When the Vedas were written, our present yuga was described as a time of dullness, spiritual insensitivity, decreased vitality, along with rising violence and greed. Good thing we've managed to avoid all that in our current material-driven culture! Maybe Kali has been missing lately!
If only that were the case. No, as evidence of our current dark age rains down around us, it often triggers a simple question, "Why do I have to be here during this time of ignorance? Couldn't I have been born during another yuga?" Well, sure, except you weren't. (Hang on -- we have another 24,000 years left in Kali Yuga).
Of course, God is nothing if not merciful, and so there is one compensation for all the trouble and pain we may have to face. Kali Yuga, by its nature, has a built-in silver lining – compared to other ages, spiritual practices done during this yuga produce higher states and greater merit for the soul. In other words, if we can focus our attention inward even during this time of great distraction, greater progress on the path is granted.
It's a sweet deal, cosmically.
And there's one way in which it gets even better. The practices of the yogic path are known for their extreme longevity. People have been meditating and doing yoga postures since there was time. For example, there are temples in India where chants to the Hindu deities have been going on continuously for hundreds of years. Ironically, in the last 20 years or so, here in the US especially, we have seen wave after wave of innovation. Practice styles, kirtan, techniques of meditation – novelty is doing its best to catch up with longevity.
Now we may have another genuine innovation here, and it's a bit of a surprise. Japa, or repetition of prayers or mantras, is a practice shared by nearly all world's great spiritual paths. To repeat the Holy Names is to invoke the presence and experience of God. When engaged in a disciplined counting of japas, a beaded prayer strand is used, such as a Catholic rosary, a Muslim tasbih, or a mala for Buddhists and Hindus. But there are many times during the day when it is not convenient to pull out prayer beads, so a chance to call the Names of God is missed. For those times, now, a japa ring can be used.
A ring?
A ring with notches on it. The advantage to wearing a japa ring is that it gives you the ability to recite your mantra with awareness wherever you are. For most wearers, it quickly becomes a mindful habit to reach for it and turn it. Then the mantra (or prayer) begins on it own! It's a surprisingly easy practice to adopt, and to keep at for years.
A japa ring is usually worn on the index finger, middle finger or most typically the ring finger. Depending on what feels most natural, you can either turn the ring right where it is, or pull it out beyond the first knuckle and turn it there.
Use one to enter meditation, to calm down, to invoke patience, to enter stillness – to reconnect with the divine indwelling presence in just a few seconds. Over and over during the day, it provides a direct link from the outer world to the inner.
Japa rings are a truly innovative practice enhancement. We at Devi Jewels are very happy to have found the handcrafted rings we now carry.
It only makes sense that our new rings are beautiful as well as functional. After all, beauty is its own sacred energy.
