496--Q&A WITH SWAMIJI-- Mother Earth Sankalpa and the use of malas

[Guest guest]

can someone tell me what is meant by palm up/down/sideways? what is

this movement? is there a place to see an image?

Nanda wrote:

Question from Nanda:

The writeup by Devanath is very specific as to the use of the type of

Mala and mudra (palm up /down/sideways). I personally prefer to do japa

with my fingers instead of using a mala.Should I switch to a mala for

this sankalpa or can I continue doing japa with my fingers? And if

fingers are OK, would you advise keeping the palm as described in the

writeup or is that only relevant to the use of a mala? Thank you for

your time.

Swamiji's response:

If you are at the fire, the mala is more efficient. If you are

performing japa, then the finger will be sufficient. Try and hold the

mudra with the fingers as indicated.

Question from Sadhvi/Nanda:

I am assuming that we need a separate mala for each planet (as is

traditional)...not using the same one for all of the planets.... Can

you please clarify. Thank you for your time.

Swamiji's response:

We place the emphasis on devotion, not on things. It has been my

personal experience that when I learned the mantra, all the things I

needed magically appeared. Therefore, spend your time doing the

practices instead of searching for the "proper" things with which to do

the practices. I saw a lot of sadhus wandering in the bazaars, who

never had sufficient time to do their practices because they were so

busy looking for things.