10/8/2015 Meaningof108BeadsonaMala

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Meaningof108beadsonamalabySwamiJnaneshvaraBharati

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Onamala,orsetofmantracountingbeads,therearegenerally108beads,orsomefractionofthatnumber.Thequestionoftenarises:Whyarethere108beadsonamala?

Belowaresomeofthemanyreasonsthathavebeengivenforhaving108beadsonamala,aswellasafewotherpointsofinterest.Noneofthesereasonsarebeingpromotedhereasmoreorlesstruethantheothers.However,youmaynoticethat108appearstobesomewhatlikearoadmapofrealityingeneral,andthehumaninparticular.

Regardlessofthemeaningof108,itisimportantthatifamalaisusedtocountmantras,themantraberememberedwithsincerity,devotion,feeling,andfullattention.(Moreonuseofmantras)

9times12:Bothofthesenumbershavebeensaidtohavespiritualsignificanceinmanytraditions.9times12is108.Also,1plus8equals9.That9times12equals108.

Powersof1,2,and3inmath:1to1stpower=12to2ndpower=4(2x2)3to3rdpower=27(3x3x3).1x4x27=108

Harshadnumber:108isaHarshadnumber,whichisanintegerdivisiblebythesumofitsdigits(HarshadisfromSanskrit,andmeans"greatjoy")

Desires:Therearesaidtobe108earthlydesiresinmortals.

Lies:Therearesaidtobe108liesthathumanstell.

Delusions:Therearesaidtobe108humandelusionsorformsofignorance.

HeartChakra:Thechakrasaretheintersectionsofenergylines,andtherearesaidtobeatotalof108energylinesconvergingtoformtheheartchakra.Oneofthem,sushumnaleadstothecrownchakra,andissaidtobethepathtoSelfrealization.

Sanskritalphabet:Thereare54lettersintheSanskritalphabet.Eachhasmasculineandfeminine,shivaandshakti.54times2is108.

Pranayama:Ifoneisabletobesocalminmeditationastohaveonly108breathsinaday,enlightenmentwillcome.

Upanishads:Somesaythereare108Upanishads,textsofthewisdomoftheancientsages.

SriYantra:OntheSriYantratherearemarmaswherethreelinesintersect,andthereare54suchintersections.Eachintersectionshasmasculineandfeminine,shivaandshaktiqualities.54times2equals108.Thus,thereare108pointsthatdefinetheSriYantraaswellasthehumanbody.

Pentagon:Theangleformedbytwoadjacentlinesinapentagonequals108degrees.

10/8/2015 Meaningof108BeadsonaMala

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Marmas:Marmasormarmasthanasarelikeenergyintersectionscalledchakras,excepthavefewerenergylinesconvergingtoformthem.Therearesaidtobe108marmasinthesubtlebody.

Time:Somesaythereare108feelings,with36relatedtothepast,36relatedtothepresent,and36relatedtothefuture.

8extrabeads:Indoingapracticeofcountingthenumberofrepetitionsofthemala,100arecountedascompleted.Theremainingaresaidtocovererrorsoromissions.The8arealsosaidtobeanofferingtoGodandGuru.

Chemistry:Interestingly,thereareabout115elementsknownontheperiodictableoftheelements.Mostofthose,aroundorhigherthanthenumber100onlyexistinthelaboratory,andsomeforonlythousandthsofasecond.ThenumberthatnaturallyexistonEarthisaround100.

Astrology:Thereare12constellations,and9arcsegmentscallednamshasorchandrakalas.9times12equals108.Chandraismoon,andkalasarethedivisionswithinawhole.

RiverGanga:ThesacredRiverGangaspansalongitudeof12degrees(79to91),andalatitudeof9degrees(22to31).12times9equals108.

PlanetsandHouses:Inastrology,thereare12housesand9planets.12times9equals108.

Goddessnames:Therearesaidtobe108Indiangoddessnames.

GopisofKrishna:IntheKrishnatradition,thereweresaidtobe108gopisormaidservantsofKrishna.

1,0,and8:Somesaythat1standsforGodorhigherTruth,0standsforemptinessorcompletenessinspiritualpractice,and8standsforinfinityoreternity.

SunandEarth:ThediameteroftheSunis108timesthediameteroftheEarth.ThedistancefromtheSuntotheEarthis108timesthediameteroftheSun.

MoonandEarth:TheaveragedistanceoftheMoonfromtheEarthis108timesthediameteroftheMoon.

Silverandthemoon:Inastrology,themetalsilverissaidtorepresentthemoon.Theatomicweightofsilveris108.

Numericalscale:The1of108,andthe8of108,whenaddedtogetherequals9,whichisthenumberofthenumericalscale,i.e.1,2,3...10,etc.,where0isnotanumber.

Meditations:Somesaythereare108stylesofmeditation.

Breath:Tantraestimatestheaveragenumberofbreathsperdayat21,600,ofwhich10,800aresolarenergy,and10,800arelunarenergy.Multiplying108by100is10,800.Multiplying2x10,800equals21,600.

PathstoGod:Somesuggestthatthereare108pathstoGod.

Smallerdivisions:Thenumber108isdivided,suchasinhalf,third,quarter,ortwelfth,sothatsomemalashave54,36,27,or9beads.

Hinduism:108issaidtorefertothenumberofHindudeities.Somesaythateachofthedeitieshas108names.

Islam:Thenumber108isusedinIslamtorefertoGod.

10/8/2015 Meaningof108BeadsonaMala

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Jain:IntheJainreligion,108arethecombinedvirtuesoffivecategoriesofholyones,including12,8,36,25,and27virtuesrespectively.

Sikh:TheSikhtraditionhasamalaof108knotstiedinastringofwool,ratherthanbeads.

Buddhism:SomeBuddhistscarve108smallBuddhasonawalnutforgoodluck.Someringabell108timestocelebrateanewyear.Therearesaidtobe108virtuestocultivateand108defilementstoavoid.

Chinese:TheChineseBuddhistsandTaoistsusea108beadmala,whichiscalledsuchu,andhasthreedividingbeads,sothemalaisdividedintothreepartsof36each.Chineseastrologysaysthatthereare108sacredstars.

Stagesofthesoul:SaidthatAtman,thehumansoulorcentergoesthrough108stagesonthejourney.

Meru:Thisisalargerbead,notpartofthe108.Itisnottiedinthesequenceoftheotherbeads.Itisthequidingbead,theonethatmarksthebeginningandendofthemala.

Dance:Thereare108formsofdanceintheIndiantraditions.

Praiseworthysouls:Thereare108qualitiesofpraiseworthysouls.

Firstmaninspace:Thefirstmannedspaceflightlasted108minutes,andwasonApril12,1961byYuriGagarin,aSovietcosmonaut.