Importance of 108 number!

Aum Sai Ram.

When we see number of beads in vara mala/vrata mala, number of names of God and Goddess, I always wondered there should be some prominence for 108 which I do not know. Why do we give so much importance to 108 in Hinduism? Why 108 is so sacred for Hindus? Here is a brief explanation of the use and importance of this number:

The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth.

The distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun.

The average distance of the Moon from the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.

In Ayurveda, there are 108 “Marma” points that are vital for giving life to living beings.

The powerful Sri Chakra yantra intersects in 54 points each with a masculine and feminine quality, totalling to 108

In Indian astrology we have 12 houses and 9 plants. 12 times 9 equals to 108.

In Tantra, it is estimated that every day we breathe 21,600 times out of which 10,800 are solar energy and 10, 800 are lunar energy. Multiplying 108 X 100 is 10,800.

The famous saint Bharata wrote “The Natya Shastra” which has 108 karanas (Movement of hand and feet)

There are 54 letters in Sanskrit each can be mentioned as masculine (Shiva) and feminine (Shakti) aspect, totalling to 108.

There are 108 Puranas and 108 Upanishads.

9 times 12: Both of these numbers have been said to have spiritual significance in many traditions. 9 times 12 is 108. Also, 1 plus 8 equals 9. That 9 times 12 equals 108.

Powers of 1, 2, and 3 in math: 1 to 1st power=1; 2 to 2nd power=4 (2×2); 3 to 3rd power=27 (3x3x3). 1x4x27=108

Harshad number: 108 is a Harshad number, which is an integer divisible by the sum of its digits (Harshad is from Sanskrit, and means “great joy”)

Desires:
There are said to be 108 earthly desires in mortals.

Lies:
There are said to be 108 lies that humans tell.
Delusions: There are said to be 108 human delusions or forms of ignorance.

Heart Chakra:
The chakras are the intersections of energy lines, and there are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.

Pranayama:
If one is able to be so calm in meditation as to have only 108 breaths in a day, enlightenment will come.

Sri Yantra:
On the Sri Yantra there are marmas where three lines intersect, and there are 54 such intersections. Each intersection has masculine and feminine, shiva and shakti qualities. 54 times 2 equal 108. Thus, there are 108 points that define the Sri Yantra as well as the human body.

Pentagon:
The angle formed by two adjacent lines in a pentagon equals 108 degrees.

Time:
Some say there are 108 feelings, with 36 related to the past, 36 related to the present, and 36 related to the future.

Astrology:
There are 12 constellations, and 9 arc segments called namshas or chandrakalas. 9 times 12 equal 108. Chandra is moon, and kalas are the divisions within a whole.

River Ganga:
The sacred River Ganga spans a longitude of 12 degrees (79 to 91), and latitude of 9 degrees (22 to 31). 12 times 9 equal 108.

Gopis of Krishna:
There were said to be 108 gopis or maid servants of Krishna.

1, 0, and 8:
Some say that 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.

Silver and the moon:
In astrology, the metal silver is said to represent the moon. The atomic weight of silver is 108.

Numerical scale:
The 1 of 108, and the 8 of 108, when added together equals 9, which is the number of the numerical scale, i.e. 1, 2, 3 … 10, etc., where 0 is not a number.

Meditations:
Some say there are 108 styles of meditation.
Paths to God: Some suggest that there are 108 paths to God.

Jain:
In the Jain religion, 108 are the combined virtues of five categories of holy ones, including 12, 8, 36, 25, and 27 virtues respectively.

Sikh:
The Sikh tradition has a mala of 108 knots tied in a string of wool, rather than beads.

Buddhism:
Some Buddhists carve 108 small Buddhas on a walnut for good luck. Some ring a bell 108 times to celebrate a new year. There are said to be 108 virtues to cultivate and 108 defilements to avoid.

Chinese:
The Chinese Buddhists and Taoists use a 108 bead mala, which is called su-chu, and has three dividing beads, so the mala is divided into three parts of 36 each. Chinese astrology says that there are 108 sacred stars.

Stages of the soul:
Said that Atman, the human soul or center goes through 108 stages on the journey.

Meru:
This is a larger bead, not part of the 108. It is not tied in the sequence of the other beads. It is the guiding bead, the one that marks the beginning and end of the mala.

Praiseworthy souls:
There are 108 qualities of praiseworthy souls.

Japan:
In Japan, at the end of the year, a bell is chimed 108 times to finish the old year and welcome the new one. Each ring represents one of 108 earthly temptations a person must overcome to achieve nirvana.

