Prayer beads or Rosaries

Prayer beads or Rosaries are used by members of various religions such as Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Bahá'í Faith to count the repetitions of prayers, chants or devotions. They may also be used for meditation, protection from negative energy, or for relaxation.

Contents

1 Use

1.1 Structure

2 Hinduism

3 Buddhism

4 Christianity

5 Islam

6 Sikhism

Use

Prayer beads may have physical, metaphysical and psychological effects on their users. Since the beads are fingered in an automatic manner, they allow the user to keep track of how many prayers have been said with a minimal amount of conscious effort, which in turn allows greater attention to be paid to the prayers themselves.

There are three widely accepted uses for Prayer beads:




Repetition of the same devotion a set (usually large) number of times. This is the earliest form of prayer beads (the Japa Mala) and the earliest Christian form (the prayer rope). This is also the type in use by the Bahá'í Faith


Repetition of several different prayers in some pattern, possibly interspersed with or accompanied by meditations.


Meditation on a series of spiritual themes, as in e.g. Islam or Catholicism.



Structure

The number of beads also vary depending on the different religions, Islamic prayer beads, called "Tesbih", "Tasbih" or "Misbaha", usually have either 99 or 33 beads. Buddhists and Hindu Brahmanists use the Japa Mala which usually has 108 beads, or 27 which are counted four times. Baha'i prayer beads consist of either 95 beads or 19 beads strung with the addition of five beads below. The Sikh Mala also has 108 beads. The Greek "komboloi" has an odd number of beads -- usually one more than a multiple of four, e.g. (4x4)+1, (5x4)+1. Roman Catholics use the "Rosary" (Latin "rosarium", meaning "rose garden") with 54 with an additional five beads whereas Eastern Orthodox Christians use a knotted "Rosary" with 100 knots, although "prayer ropes" with 50 or 33 knots can also be used. Although Anglicans have not in the past used rosaries, in the 1980s Rev. Lynn Bauman from the Episcopal church in the United States introduced a Rosary for Anglicans with 33 beads[1].



Hinduism

Hindu Japa mala prayer beads, made from Tulasi wood, with the head bead in the foreground.Main article: Hindu prayer beads

The earliest use of prayer beads can be traced to Hinduism, where they are called Japa Mala. Japa is the repeating of the name of a deity or a mantra. Mala (Sanskrit:????;mala) means "garland" or "wreath".[2]

Japa mala are used for repetition of a mantra, for other forms of sadhana (spiritual exercise), and as an aid to meditation. The most common mala have 108 beads.[3] The most common materials used for making the beads are Rudraksha seeds (used by Shaivites) and Tulsi stem (used by Vaishnavites).



Buddhism

Japanese Zen Buddhist prayer beads (Juzu)Prayer beads, or Japa Malas, are also used in many forms of Mahayana Buddhism, often with a lesser number of beads (usually a divisor of 108). In Pure Land Buddhism, for instance, 27 bead malas are common. In China such malas are named "Shu-Zhu" (??); in Japan, "Juzu". These shorter malas are sometimes called 'prostration rosaries', because they are easier to hold when enumerating repeated prostrations. In Tibetan Buddhism malas are also 108 beads: one mala counts as 100 mantras, and the 8 extra are meant to be dedicated to all sentient beings (the practice as a whole is dedicated at its end as well). In Tibetan Buddhism, often larger malas are used of for example 111 beads: when counting, they calculate one mala as 100 mantras, and the 11 additional beads are taken as extra to compensate for errors.

Various type of materials are used to make mala beads such as seeds of the rudraksha tree, beads made from the wood of the tulasi plant, animal bone, wood or seeds from the Bodhi tree or seeds of the lotus plant. Semi-precious stones like carnelian and amethyst is also used. Another commonly used material is sandalwood.[4]



Christianity

Greek Orthodox komboskini of 100 knots.The Desert Fathers of the 3rd to 5th century, used knotted ropes to count prayers, typically the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner"). The invention is attributed to St Anthony or his associate St Pachomius in the 4th century.

