05 March, 2017

Rudraksha---part 2



Article last updated on 06th march 2017


This is the second part of the two part series on Rudraksha both articles together cover the following topics:


Information about Rudraksha plus some information about the Kohinoor diamond and the Indian Vedic cows, about Kriya yoga and finally some criticism about sadhguru jaggi vasudev


Please click on the link to read the first part

Rudraksha and Ek (one)mukhi Rudraksha





Big, spherical (round) Rudraksha with a natural hole are the best


Rudraksha worn in a metal casing (cap) generate more power, usually the casing is made of silver or from panchdhatu (combination of 5 metals)
















Avoid buying Rudraksha beads which are already put in a metal cap or casing; as sometimes the beads get damaged when the metal is passed in the hole, also damaged or cracked beads are sometimes sold by covering them in a metal casing---you can purchase the Rudraksha beads and then get them set in a cap / casing under your supervision


It is much better to wear many Rudraksha even if they are of a lower mukhi rather than wearing only one bead or a few higher mukhi Rudraksha


Rudraksha are so good and auspicious to look at; do not cover all the beads you ware with your clothes, always keep a part of the Rudraksha bead’s exposed



All Rudraksha beads sink in water; however a genuine rudraksha can also float in water if the bead is unripe, that is the bead is plucked from the tree before maturity or there is a hole in it and when air is trapped or if the bead has got dehydrated due to aging also there are some varieties of genuine Rudraksha whose density is not enough to make them sink


Rudraksha beads are classified from their country of origin; Nepal, Indonesia or India; then further classified by their mukhis and size of the bead but never by their colour (beads are of white, red, yellow and black in colour). Because once they are processed by dipping them in oil and after wearing them for a few months, all varieties age and turn black or deep brown



People say that there is a mention of up to 14 mukhis only in the scriptures; but there are higher mukhi beads in the Indonesian variety, higher mukhi beads of 21 22 23 25 29 38 have also been documented mainly in Indonesia and Rudraksha up to 27 mukhis have been reported from Nepal.


In several higher mukhi beads 11mukhi to 14 mukhi there may be two holes on the bead.


Only one or two pieces of 20 or 21 mukhis and one or two Trijuti occur in nature each year



Spherical beads---70% of all Spherical (round) Rudraksha beads are five mukhis, after that four and six mukhis are also common, followed by three and seven mukhis which are also easily available, then as the number of mukhis increase ease of availability decreases (that means a thirteen mukhi is less easily available than a twelve mukhi and so on); however the exceptions are that a nine mukhi is more rare than a ten mukhi and the two mukhi bead is even rarer than a thirteen mukhi bead



More than 9o% of all Indian oval shaped Rudraksha beads are three mukhis, remaining are 2 mukhis and very rarely one mukhi


Around 75% of all Rudraksha beads come from Indonesia, only 5% from Nepal and the remaining mostly from India and some other countries


Though the Rudraksha tree starts to flower early: they do not give Rudraksha fruits till the age of ten; from the age of ten to fifteen years the Rudraksha tree gives beads of four to seven mukhis only, trees older than 15 years give beads with seven or higher mukhis


One mukhi rudraksha---the spherical, perfectly round one mukhi bead from Nepal is so very rare that people have started to believe that they do not exist at all
The extremely rare one mukhi beads from Indonesia are small in size say 8 to 10 mm in length and 4 to 7mm in central diameter again they are not spherical but elliptical
The south Indian type of one mukhi Rudraksha which are Half-moon, crescent moon or Cashew-nut shaped without a hole; they are overhyped in TV advertisements and hence sold at a high cost they are common in south India where they are available from local tribes for a less price
I have read a study report by botanist of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, in the report they have mentioned—I quote “Moon shaped ék mukhi' rudraksha is the seed of E. tuberculatus that is deformed.” May be that is the reason that I have seen Swamis wearing this type of Rudraksha but not moon shaped but a straight bead (photos in part-1), I sent an E mail to clarify on the “deformed” part but I have yet to receive a reply

