The Origin of our word "Bead"
I am attempting to avoid length limitations by breaking this into several posts.
=============================
Do prayers always get answered?
In Western (Abrahamic) religions, prayers are always prayers (or
requests) FOR SOMETHING. Such western religions are extremely
QUID-PRO-QUO (i.e. something done in exchange for something of
value expected).
It is interesting to note the english etymological origin of the word
BEAD (as in a mala of beads which one might use for prayer, or a
bead necklace which someone might wear as an adornment).
In the ancient Church of England, a Bede was a member of the Clergy.
The english word "BEDE" OR "BEAD" derives from the same root as
BID or BIDDEN, i.e. I BID you to do this or that favor for me, or I
REQUEST thus-and-such.
The original function of such bead malas in many cultures (not just
english or western), was to COUNT prayers or mantras. We call such
beads a ROSARY. Even modern Greek men may be observed to carry
"worry beads" which they fiddle with when they are nervous or idle or
passing time in coffee shops or taverns. Strings of beads became
trinkets or jewelry adornments for those people who lost the interest
or energy or perserverance to continue in the actual activity of prayer
itself.
Now, we may observe that such QUID-PRO-QUO prayer consists of
requests or bids or petitions to the Divinity either to acquire pleasant
things (food, shelter, spouse, children, etc), or to be spared from or
delivered from unpleasant things (such as illness, death, captivity,
etc).
If we examine one message of the Gita, Lord Krishna explains
(paraphrasing) "it is INEVITABLE that dukkha and sukkha, pleasure
and pain, good and evil come to all embodied souls or jivas; BUT THAT
PERSON WHO HAS YOGIC EQUANIMITY in the face of such pleasures
and pains, has truly advanced in their spiritual development"....
So we see in eastern religions something which is different from the
quid pro quo western mentality.
But if we are to develop equanimity and surrender in the face of
pleasures and sufferings, what then becomes the purpose and
function of prayer?
Lord Krisha explains elsewhere in the Bhagavad-gita
"I am the sacred syllable AUM.... of sacrifices I am JAPA (ceaseless
prayer of mantra)...".
This type of prayer is not prayer FOR anything at all. Such mantra or
"prayer of the heart" as Greek orthodox Christians would call it, is a
form of AVATARIC manifestion. God literally APPEARS AND
MANIFESTS within the sounds or vibrations or vritti of the mantra or
prayer or divine name.
I see two enormous problems regarding religion:
1.) If there is a purpose to sickness and suffering, why do people
constantly seek healing miracles? But if there is NO PURPOSE to
sickness and suffering, then WHY anticipate mercy and favors from
the CREATOR of such a world, which contains pointless sufferings and
disappointments?
2.) If we assume that God is BOTH eternally perfect (complete) AND
ALSO perfectly WISE, then here is a problem: Since God is COMPLETE,
there was no need for creation therefore, God performed a
meaningless, senseless act in creating the universe; yet that
contradicts the assumptiom of God's WISDOM. But, if there WAS A
PURPOSE for creation, then GOD lacked something PRIOR to creation,
WHICH contradicts the assumption of God's completeness.
An Impoverished King and Queen
In the Mahabharat there is a story about a King and Queen who are
driven into exile from their kingdom and are forced to live in a simple
hut in sight of the majestic Himalayan Mountains. The King is a very
religious person and always performs his prayers and offerings, in
good times and in bad. One day, the Queen emerges from their
impoverished hut and sees the King ardently engaged in prayer and
worship. She asks him, "Why do you continue to worship God so
ardently, seeing that we have been deprived of all our riches, and live
in such poverty?" The King points to the majestic Himalayan
Mountains in the distance and says, "See how grand, majestic and
beautiful the Himalayas are! Do those mountains bear some guilt for
our misfortunes? Should I cease to gaze upon them and admire them
and praise them, and spite my eyes and my senses to behold them no
more, simply because of my misfortune?"
Only a very few actual writings and prayers have come down to us
from Lord Chaitanya , the sixteenth century Vaishnav saint. One of
those prayers basically says, "O Lord, I do not ask for money, or
pleasures, or even liberation from the cycle of birth and death, but
only to serve at Your Lotus Feet life after life, even if your foot should
crush me." We see in the Ramayan that when Lord Ram (an avataric
incarnation of God) shot the wicked Balin, who had usurped his
brothers throne, Lord Ram had compassion upon him and offered to
heal his wound. But Balin replied, "How many lifetimes might come
and go without receiving the honor to die at the hand of the Lords'
Avatar." So Balin was seeking Union and Moksha, rather that further
life and enjoyments.
