Gemstone Mala set (Mala 108 beads & bracelet) of Rose Quartz and Rhodochrosite.

A japa mala or mala, literally garland, is a prayer bead in Hinduism, with a similar function to the rosary in Christianity. The japa mala usually consists of 108 beads, although other numbers divisible by 9 are also used. Malas are used to keep track of reciting, chanting or mentally repeating a mantra or name of a deity. A Buddhist prayer bead (mālā, japamālā) is a prayer bead made of beads used in Buddhism. It has a similar function to the rosary in Christianity. The prayer beads are used not to lose count when reciting or chanting. A Buddhist prayer bead consists of 108 beads for which a mantra must be prayed and 4 beads or 1 bead that represent the four heavenly kings. A Buddhist prayer bead is called a Juzu in Japanese, fozhu or shuzhu in Standard Mandarin, and a ba-di in Burmese. A prayer bead is a string of beads used for reciting prayers. Well-known examples of such religious objects are the rosary in the Roman Catholic Church, the tchotki/komboschkini in the Orthodox Church, the tasbih in Islam and the japa mala in Hinduism. A mala is a prayer bead, mainly used by people with a Buddhist background. Nowadays you see more and more people in the West buying a mala and using it as a prayer bead or wearing it as a necklace or bracelet. The Tibetans use this cord to pronounce the most famous mantra (short prayer, a holy verse or a magical formula). Who does not know the mantra: AUM MANI PADME HUM or as the Tibetans say: OM MANI PÈME HUNG or OM MANI BÈH MEH HUNG. (“Greetings to the pearl in the lotus of my heart.”) Many other short mantras are prayed for various purposes. If we consider that there is a rosary in the Catholic faith, it actually has the same function: It is a prayer bead in which a number of prayers (Our Father, Hail Mary) are said aloud or in, to and by yourself while muttering in church or sometimes before bedtime. A Mala usually consists of 108 prayer beads, but also of 54 (half) or 27 (one quarter) beads. The 109th bead (or the 55th or 28th) is called the Sumeru or Mera, which symbolizes the crown chakra. This Sumeru may not be used as a prayer bead but is a turning point, starting point or ending point of the mala. The first bead is always the bead to the left of the Sumeru and the last bead is the bead to the right of the Sumeru. The mala is handled clockwise in the right hand so that the little finger and index finger do not touch the bead or string in any way. So only the middle finger and ring finger are moved over the bead with the thumb at the bottom. When you come to Sumeru and you want to recite a series of 108, 54 or 27 mantras for a second time, the mala is turned half a turn so that you continue clockwise and do not return counterclockwise. The last bead is the first bead. If you plan to pray the mala several times (JAPA = litany, repetition of prayers, spells and names of the gods), you can place the necessary number on the table in front of you with the help of, for example, loose minerals or something similar and each time one to put aside, so that one does not allow one's thoughts to be distracted by keeping count. There are other tools to focus your thoughts entirely on the mala and not on keeping count. You see many malas (108 beads) or sumirdi (27 or 54 beads) with different types of beads. The malas made from seeds of the Rudraksha tree and the Lotus flower are well known. You will also see malas made of rose, sandalwood or tulsi wood, but also made of conch shells. The more expensive malas are made of crystal or silver beads or pearls.