Informative

Rudraksha: The divine bead of Consciousness

The Legend:

Three mighty demon brothers, named Tarakaksha, Vidyunmāli, and Kamalaksha, started performing meditation, praising Brahma. Standing on their heads, they meditated for thousands of years more, just by consuming nothing but air. Pleased with their hardships, Brahma granted them incredible superpowers. Inevitable occurred. Three brothers created nothing but absolute havoc in three worlds.

Meditating Shiva came to know about the sufferings of the three worlds. As he felt the pain of all the living creatures, tears rolled down from his eyes, falling on earth. In the fierce battle, Lord Shiva killed three brothers with a single weapon called Pashupatastra. Meanwhile, the place where Lord Shiva’s tears fell blossomed four holy trees, called Rudraksha.

Rudraksha is made from two words. Rudra means Lord Shiva, and Aksha means eye. And hence, Rudraksha is considered as the third eye of Lord Shiva himself. As it was created from Lord Mahadev’s empathy, it also represents the incarnation of quality compassion.

Composed around 2800 years ago, Sanskrit texts Upanishads have a separate chapter called Rudrakshajabala Upanishad, explaining properties, importance, and proper usage of Rudraksha to benefit spirituality.

In the ancient text of Shiva Purana, while explaining the importance of Rudraksha, Lord Shiva says to Parvati,

यत्र सम्पुजितास्तत्र लक्ष्मीर्तुरता नः | नश्यन्त्युपद्रवह सर्वे सर्वकाम भवन्ति हि ||

Yatra sampujitastatra laxmirdurtara nahi |Nashyantyupadravah sarve sarvakama bhavanti hi ||

Meaning, Goddess Laxmi will bless, peace will overcome the disturbance, fulfilling all the wishes, wherever Rudraksha is worshipped.

Mukha, bestowing deities and consecration:

There are several types of Rudraksha, identified with its Mukha (Mukha: naturally occurring partitions in a Rudraksha, formed by grooves), with every one having its benefits. Wearing a particular Rudraksha connects you with a specific deity, with their own blessings.

One Mukhi Rudraksha is the rarest and the most auspicious amongst all, and it represents Shiva, the ultimate consciousness. Blessed by the Divine Mother Laxmi herself, it should be consecrated with Om Hrim Namah’s mantra.

Two Mukhi Rudraksha represent the union of Shiva and Shakti and are consecrated by the mantra Om Namah. Representing the cosmic union, this Rudraksha promotes understanding between relationships, bringing harmony into the family.

Three Mukhi Rudraksha symbolizes the holy trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh, and it is consecrated by the mantra chanting of Om Kleem Namah. Along with improving self-esteem and concentration, this Rudraksha helps in inviting success in life.

Four Mukhi Rudraksha represents four Vedas. Bestowing the Divine Mother Sarasvati’s blessings increases intelligence, speech, and creativity, balancing the throat chakra. It shall be consecrated by the mantra Om Hreem Namah.

Five Mukhi Rudraksha symbolizes five elements of the universe. This variety of Rudraksha is the most common among all Rudraksha. It relieves the seeker from all sorts of health problems like lifestyle diseases. Poor health, lack of harmony, and failures in business can be reduced with the effect of this Rudraksha. It should be consecrated with the mantra Om Hreem Kleem Namah.

Six Mukhi Rudraksha has six-headed Lord Kartikeya, the son of Lord Shiva, as a ruling deity, which keeps jealousy, anger, greed, and cowardliness at the doors. This Rudraksha should be consecrated with the mantra of Om Hreem Hroom  Namah.

Seven Mukhi Rudraksha symbolizes seven Divine Mothers (Sapta-Matrikas). Wielder of this Rudraksha is blessed with health, prosperity, purity of body and mind.  This Rudraksha should be consecrated with the mantra of Om Hoom Namah.

Nine Mukhi Rudraksha represents the nine forms of the Divine Mother Shakti. Each grove represents the Divine Mother Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri. This Rudraksha also bestows the blessings of all the nine planets in the horoscope of the seeker. This Rudraksha should be consecrated with the mantra of Om Hreem Hroom Namah.

Rules of wielding a Rudraksha:

Several other types of Rudraksha can be found in nature. It is highly advised that before wearing any Rudraksha, one should consecrate it on an auspicious day under the supervision of spiritual experts in order to yield its full benefits.

While chanting the Gurumantra and sprinkling water five times over it, one should charge the Rudraksha with consecrated Shiva Lingam. It is considered highly auspicious if one charges the Rudraksha with one of the Jyotirlingas. On the auspicious time of Mahashivaratri or Amrit Siddhi, reciting the Mahamrityunjay Mantra and chanting specific mantra belonging to that particular Mukhi Rudraksha for 21, 42, or for 102 times, one should wield the Rudraksha.

The beauty of Rudraksha is that it can be worn by anyone, regardless of age, gender, caste, and religion. Ancient scriptures say,

सुप्ते पीते सदाकालं रुद्राक्षं धारयेन्नरः |

Meaning, a devotee should wear Rudraksha even when sleeping, eating, drinking. Meaning it can be worn every day, every time.

If to be removed, a seeker should always keep the Rudraksha in a sacred place. 

A seeker should regularly meditate with it.

Rudraksha must not be exchanged or interchanged after wearing it. 

It is advised that the seeker wearing Rudraksha should abstain from consuming meat and alcohol.

With a soft brush, one should clean the Rudraksha, and post that, the seeker should oil Rudraksha once a month to prevent it from drying.

The benefits you will receive from wearing this holy bead will ultimately depend upon the degree of devotion, respect, and care you give to it.

Benefits of wearing a Rudraksha:

-Rudraksha is believed to create a protective shield around the seeker, preventing a seeker from being infected from any pessimism and despair.

-Rudraksha changes the karma of the wielder, nudging the wearer on the righteous path of spirituality.

-Being blessed by devotees like Lord Kartikeya and Lord Brahma, Rudraksha is known to bring clarity, sharpen the mind, and increase the power of Intuition.

-This holy bead is known to establish intimate relations with the positive forces of the universe, progressing towards success in materialism as well as in the realm of spirituality. 

-Spiritual experts use the consecrated Rudraksha to check the purity of the food and water they are about to consume. If held above the food, Rudraksha moves clockwise, the food is considered filled with positive prana, and if it rotates anti-clockwise, it’s considered to be filled with the negative prana. 

-It is known to increase concentration and memory in children.

-While doing meditations and mantra chanting, using Rudraksha beads is considered to be most auspicious.

-It is known for helping to bring out the balance in five elements of the body and along with balancing seven chakras.

-When worn with consulting astrology experts, Rudraksha is known to pacify many of the known and unknown defects in one’s birth chart.

-Rudraksha balances the bioenergy and creates harmony around the seeker wearing it, preventing him from the negativity.

One can benefit from the Rudraksha by wearing around the neck in the form of Mala (garland). The Mala can be made up of 108 beads plus one bead called Bindu, hanging below the Mala. Sometimes people wear it in the form of a necklace, and few religious leaders are known to wear it in the form of a bracelet.

Many sellers promise to deliver genuine Rudraksha to their customers due to the immense popularity and power but fail to do so. As we have seen above, there are many varieties of Rudraksha available in the market. It is advisable to consult a spiritual or astrology expert before buying one for yourself.

We hope this blog helped you get some information on the legend, identification, types, consecration, and Rudraksha usage. Feel free to send us your queries at info@chamundaswamiji.com. We look forward to hearing from you.