you have thought this through quite a bit Ok, I'm in An MLM approach could work. Have one person chant, and he then just has to get 2 other people to chant. Every bead bag he sells to these two people he makes money. Those 2 people then find 2 other people to chant, and sells them 2 bead bags each..... on and on... Hey, wait a second, JRdd is right, you are trying to trick us into spreading the Holy Name

 

As for Atma's posting, I'd be curious of Leyh's answer re: devotional clothing in Singapore. I have been told they are quite strict in such regards. Have they lightened up any lately?

 

Gauracandra

[Tarun]

JRdd: if u wanna do MLM with HarinAm japa, what shape will it take?

Pyramid won't do. Elliptic Strings? Near-Sphere Beads?

As for sankIrtan MLM, that will be in mRdanga format.

Large head down? Spreading conically at first...

Only to later taper off, due to milk-overboiling:

intense eagerness => laulyam, siddhi-lAlasA.

[leyh]

Atma and Gauracandra:

There used to be a ban on long hair here way back in the 70s,so devotees with sikas might have been frowned upon.I don't know for sure because I've only experienced about one and a half years of the 70s as an infant.

The ban has been lifted for some time already.

 

I've met and personally associated with devotees who wear the full devotional attire with bead bags,tilak,and dhoti.About a month ago,I met a Peruvian devotee openly selling copies of The Science of Self Realization and incense on a street in Serangoon (considered the "Little India" of Singapore),where there is also a Govinda's Restaurant.

 

Atma,thanks for the encouragement about chanting in public.Maybe I'll just think of it as offering a chance for strangers to have darshan of the Lord Jagannath which has been sewed onto my bead bag.

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by leyh (edited 11-30-2001).]

[paul108]

Originally posted by Gauracandra:

I have also been told by one devotee that he was once pulled over by some cops who thought he might have had a gun in the bead bag. This is what I suspect the person in the park thought I had.

I've always thought that this is a good reason why we keep our "trigger finger" out of the bag, in plain view. Maybe we could chant japa with our hands up?