Christianity has a curious habit of asking other people for their
prayers. "Pray for me because I am sick. Pray for my parents. Pray for
my son and daughter. Pray for that nation torn by war, plague and
famine." Epictetus made an interesting observation in his Discourses.
He wrote, "Why do you pray to Jupiter for the safety of your son before
he embarks upon a long journey. Why not ask Jupiter for the
Equanimity of an Even-Keeled Spirit, to endure whatever good or bad
fortune might result." In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna, similarly,
says to Arjuna, "It is necessary that Joys and Sorrows should enter
each persons life, but he who endures them with Equanimity and a
balanced spirit is the True Yogin and master of the Self." The Western,
quid pro quo notion of prayer is to ask for something. The Hindu
notion is that each good and ill that we suffer is our very own doing; a
karmic consequence of some thought or action from this current life
or from a previous life. And furthermore, each good and ill that we
suffer is for our benefit. King Solomon basically said (if I may
paraphrase his writings) : "Every son whom the Lord loves he chastens
every one whom He receives, and places their souls in the fire of
adversity, until they reach a seven-fold purity like gold in the furnace."
There is a sort of impertinence in the notion of asking God to alter our
circumstances, if they are for our own benefit and instruction. Such
supplicatory prayer is almost a lack of faith in Divine Wisdom, Mercy
and Providence and a sort of insult to God. And the insult is
compounded when we do not even offer such prayers ourselves but
ask others to do it for us. If we had an important favor to ask of a
King, and we sent a relative, to ask on our behalf, what would that
King think? It is for a busy King to dispatch a messenger to us, and we
are honored by such a visit but it is our place to petition in person, if
we are to even petition at all.
The early Greek Christian theologians told a parable about the three
types of devotion of believers; the Slave, the Hired Hand, and the
true-born Son. The Slave acts out of fear of punishment. The Hired
Hand acts from hope of reward. The true-born Son acts neither from
fear of punishment nor from hope of reward but from selfless love of
the Father. I am somehow reminded at this moment, as I write these
words, of Chaitanya's words concerning "the Lord's CAUSELESS
MERCY", and that verse in the Gita where Lord Krishna says
(paraphrasing), "What my Devotee has achieved, I preserve from birth
to birth, and what my Devotee lacks, I supplement and provide
through Grace." In the oddest sort of way, we see that God does not
create the physical Universe, or sentient beings as His goal. What God
CREATES or RE-CREATES, IS GOD. Even a Greek Bishop, Athanasius, of the fourth century, said, "God became man so that Man might become God."
Atheists and Agnostics might speak about man creating God.
Theologians might speak about God creating the Universe and
mankind. But there is in Hinduism, I suspect, some talk of God
CREATING GOD through the perfection of all beings in His Divine Lila
or Pass-Times.
Many Religions have Rosaries
Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox all use a form of rosary or prayer beads.
One reader writes:
I have very recently begun to practice Zen. I have also started to
attend a Zendo and while there I noticed that my teacher was wearing
the mala beads. It got me to thinking, "What are mala beads for?" I
looked them up and all I could find was that they are "counted during
prayer" types of information but nothing about where they came from
or how to use them. So my question to anyone who will answer is,
"What are they and what are they for?"
A second reader replies:
I do not know the history of these beads, but I use them. Having been
raised a Catholic, I used a rosary. Mala beads are similar in their
function. In Tibetan Buddhism a mala is used to have a tactile
awareness of prayer. Also many of the mantras are said in blocks of
108, which is the number of beads on a traditional mala. I find them
useful when I have to stand in line or am in some way 'waiting'. So at
those times I recite mantra or pray. But this is an activity which can
easily occur without a mala or a rosary. It is just easier sometimes to
stay focused when passing beads between one's fingers.
Sitaram replies:
The English word "bead" is related to the root of the word "bid" (as in
"I bid thee adieu", or "making a bid on a house"), as well as to the
ancient English clerical position of Bede. The primitive meaning is to
ask or request or call or summon.
The original function of beads was not cosmetic for decoration but
was indeed to count prayers.
The Russian prayer rope, or rosary or mala, is called the "chotke",
which is related to the Slavonic word for counting "chetatch". It is a
rope with elaborately woven knots.
The Greek prayer rope is called "kombvoskeene" (which means,
knotted rope).
The eastern orthodox Christian notion was that solid beads would
make a noise during use, and thus distract from prayer and
concentration.
The modern Greek "worry beads", which are not used for prayer, but
are "played" with while people are sitting idle, to relieve tension, or
pass the time.
As centuries passed, beads and malas came more to be a form of
decoration, or a toy, than a tool for prayer.
