Rudra” means Shiva, “Aksha” means Tear drops. So “Rudraksh” means Shiva’s tear drops.
Rudraksh is a particular kind of seed whose trees grow in a particular altitude in the Himalayan ranges. The Rudraksh has a very unique vibration of its own and is therefore the only substance found like that in the planet. It has many benefits if you wear it in the body. People in the spiritual path wore Rudraksh because it cleanses the Aura. Now it does not mean that the moment you start wearing Rudraksh the aura will be cleaned. Its just that you are seeking to clean the aura and Rudraksh is very effective helpful tool.
These Rudraksh vary from single faced to 21 faces. They are used for different purposes. Example : Ekamukhi – for renunciation , Trimukhi – for wealth . Panchamukhi – for well being etc. Just simply picking up one type of Rudraksh and wearing it in the body is not a good idea as it is capable of disturbing ones life if one wears a wrong type of Rudraksh . You will attract such kind of situation for which one may not be ready. For ex – if one wears a Ekamukhi without knowing for what does it support, since Ekamukhi is worn for renunciation , it starts to create situation around you such that you no longer like to be around people. You will always prefer to be alone. Now if a person is in a family this will not support family situations and slowly it will start to disturb the family situations and create problems.
Rudraksh is also an effective tool for detecting energies. In the ancient times, people like sages etc. who used to live in forests would always carry a Rudraksh with them as keeping a Rudraksh over any substance like water or food will tell you whether that is ok to consume or not. If you hold a Rudraksh over any substance and it moves clockwise that means the substance beneath is generating positive energy. If the Rudraksh swings anti-clockwise that means the substance below is of negative nature. If the Rudraksh sways sideways – that means the substance beneath is of zero energy.
Other benefits of wearing a Rudraksh is that it creates a cocoon of your own energy. You might have noticed this whenever a person moves to a new place, they find it difficult to sleep at that place, even if they are physically exhausted. This may be because their energies might have become used to a particular kind of atmosphere which was not available when they moved to a new place. For such a person ( especially a travelling person who often keeps shifting his place of sleep) wearing a Rudraksh is a great boon as it carries with them their energies and does not allow outside energies to influence.
Rudraksh is also an effective tool to protect one from negative energies which might have been used by people to effect a person’s life. Many times people may get influenced by these energies even when it was not directed towards them .This may be because the person to whom it was directed was not receptive to it but you sitting next to him were receptive so you may happen to get it. Wearing a Rudraksh solves this problem as it protects you from all such kinds of energies.
There are many myths floating around wearing of Rudraksh. Here are some myth busters which clears the misunderstanding and misconceptions around wearing of a Rudraksh