One mukhi Rudraksha beads are also available from Andaman, Haiti, Brazil but again they are not spherical in shape


United States is the largest importer of Rudraksh beads from India


All parts of all the species of Rudraksha tree’s; roots, trunk, leaves, fruit, seed have various medical benefits
Rudraksha beads have magnetic electrical biomedical properties as well
People also practice the Rudraksha water therapy: - Immerse a few beads of Rudraksha in water in either an earthen or copper pot for a day or two and drink that water. Replace beads after a few months; but for this use raw Rudraksha beads from the tree and not the ones that are dipped in oil


I have worn many types of Rudraksha and felt good without having any problems however once someone gave me three big, high density five mukhi Rudraksha beads in silver casings before giving it to me he kept them on a big Meru Shree Yantra; I could not wear them as wearing them created a lot of discomfort, later my sister wore them for a few days but after that she also stopped wearing them


Do not fall into the trap of the people who are into the Rudraksha business; they would give you all types of recommendations regarding mukhis as per your problems, they are out to make money, I visited a store in Mumbai (Bombay) called Rudra Cent.e   to buy a Shivling for my sister, a couple with a child were there, they were not happy with the expensive Rudraksha beads sold to them earlier with the hope that their business will flourish, the lady owner managed to convince them and ended up selling more Rudraksha items to them including a bracelet for the child which cost a couple of thousand rupees and in the end she told them “you should have good business sense  for your business to flourish”


Rudraksha beads are not to solve your life’s problems, if you have questions like how will wearing the Rudraksha help me; the answer is nothing will happen to you if you have such thoughts in your mind


Rudraksha beads are for your spiritual development (of course they have health benefits as well), it is a mutual process you enrich the Rudraksha bead and the Rudraksha bead brings about more blessings and lets you to tune in to a higher level


Stay away from the Godmen, Gurus who claim to energise spiritual items for you, I have written about them in this article


Please click on the link to read the article






Why I don’t like to purchase Rudraksha beads from the market



For boosting sales the dealers relate myths and legends about the power of the bead and are using various branding and tele-marketing techniques to sell the beads. This has fuelled demand resulting in increased collection of the seeds, hampering natural regeneration.


In this day and age where there is a huge demand nothing is grown naturally, similarly the Rudraksha beads are also processed with sulphuric acid, and other chemicals are used


When the outer blue cover is not removed in time it hardens and becomes thick and black in colour, to remove this hard cover whole sellers bury the Rudraksha beads in the ground along with cow dung mixed with salt then boil the beads, you see; something falling on the ground is one thing but when anything is buried in the ground it loses its spiritual power


Of late very big size Rudraksha beads are available in the market: they are hybrid and certainly not grown naturally


This is just a money making industry where people handle the beads like a commodity they do not have any spiritual feeling as they process the beads and make a mala, rosary or any other item from the Rudraksha beads




It is best to get naturally grown beads from the forest (of course higher mukhi beads will not be available) and process them yourself otherwise it is best to go for five mukhi beads as they are so common that no fakes are available and they are mostly picked up from the forest


It is my dream to settle in an unpolluted green environment like the Himalaya and plant Rudraksha and other trees in accordance with nature and built a place where spiritually minded people can stay, till date it has remained a dream as I am not able to form a group of such like-minded people

Please click on the links

Settling in a greenenvironment like the Himalayas—forming a community / travel group.


Astronauts ----theEarth's Heartbeat---- Living amidst Nature






Fake Rudraksha beads



Only a few higher mukhi beads occur in nature every year; but you see so many higher mukhi beads in the shops, so you can make out the amount of fake beads that are there in the market


India is the biggest producer of fake Rudraksha beads


Making fake Rudraksha beads is an organised industry, having well equipped workshops


High level of craftsmanship is required to make fake Rudraksha beads and the workers doing this are very talented artist who have decided to use their talent for making fake Rudraksha rather than for something constructive


Spherical one faced rudraksh is made by carving berries, betel nut and areca nut, stalks are also implanted on them to give them genuine looks.


