108, 1008

[Guest guest]

Dear Ambaa Devotees,

 

May i know the speciality of 108, 1008 & 5008... Why

mantras r being chant in these numbers..???

 

Regards,

R.Krishnamoorthy

 

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[Guest guest]

dear sri krishnamurthy,

 

this question was asked by one of the members of my group-

brahmanshakti...

 

here is the explanation i came across while surfing on the net and i

would love to share it with you all !

 

yes, what is the mystical sinficance of the number of 108 while doing

japa... why not 107 or 109 or any other number?

 

yes, the christians and muslims use 100 or 50 beads but we hindus use

108 beads... why?

 

 

 

In the first place, the radius of the sun is 108 times the radius of

the earth and for all of us, both the earth and the sun are of

primary importance and they greatly count in our day to day lives;

 

secondly, there are 12 prominent constellations (Rashis) and 9

heavenly Bodies (Navagrahas) that are nearby. The have a direct

effect on human welfare, and 12 x 9 = 108; and

 

thirdly, 1 plus zero plus 8 equals 9, which is the highest in the

numerical scale. That is why our enlightened Swamis are referred to

as Swami 108 or 1008.

 

There are also 108 techniques of meditation or 108 paths of reaching

God. So, one should not be in a hurry to judge that other paths of

reaching God are wrong. At the end of 108 counting beads of a mala,

there is a large bead, symbolic of the Ultimate Divine. That is why,

the seeker doing Japa does not cross the large bead again but

reverses the counting systematically, till one reaches the large head

again, and so on, the process is repeated, making sure that one day,

the seeker will certainly approach God, as a result of Japa, or any

other method of god realization.

 

In Kali Yoga, the people are not interested in what is contained in

our scriptures but lay stress purely on scientific reasoning but this

is one of the explanations behind the need of a japa mala with 108

beads ! it is all how one wants to approach the Divine!!! ultimately,

god/ess is more pleased with pure devotion than methodology or

rituals!!!

 

hope this helps...

 

 

my 2 cents...

 

om sree sree lalithambikayaii namaha!

[Guest guest]

-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

namaskarams, indeed beautiful...

 

here is apost from my group 'bhramnshakti' on this subject...

 

btw number 9 in hindu numerology represents the brahma-tattwa due to

its similar behaviour.

it does not change the root number(which is the sum total of all

digits in a number, summed up again and again until a single digit

number is arrived at) at all, quite very much similar to zero in this

aspect.

for eg.3486, 3+4+8+6=21=2+1=3

now if any number of nines or zeroes are added, it doesn't matter

34869, 3+4+8+6+9=30=3+0=3 and so on...

 

Root number carries great significance in numerology and is supposed

to express the basic(root) nature of any big number. So in fact all

numbers can be boiled down to basically nine root numbers.

In ancient India, arithmetic/philosophy/religion/science evolved

simultaneously as simply jnana-vijnana. There appears to be very deep

arithmetic/philosophy behind the intervening 8 root numbers between

the zero and 9.

 

Roughly speaking, zero is somewhat akin to the void mentioned in

Buddhist philosophy or Shiva or "Purusha" in Samkhya-Darshan

The number 9 being more closer to the concept of all pervading

Shakthi or Prakriti.

Both schools do however stress upon the sameness of the two, meaning

that the void is actually all pervading and vice-versa similarly-

Shiva-Shakthi(Ardhanareeshwara), Purusha-Prakriti etc...

There is no end to characterising 0 and 9 variously indicating their

sameness yet different.

 

So then the nothingness of zero and the all pervasiveness of nine the

same? One excluding all and the other including all, can they be the

same?

Yes and no, just depends upon the observer, the meditator...

this simply goes to prove that jnana is a highly subjective field and

the objectivity of modern science begin to lose significance in the

finer aspects.

If 9 and 0 are a class apart then it can be interesting to

investigate into the significance of the next highest number ie 8,

the auspicious number 7, and so on

the number 1 so clearly and nicely signifying the smaller 'ego' or

the first thought of 'I am' in comparision to the mysterious ultimate

singularity of 0 (or 9 for that matter),

Number 2 showing the fragmentation of thought into 'I' and 'You',

3 = I, You, He/She

4 = I, You, They both (Sanskrit as a language differentiates between

singular,dual and plural)

5 = I, You, They

6 = We, They(Enmity!)