In the Epistles, St. Paul said "I would rather say FIVE WORDS, with
understanding....". Early Cristians came to believe that those "five
words" referred to the "Jesus Prayer", which in Greek is "Iesous
Xristos Uyay Theou Elayeson" (Jesus Christ God's Son, Mercy! or Lord
Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me, if one does not feel the
need to be a stickler about FIVE words). In Greek, the first letter of
each of the five words happen to spell "ICHTHYS" or fish, which is one
reason why the simply drawing of a fish was an early Christian
symbol.
When David went to meet and slay the giant, Goliath, Saul offered
David his own armour, but David refused it saying "I have not tried this
armor, so I will not use it in battle." Instead, David took a SLING and
FIVE stones. Early Christians saw these FIVE stones as mystically
representing the five words of the Jesus prayer, and Paul's "five words
with understanding". Of course, a sling resembles a prayer rope, and
when long prayer rope is held in the hand, hanging to the floor, it
resembles a SWORD. When David met Goliath on the "field of battle",
he said to Goliath, "You come against me with a sword and a shield,
but I DEFEAT YOU WITH THE NAME OF GOD."
A Greek monastic prayer rope has 300 knots (symbolic of the Trinity),
and a typical prayer rule is to say 33 such prayer ropes (for the 33
years of Christ's life), which typically takes a monk about two to three
hours to complete.
Hare Krishna devotees use a mala of 108 tulsi wood beads (tulsi is
sacred to Lord Vishnu). A good devotee will say 16 "rounds" of the
Hare Krishna mantra per day. Saying these prayers also takes about 2
to three hours per day.
The origins of the Jesus Prayer can be seen in the Gospels in several
places where afflicted people cry out to Jesus, as He is passing by,
saying "Son of David have mercy".
One of the functions of the Jesus prayer is to attract God's mercy,
grace or forgiveness. The eastern notion of mantric repetition is quite
different. The Hare Krishna devotee believes that the "sound of the
Divine Names" (Sabdha Brahman) is actually an Avataric
manifestation or Incarnation of God's presence. There is a story about
young Lord Krishna dancing on the many heads of the poisonous
serpent, Kaliya. This serpent began spewing venom everywhere, and
Lord Krishna asked him why he was doing it. Kaliya answered, "Lord, I
am only a serpent! Where shall I find sweet nectar or honey to offer
You. All I have is venom, so this is my offering." But in the Gita, we
read that God accepts ALL worship and offerings, even from those
ignorant of His nature. The devotee imagines his tongue as the
serpent Kaliya, and the sounds of the mantra as Lord Krishna
manifesting and dancing upon the tongue.
There is a verse in the Gita (I think in Chapter 7), where Lord Krishna
says "The ENTIRE UNIVERSE is strung upon me like pearls on a
thread". (Of course, in Sanskrit, the word for thread is SUTRA). So we
may see here also the imagery of God and Prayer and Beads and
Thread and Sutra "intertwined" (if you will pardon the pun).
Sutras became commentaries or "threads" on other scriptures. How
ironic that today, in the internet, message boards like this ALSO have
"threads", strings of related messages.
It is most interesting to note that even in Islam, there is the notion
that the "sacred Qur'an" when properly recited or chanted, is ITSELF,
non-different from Allah (similar to the notion of Sabdha Brahman, or
Brahman God as SOUND).
Also, in the Gita, Lord Krishna in one long passages, cites the many
things that He (God) is. One is of course the sacred syllable "AUM".
Another is "japa", or mantra chanting with a mala. Another is "Ram"
the archer/warrior. Lord Krishna also says of the offering at the
sacrificial fire, "I am the offerer, and the ghee butter which is offered,
and also the fire into which it is poured." Of course, we get our
modern word "ignition" from the ancient Sanskrit word "Agni" for God
as fire. The Greek word for "holy" is "Agios" or "Hagios". I have often
wondered whether that word is related to the Sanskrit "Agni", God as
fire, (from which we get our word "ignition").
How similar, the passage in the Epistle of James (I think), "Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from Thee,
the Father of Lights", which is said at every Liturgy, together with the
words "Thine own, of Thine own, we offer unto Thee, on behalf of all,
and for all". There is some resemblance in these words to the notion
of Krishna as the offerer, and the offering poured into the fire, and the
fire. Ancient theolgians asked the question "Why the seeming
redundancy of every GOOD gift and every PERFECT gift". Their answer
to this puzzle, is that every GOOD gift is our daily necessities of air,
food, and water, but that the PERFECT gifts are the Sacraments or
Mysteries of Eucharist, Baptism, etc.
