The Yoga Goddess & Ganesha Blog

Hi Robert,

Thank-you for your question.

It is a very interesting contemplation.

If you think about what a mantra is...the bija sounds of the universe...the unadulterated pure qualities of the vibrations making up this universe then you already know they are all mixed up and happening simultaneously in everything all the time anyway. The rishis 1st heard the sacred seed sounds and distilled them into physical being for our enjoyment and upliftment. Truly speaking, using the mala to remember them and bring them into our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual sphere is an incredible blessing. Whether we try to keep Om Namah Shivaya only on one mala and Hari Krishna on another seems sort of incidental because your own thought patterns and physical location are ultimately going to affect the vibration of your malas. But having said that, I think that you may be onto something within yourself. Maybe its a good idea for you to try to keep separate malas for separate chants and see what the qualities of each mala do for your own spiritual upliftment. It seems like a very good idea to me. I know for myself I don't like it when I have a mala on in public and people always grab them and want to touch them. I like to keep the vibration going in a state I am comfortable with and feel the shakti in....I tend to keep them more secretive after many years of having them. I know many yogis hide their malas in bags and don't even let someone else look at them. It sort seems like hording your money or not sharing but I think you can be discriminatory. Once I let a girl at the beach hold my rudrakasha neck mala and she had a kundalini awakening afterwards. I didn't try to give it to her but she really wanted it. It is like people are hungry to find themselves and if you help them, then great but you can't go advertising that you can do this stuff or you set yourself up for some wierd trips. I digress.... Yes, I think if you are guided to keep different malas for different chants then you should do it! Why not, seems like a wonderful exercise and a way of infusing your spirit with the chant as much as possible. I am not a "rule" person and I don't think there are big rules for mantras. They have a mind of thier own and do what they want in spite of us. You don't do them, they do You!

I can tell you that I do not keep separate malas for separate chants because mostly Om Namah Shivaya is going on within and without me all the time so even if I say something else it pretty much doesn't matter if I say ham sah or the gayatri instead. Om Namah Shivaya is suffused in every cell and repeating itself constantly. It is kind of like when you are at the beach and the sound of the waves is this symphony of Om Namah Shivaya and the wind is saying Ham Sah. You can't tell the ocean and the wind to be separate. They will be what they will be. The mantra symphony is occuring in your body with your breathing and your blinking automatically without you even trying to do it. As long as you are noticing and remembering the mantras then you are hearing the music of the spheres and bringing the energy or shakti of it into you life, being, and world. How wonderful! Thank-you for the very beautiful question. I wish you so very much good luck and good vibes for your sadhana. Please let me know how it all works out for you.

With Love, Melissa