108 signifies the wholeness of the divinity, perfect totality. So, let us follow what our ancestors told us to do.

Parikrama / Circumambulation

Aum Sai Ram.

In a famous story Lord Ganesha performed Parikrama around his parents which was considered equivalent to the journey around the universe.

Parikrama means circumambulation or moving around in a circle. It is also known as Pradaskshina.The word “Pradakshina” means “towards right”.

In religious context this journey is performed around temple, holy tree, holy hill and river. This is done in a clockwise direction. Only during inauspicious occasion like death ceremony, parikrama is performed anticlockwise .

The circular journey around the deity can be understood with an example that in geometry we need a center to draw a circle and from the centre all the points on the circle are equidistant. It indicates we are equally close to God.

Symbolically this ritual indicate touching the feet of deity. In another variation, at the end of the puja , it is a custom to do parikrama around ourselves three times. This is called “ Atma Pradakshinam”.

This is to invoke the god in itself and to express the gratitude to HIM. We all are the part(ansh) of supreme soul.

Generally odd number of parikrama is considerd auspicious. For Example , 1 parikrama around Lord Ganesha, Half parikrama around Shivlingam, 3 parikrama around Lord Vishnu, 5 parikrama around Lord Kaartikeya and 7 parikrama around peepal tree is considered auspicious.

Many classics consider 21, 27 or 108 numbers as auspicious to perform parkirama. While performing parikrama, an invisible link is established between a person and deity.

The mantras pronounced during the circumambulation holds the key of transferring the energies from the god to a person. Always make sure that parikrama should be performed slowly while chanting mantras.

Significance of Sashtanga Namaskar.

Aum Sai Ram.

Sashtang namaskar is a type of Namaskar in which all “Angas [body parts” touch the ground. As such, this type of Namaskara is also called “Dandakara Namaskaram”, “Uddanda Namaskara”,etc.

The word “Danda” means “Stick”. The Dandakara Namaskaram is one which in which the person simply lies on the ground like a fallen stick. This is done because a fallen stick symbolizes ‘helplessness’, i.e it is a way of conveying to the Lord that you are as helpless as a fallen stick & have taken his refuge.

It is a symbol of Sharanagati in the Lord’s feet. This Namaskara is also a form of destruction of ego. When we fall from a standing position, we get injured.

Even in a seated position one can get injured. But look at the Sashtanga Namaskar position. There is no possibility of a person falling at all & hence no question of injury. As the height increases, the fall becomes more severe. The fate of one in high position is also similar. If he does wrong, slips and falls, he is unable to even get up – that is recover to the high position.

The biggest load for a person is his ego-sense, the I-sense, the Ahambhava/ Ahamkar. There is permanent peace if that load is taken off one’s self. The namaskara kriya is the best aid for getting that load off ourselves. Hence, sashtang namaskar is a process of removal of ego & development of humility. If the head is brought down by others, it is a disgrace. If we bring it down ourselves, it is reward, honour.

This is vinaya sampath (humility that is wealth itself). It is to get away from “head weight” and mental conceit that the namaskara I performed with the head in the lowest position. Such a namaskara when done to a sanyasin/eders/guru means the the latter is a “carrier” of your prayer to god.

The person receiving the namaskar must not be of the opinion that the namaskar belongs to himself. Instead, he must understand that he carries this namaskara towards the Lord & prays to the Lord for the welfare of the person doing the namaskar.

Rudrani - The Female Counterpart of Rudraksha.

Aum Sai Ram.

As Rudraksha is to Shiva,
Rudrani is to Goddess Shakti.

Not many know of these Rare Tiny beads,
Which are the female counterpart of Rudraksha.

Small to a certain degree and orangy red in hue,
These seeds manifest the moving power of Shakti.

While Rudraksha stills the mind of the wearer,
Rudrani moves the mind and spirit into action.

Seeds are a natural storehouse of plant's energy,
Wearing them can induce it's vibrations into your body.

Coaxing you gently to be one with Nature's energies.

Body, Mind & Soul - The Art of Unison!

Aum Sai Ram.

He moved and She moved,
He stayed and She did too.

They looked into each other's eyes,
To see a fire within that was burning bright.

They danced like they wanted to burn each other,
Till they realized that, it was not all right.

That's when a strange synchronicity overtook them,
As they moved to a rhythm that came from the depths of their souls.

They danced as if they were one soul and two bodies,
Something they had never ever experienced before.

With it, when the two bodies became one,
The stories of their lifetimes, slowly started to unfold.

They danced slowly and rhythmically swaying their bodies,
To an inner music only they could here all the more.

