When I say to the boys, “It’s Jai Jais time”, the little one runs to the temple rings the bell and shouts “I’m here Jai Jai wake up!” I told him what my mother told me! I remember our visits to my father’s village in Vadoli, Gujarat in India. We would go to the village temple walking through the dusty street and take of our shoes. I loved the comfort of the cold marble floor on my feet. When I was little my father picked me up to ring the bell which echoed around the temple such a comforting sound.
So why do we ring the bell? To wake god up? To call them? Aren’t they always awake watching over us? Aren’t they omnipresent? After a little research… I have found out…. The Jai Jais way.
In Hindu temples (mandirs) , bells are usually hung in the area or porch preceding the inner temple. It is said that by ringing the bell, the devotee informs the deity of their arrival. The sound of the bell is considered auspicious which welcomes divinity, dispels evil and negative thoughts. The sound of the bell is said to disengage the mind from ongoing thoughts, therefore making the mind more receptive. Bell ringing during prayer is said to help in controlling the ever wandering mind and focusing on the deity. During ‘artis’, the bell’s sound has the effect of spiritually boosting a person in the morning and relieving the day’s stress in the evening.
A bell is crafted with several metals and alloys, and quantities of these metals are mixed with accurate scientific calculations. As a result, when you ring the bell, complete harmony is created between the left and right lobes of the brain, bringing you to a state of supreme calm. Also the echo touches the seven chakras of the body, which completely relaxes your body
There is an art and science of making bells to produce the required sounds. There are bells specially made to produce the long strains of the sound OM, a sound that is believed to have the same frequency as the frequency of the earth's rotation around its axis. The aura of uttermost calm created by the sound, allows for the power of concentration in the brain to increase immensely and become strong.
