JAPA MALA IN WOOD
Mala (literally garland necklace) to be used for the tantric practice of Japa as a rosary (each Mantra is spoken to each flowing grain) or to wear the prayer mala are used for thousands of years by practitioners of many spiritual disciplines They are usually composed of 108 seeds / beads The mala is used to keep count and focus concentration and awareness when reciting or mentally chanting repeats a mantra or name of a particular deity a known practice in Sanskrit as japa The Hindu tradition holds that the correct way to use a mala is holding it with the right hand passing with the thumb from one bead to the other having the bad draped on the middle finger The index finger represents the ego the greatest obstacle to the realization of itself therefore it is considered better to avoid it ( as with ego) when reciting or singing with a mala