Sometimes To make one and two mukhi fake Rudraksha from four or five mukhi beads; all other mukhis or clefts are skilfully removed or extra mukhis are sealed off by pasting special type of synthetic material or by natural resin or small pieces of other rudraksha or wood dust or particles of wood


Almost all Indian oval one mukhi beads which are available are made in this way, in the X-ray only one seed is visible hence it can be proved easily that the Rudraksha is a one mukhi bead but as I have written in part-1, all Indian oval Rudraksha beads called Haridwar / Dehradun Rudraksha have only one seed inside irrespective if they are one, two or three mukhi 


Another method is by making small beads from a resinous material.


Large oval and round Ek Mukhi beads are made by making a ball of crushed Rudraksha or lac, gum of plant origin, honeybee comb wax with resin as a binding material.


Large sized perfectly round Ek Mukhi beads upto four inches diameter are also made from fruits of the plant Couroptia sps.  (Canon ball tree). 


High quality imported adhesives which do not melt when boiled are used to stick two or three Rudraksha beads to make Gaurishankar or Trijuti beads

                                                                                                                       
In some two mukhi Nepal rudraksha, the second line does not gets completed fully and they are sold as one mukhi Rudraksha


To manipulate natural grow the rudraksha fruit is mechanically suppressed by putting a vice or clamp over it on the tree itself before it ripens so that a one mukhi Rudraksha bead is produced


Beads with carved snakes, serpent heads, tridents and Shivlings are all fakes.

Left:Fake beads Made by Joining Two Beads; Right: Betel nut carved as Rudraksh





Fake Beads Carved from Beetle Nut and Other Similar Seeds




Fake Beads with Carved Serpents and Shivlings




Fake Round Ek Mukhi Rudraksh with a Carved Trident and Attached Stalk Sold at ebay



Xray---Left: fake bead no compartment visible, Right:real bead with developed compartments which hold the seeds




And now after fake Rudraksha beads let me tell you something about fake Gurus



My mother always tells me not to write bad about anybody, many people who know me also tell me to look at only the good in others; but still I write about the Gurus and Godmen so that the people may awaken, I have been through all these phases, followed cults, made Gurus, but finally I got that realization where I can differentiate between good and bad   


Please click on the link

Learning from the ants




About sadguru jaggi vasudev

We are always guided by omens; whenever we try to associate ourselves with some person, if we study the person carefully we will surely be guided whether to associate ourselves with the person or not.


This is the photo of sadguru jaggi vasudev at the maha shivratri celebrations; look where has he placed Shankars image in the shawl-- right at his feet, this is a clear indication how much he values spirituality




People say he goes in into a deep trance during the celebrations, he puts in a show; I feel that looking at his watch and being aware of the time, constantly adjusting his cloths to look prim and proper are no signs of a person in trance


He does not know the difference between Shiv and Shankar and Adi yogi


At his ashrama a 680 kgs mercury lingam is kept immersed in the Theerthakund and people take a dip / bath in the mercury water and enter the Dhyanalinga area without wiping their bodies.
On the very website of the Dhyanalinga, in the theerthakund section this godman has written; I quote directly from his site... “…. And mercury is the heaviest substance on the planet…..” he is wrong; mercury is not the heaviest substance on the planet, even gold is much heavier than mercury.
I am sure that this flamboyant God man knows nothing about ancient Vedic science of solidifying mercury or removing the toxic effects of mercury.
People who take a dip here may be at a risk of mercury poisoning 



In this video his disciples sing the eternal words of Adi Shankaracharya, all dressed in a fixed uniform that they are supposed to wear, all having to shave their heads compulsory, all having to follow a fixed routine and then they sing-- I am bliss, I am eternal, I am totally free…..nevertheless enjoy the immortal words of Adi Shankaracharya, such words are rarely composed on Earth