When their fluid movements became a reflection of each other,
They joined together in a blissful union of body and soul.

In that very moment of stillness, they experienced liberation,
When their bodies were forgotten and their souls became whole...

Shiva holds, while Shakti flows

Aum Sai Ram.

The Kitchen has now become a sacred space for me,
For it reveals a deeper understanding of life naturally.

Today as I was washing some vessels with the tap open,
The water was flowing top down all so forcefully.

That's when a sudden flash of realization hit my head,
When I realized that just like the Tap, Shiva is cold, steely and steady.

And He holds within Him, the vast waters of Time and Space (T&S) inherently,
But it is the invisible Shakti which gives the water (T&S) the power to move.

Or to flow, fall, to wet, to cleanse, and to dissolve the rest naturally,
But if the tap is tightly closed, Shakti too becomes entrapped within it.

No matter how powerful Shakti is, it is Shiva who contains Her in Him,
Regulating Her powerful flow, so she doesn't find a way out of Him.

Causing wide spread chaos, in Her all-playful mood of making merry,
Without Him She cannot flow, without Her there will be no water (T&S).

This is how closely Shiva and Shakti are related to each other,
Just like the holding Tap & the flowing Water you see...

Swami Ramanagiri [Peer Wertin]

Aum Sai Ram.

I discovered Swami Ramanagiri on the internet and find him very inspiring. It's always wonderful to learn about holy souls, especially westerners who attained Enlightenment.

Swami Ramanagiri (Peer Wertin) was a natural born western mystic, a member of the Swedish Royal family, who renounced an $8 million inheritance to become a holy man in India and attained Moksha (liberation) under the great Sage Ramana Maharshi.

Sayings of Swami Ramanagiri:

"His Name, taken once with whole hearted love and a one-pointed mind, is worth more than the knowledge collected from every book all over the world."

"Learning is learned ignorance. Unlearning is learning."

"What you speak about others doesn’t reveal anything about them, but about you."

"The power of listening attracts more than the power of speaking."

"Jnana and bhakti are not separate from each other. One cannot know Him without loving Him, and one cannot love Him without knowing Him."

"Non-attachment does not mean indifference; love does not mean attachment; attachment is that which takes; love is that which gives."

"Shut the doors and the door will be opened."

"Religion is experience. It should be practiced, not studied or discussed, and at the very least not preached. Those who preach don’t know; those who know don’t preach."

"About your worldly troubles: you must do as you think best yourself, but it is good policy to keep away from other’s plates, however sweet and inviting they look. Both sugar and arsenic are white."

"When a soul turns his mind towards the divine, the following two things will happen. First, he will get some joyful experience, which shows that he is on the right path, and that he is progressing. Second, when the asuric forces see that he is progressing, they will put every possible obstacle before the sadhaka in the form of worldly troubles, mental botherations and sex urges. I think you have reached that second stage and will get further troubles. But don’t mind. They are good in so far as they make us fed up with the world."

"If the ego is allowed to play with our emotions, it is capable of causing havoc. Only by drawing the ego to its source can the saddest feeling be converted into ananda."

"Perfection in any form is the manifestation of the divine. The greatest service to humanity is self-enquiry, and the greatest remedy for this world is Self-realization, but that does not mean that we should not do anything for others. As long as we have not got the power to withdraw the mind from the objects of sense perceptions, we should do, and must do, whatever we can for others. Selfless activity will soon give the power of introversion, but when the mind has become introverted, we should not spoil what we have gained by outward activity."

"The main thing with worship is not what we worship, but that we worship, and if we have got love, we can easily surrender the feeling of ‘I’ which is the wall between ourselves and God."

"The disciple’s love for the Guru is more important than the Guru’s power."

"The behavior of a fool and a wise man is the same. The only difference is that a fool goes from life to lives while a wise man goes from lives to Life. One leaves the ocean behind; the other returns."

"To speak or write about Him is pollution. The only truth which becomes falsehood when expressed is Aham Brahmasmi or Sivoham."

"The best weapon of defense is ahimsa. The best weapon of offense is love."

"The ego will cry like a mad man when he sees that he is going to be killed."

"The human body is the greatest hindrance in realising the Self, but it is also the only means."

"O Mother! What a painful bliss you gave this child! Mother is always the same, but we are different, depending on the purity of the body, mind and heart. That is why Mother’s bliss sometimes gives extreme pain, sometimes extreme joy."

"Renunciation of that which renounces is renunciation."

"In my father’s lap, Mother, Father and I are one; or there is none; but IT is."