Jay Swaminarayan,

Jay Swāminārāyan everyone! My name is Mālā. Many of you meet me everyday when you do pujā or pray at night! Some of you may be wondering, what is a mālā? A mālā is a strand of 108 wooden beads which haribhakto and kids like you turn while chanting the Swaminārāyan mantra.

Do you know why I have 108 beads? I have 108 beads because you all breathe 10,800 times during the 12 hours that you are awake, and an ideal devotee should say God’s name with every breath. According to the shāstras, you earn the fruits of saying God’s name 100 times every time you chant his name. Turning 1 mālā with 108 beads can amount to taking the name of God with every breath!

So how do you use a mālā ? A mālā’s beads are turned between the middle finger and the thumb of your right hand. As you turn each bead, chant the Swāminārāyan mantra with concentration. You should not use your index finger, because the index finger is often used to criticize, and Bhagwan does not like abhāv-avgun.

At the top of a mālā is a large bead called a ‘mer’. When you reach the ‘mer’, touch the bead and then “turn” the mala to start turning the beads again in the opposite direction. Be sure not to go past the 'mer' bead, because the mer signifies the respect you have for Bhagwan.

Many haribhakto and kids like you take niyams to do mala everyday, and offer their bhakti to please Bhagwan. You should all do mālā early in the morning during your pujā, before you do anything else. You may also do it again at night right before going to sleep. Keep doing mālā while remembering Bhagwan Swaminarayan and our guru Mahant Swami Maharaj.

Until next time!

Jay Swaminarayan from the ‘kids.baps.org’ team