Answer

You are right to ask this. In Jain practice, while doing Navkar Mantra jap with a mala, the bead is commonly moved using the thumb, and the movement may be taught as outward or inward depending on family, sampraday, or guru-parampara.

There is no need to be confused: the most important point is to do the jap with shraddha, concentration, humility, and purity of bhaav.

Explanation

If your practice is:

• Hold the mala properly.
• Chant one Navkar Mantra on one bead.
• Use the thumb to move the bead outward.
• Continue bead by bead without using the index finger.

then you may continue that method if it is what you were taught by your elders or Guru.

When someone says “push inward,” they may mean:

• Pulling the bead gently toward oneself, or
• Moving the bead in the direction taught in their tradition, or
• Keeping the mala movement controlled and devotional rather than careless.

Different Jain families and traditions may describe the direction differently based on how the mala is held.

Spiritual Understanding

In Navkar Mantra jap, the main purpose is not mechanical bead movement. The main purpose is to remember and bow to:

• Arihant Bhagwan
• Siddha Bhagwan
• Acharya Bhagwant
• Upadhyay Bhagwant
• All Sadhu-Sadhviji Bhagwant

The mala helps the mind stay focused, but the real jap is done through pure inner bhaav.

Takeaway

If your Guru, elders, or family tradition teaches moving the bead outward with the thumb, follow that respectfully. Do not worry. The essential Jain principle is right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct, not confusion over minor physical variations in mala movement.