Catholics and some Anglicans use the Holy Rosary with 54 + additional 5 beads as prayer beads. The Rosary's name comes from the Latin "rosarium", meaning "rose garden" and is an important and traditional devotion of the Roman Catholic Church, combining prayer and meditation in sequences (called "decades") of an Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, and a Glory Be to the Father, as well as a number of other prayers (such as the Apostle's Creed and the Hail Holy Queen) at the beginning and end. The prayers are accompanied by meditation on the Mysteries, events in the life and minstry of Jesus.

Catholics also use prayer beads to pray chaplets. Their rosary beads are composed of crucifix and center which can be made of sterling silver and/or gold; beads are usually made of glass, amethyst, rose quartz stone, crystal, black onyx, lavender glass or pearl.[5]

An Old Believer Russian Orthodox lestovka, made out of leather.Eastern Orthodox Christian use prayer-ropes with 33, 50, or 100 knots. The loops of knotted wool (or occasionally of beads), called chotki or komboskini to pray the Jesus Prayer. Although among the Orthodox, their use is mainly restricted to monks and bishops, being less common among laity or secular clergy. Among Russian Old Believers, a prayer rope made of leather, called 'lestovka', is more common, although this type is no longer commonly used now by the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "The rosary is conferred upon the Greek Orthodox monk as a part of his investiture with the mandyas or full monastic habit, as the second step in the monastic life, and is called his 'spiritual sword'."

Hand-carved Roman Catholic rosary beads.In the mid-1980s an Anglican Rosary or "Christian prayer beads" was developed in the Episcopal Church (United States) by Rev. Lynn C. Bauman[7]. However, his authority in church matters is unclear, particularly as he has since been 'de-frocked'[8]. The set consists of 33 beads (representing the 33 years of the life of Christ) arranged in four groupings of symbolic significance. These 'Anglican Rosaries' continue to be promoted via internet websites but it is not known whether they been adopted by any Protestant group in any formal sense. Many Anglo-Catholics use the Catholic rosary, and may also be using these Anglican prayer beads.

Pearls of LifeThe contemporary "Pearls of Life"[9], invented by Martin Lönnebo, Bishop Emeritus of the Linköping Diocese of the Swedish Lutheran Church, is a set of 18 beads, some round and some elongated, arranged in an irregular pattern. Each one has its own significance as a stimulus and reminder for meditation, although they can also be used for repetitive prayer.

While there are liturgical churches using prayer beads in prayer, non liturgical Christian churches do not use them.



Islam

A MisbahaIn Islam, bismillah prayer beads are referred to as Misbaha or Tasbih, and contain 99 beads, corresponding to the 99 Names of Allah. Sometimes only 33 beads are used, in which case one would cycle through them three times to equal 99. Use of the misbaha to count prayers and recitations is an evolution of Muhammad's practice of using the fingers of his right hand to keep track.[citation needed] While widely used today, some adherents of Wahhabism shun them as an intolerable innovation, preferring to stick to the exact method believed to have been used by Muhammad.[citation needed] Their use as a religious item has somewhat diminished over the years, except among adherents of the Sufi orders, and many use them nowadays strictly as worry beads and as status symbols.

Though the fact that prayer beads are mainly used just as worry beads may be contested, since many of the Iraqis often use prayer beads to count Allah's name.



Sikhism

Sikhs, pray with 108 beads. Sikhs also pray regularly and meditate by repeating God's name, often with the aid of rosary beads[11]. The founder of the religion, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, is often depicted in paintings with the mala in his hand.

Personal note from Gerdus

I believe that salvation is through faith in God. Prayer beads should only be used to help you focus your faith. I do not use any prayer beads myself. I try to pray daily and believe that spirituality can only be imparted by God from the inside out. God lives on the inside. He said that without Him we can do nothing. He also said that there is no other name by which man can be saved but the name of Jesus.