7 = We all(Very auspicious isn't it?)

8 = I, They all(Eight is a very powerful number carrying apparently

negative shades, but symbolises the power of a king over his subjects)

 

And there are only eight fingers, no ninth or zero'eth one!(May be,

the old man sitting in the clouds may have them?). Wonder what the

thumbs are all about, just for assisting the fingers or only

twiddling?

 

So maths is not so dry after all, it seems to be born out of the

politics of the 'ego'!, but not without divine help in the form of 0

and 9 ! Seems to be a technical way to clearly explain the whole

confusion which may appeal to some, also appears to be an universal

language(can use it with the aliens!)

 

nothing really

 

**********************************************************************

well, how do u like this?

 

om sree lalitambikayaii namaha!!!!

[Guest guest]

Namaste Respected Members!

 

On the subject of the number 108, it is my understanding that this is

also the number of breaths it takes to raise Kundalini from the

Muladhara to the Sahasra and back again in the Vajra Yogini practice

of inner heat, which allows yogis to meditate naked in the snowy

Himalayas (and even create enough body heat to melt entire

snowfields!).

 

Allow me to explain this practice further by quoting from a book

"Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism" by Lama Anagarika Govinda (I don't

feel I am giving away any secrets since this book is widely

available):

 

"After the Sadhaka has purified his mind through devotional exercises

and has put himself into a state of inner preparedness and

receptivity; after he has regulated the rhythm of his breath, filled

it with consciousness and spiritualized it through mantric words, he

directs his attention upon the Navel Centre in whose lotus he

visualizes the seed-syllabe 'RAM' and above it the seed-syllable 'MA',

from which latter emerges Vajra Yogini, a dakini of brilliant red

colour, surrounded by a halo of flames.

 

As soon as the meditator has become one with the divine form of the

dakini and knows himself as Vajra Yogini, he places the seed syllable

'A' [short a, not aa] into the lowest, the seed syllable 'HAM' into

the highest Centre (the "Thousand-petalled Lotus" of the Crown

Centre).

 

Thereupon he arouses, by deep conscious respiration and intense mental

concentration, the seed-syllable 'A' to a state of incandescence; and

this, being fanned and intensified with every inhalation, grows

steadily from the size of a fiery pearl to that of a fierce flame,

which through the sushumna finally reaches the Crown Centre, from

where now the white nectar, the Elixir of Life, issues from the

seed-syllable 'HAM' (which the meditator has placed and visualized in

this Centre) and, while flowing down, penetrates the whole body.

 

....

 

When inhaling consciously, the psychic energy of prana enters through

the right and left nadi into the middle nadi (sushumna), strikes the

hair-like short 'A' and fills it out, until it assumes its full form.

 

With intensified concentration, visualization, and regular,

consciously rhythmic inhalation and exhalation, the seed-syllable 'A'

is fanned into a bright-red incandescence, until a perpendicular,

spindle-shaped, rotating flame shoots up from it. With each in- and

out-breathing the flame rises half a finger higher. With eight in- and

out-breathings it reaches the Navel Centre (8), with ten further

inhalations and exhalations it fills the Navel Centre (18), with ten

further breathings it moves downwards and fills the lower part of the

body with fire (28). With a further ten breaths the fire, again

steadily ascending reaches succesively the Heart Centre (38), the

Throat Centre (48), and finally the Crown Centre (58).

 

With each further set of ten inhalations and exhalations the seed

syllable 'HAM', visualized in the Crown Centre, is melted by the fire

and transformed into the Elixir of the Enlightenment-Consciousness

until it fills the whole Centre (68)

>From the Thousand-petalled Lotus it now flows down into the lower

Centres. With each following ten breaths it reaches and fills

successively the Throat Centre (78), the Heart Centre (88), the Navel

Centre (98), and the whole lower body, down to the tips of the toes

(108). It may be furhter mentioned here that 108 is a highly

significant number (9X12), and that both Hindu and Buddhist rosaries

have 108 beads."

 

There you have long answ