|| Individuality to Infinity ||
Dear AD,
I have been to few of your blogs and you stand apart from the crowd, I must say.
I have a question. Just not able to get clarifications from anywhere. Why 108? what is the reasoning behind the number 108? Why do I need to chant any mantra for 108 times. Why any Mala has 108 numbers? it discomforts me. Remembering God and to be with God is very private and personal issue. It all depends when do I want to be with Him. But when ever, i think of spending some moments with God, I get stuck with numbers. Why cant I chant any mantra just for 20 times or 120 times or as many time I want. Why some Godman has fixed it with 108?
Pl help. For God sake, please don’t confuse me with old books.
Regds
Vikram
Beloved Vikram,
Shivoham!
You say… “I have been to few of your blogs and you stand apart from the crowd, I must say.” What should I say on this? Thanks? 🙂 Well.. I thank you for the compliment but it hardly matters to you personally whether I stand apart or as a part of crowd. Why few of blogs..? I would recommend you go through all the posts if you have time and energy to spend on this silly idea of self-development, it will definitely help. No compulsions though, its always a matter of choice.
You say “Remembering God and to be with God is very private and personal issue.” Which God? May I ask? Have you met him even once that you wish to remember him. Going by your words you want to spend time with God then my question would be “Have you taken an appointment with Him? Has he confirmed this personal time with you?” If you have already been introduced to God.. Then can you please describe for my better understanding.. How does he look like? And why do you want to spend time with Him before everything.
Beloved Vikram, I know you are not yet introduced to God nor you have ever experienced any of His attributes. Never met Him, never seen Him and sure enough I am to declare that you are still not aware of the address of His abode, his habitat. Are you? You said “For God sake, please don’t confuse me with old books” And that makes me use this language and so many questions in ‘answering’. Am I needed to confuse you when you are already confused with the whole concept of God. If you are still perceiving God to be somewhere outside ‘You’… then you are mistaken. Your presence, ego and existence is well within Him however this sentence itself is bookish and I don’t expect you to accept it but I would sincerely urge you to inquire and question your own methods without bringing in 108 in between you and God.
When you do chanting (as normally people do) what they actually do. They are not doing anything pious, holy or spiritual.. spirituality is a quest, a thirst.. unique temperament of the discoverer of Truth. If they are just chanting the mantra be it 108 times, 21 times or 1.25 lakh times it has no impact whatsoever unless they know the correct way of engaging themselves in it. Mantra chanting is not just about repeating the ‘words’ because mantra is a tool.. a very sophisticated tool for discovering the Truth. Yet almost every sadhaka or initiated person goes on chanting without knowing how to use it.
Vikram, When you understand and accept that mantra is a tool then you would want to know how to use this tool and where to use this tool. Assume you are in the mines of diamonds and you have been given a shovel. Now this shovel is something which you have never seen and don’t know how to use it. Also you don’t know which area to dig to get to the diamonds.. what would you do? You would want to know how to use this shovel first and second most important thing to know would be.. which area to dig after having learnt the use of shovel. The same way mantras are sound tools using which you dig, discover or create a channel between individual consciousness and the universal cosmic consciousness.
Having understood that mantras are merely tools for self-discovery and keeping the analogy of ‘diamond mine’ the next question would be “Where or which area do I dig using mantra or sounds?” For that we need to first understand where are the gates (to the Supreme Consciousness, Truth, God or whatever name you wish to give to that ultimate reality) are located. The popular belief of ‘portals’ being available at ‘teerthas’, temples, mosques, gurudwaras, churches etc. is of no value until we are well familiarized with the ‘Energy’ that belongs to that ‘cosmic realm’ so the search or digging can not be carried out in the external world rather it has to be within our own and known boundary i.e. within the periphery of individual physicality – one’s own body. But most people aren’t aware of this secret and that is why someone has expressed it so pessimistically –
Mandir Jaakar Insaan Nahi Khilta (Man doesn’t evolve by visiting temples)
Mantra jap kar Gyaan Nahi Milta (You don’t receive Ultimate Knowledge by reciting mantras)
Patthar To Log Isliye Poojtey Hain (People worship stone idols… )
Kyunki apne andar bhagwaan Nahi Milta (… because they are unable to find god within)
This poetic expressions may sound good but these are the expression of a person who has not known how to use the means and tools correctly. In all probability either he lost his patience bit too early (if he got the methods right) in his sadhana or the method’s weren’t made available to him through his Master/Guru/Teacher/Guide or this person is simply being preachy. Whatever.. The truth is that mantras used with precision and diligence open the doorways within one’s being help one experience the realms which are beyond sense-perceptions. And Vikram the technology of mantra essentially has this number 108.
In fact there are 108 major points or chakras within your own body (there are many many more chakras there not just 108!) which are like windows in your being where from you can peep into “cosmic realms”. And which 108 points shall be used in your Mantra recitation (application) is decided by the master or Guru as this choice is made by looking at your current level of spiritual evolution, state of karmic baggage you carry within your systems, the activity levels of chakras and also what are the best routes for you to travel through.
Above para may sound like blabbering or just a deflection technique on my part unless I elaborate on these chakras a bit. See! there are 7 chakras which most of people know about. These chakras are situated along the length of spine 6th and 7th being in the head region. But that is not all! There are 54 secondary chakras which constitute the base for existence of your pranamaya kosha (energy body). These secondary chakras are those that accept/absorb the raw energies and work as transformers to convert it into frequencies needed for different organs in the physical body. In addition there are many other points within the body which provide access to ESP and control over life as such (only if we aim at and have access to the methodologies of application of mantra in correct sequence). Right from Moolaadhaara to Sahasraara each major chakras has many minor chakras associated with them. For example if we take Moolaadhaara there are many other minor chakras like – Charchika Chakra, Siddha Yogeshwari Chakra, Roop Vidya Chakra, Shyama Chakra, Rudra Chakra, Siddha Chamunda Chakra. Siddha Lakshmi Chakra and so on. In fact all of our body parts (inner organs included) have chakras located in them. Some people have misconception that there are 114 chakras only but that is not true. I can talk about every chakra in detail here but then Vikram you would say I am confusing you with books. (laughs)
But its not confusing at all. If you feel chakras is a word which has a mystical meaning and not relevant then reconsider your assumptions because in sanskrit language every word has a relevance, in fact each syllable of it.. here in word chakra; cha stands for pure, ka means fire (energy) and ra means containing or having (light?). So chakra is simply a point in your body which possesses pure fire of consciousness. And contacting, triggering every chakra with the tool in hand (mantra) is the ritual of recital – literally. Don’t you think NOW that energizing these chakras (even if you don’t have any spiritual aspirations), especially those secondary chakras (which are root cause of our healthy existence) through a powerful mantra (for that matter any mantra given by a realized master or a master in the realized lineage is powerful) a couple of time (54×2=108)? Doing this provides the practitioner not only a balanced, magnetic and energized personality it enhances one’s capacity to perceive beyond. In day to day life it (Yoga) means ‘efficiency in action’ ultimately leading us to attain perfection in action. A sutra which krishna give out in Gita – Yogah Karmashu Kaushlam. Old book again? (smiles) No, I leave it here.
Now you may be tempted to know and get the complete knowledge, the procedure of applying mantra in correct way. I am here to give you that but not on your conditions.. for I know what is suitable for you and what you are capable of. Yet one last word.. whether you have been initiated in a mantra by any guru or teacher even without complete knowledge of methodology of application, mantra should be used with reverence, faith and utmost care. 108 means 108!
Shiv! Shiv! Shiv!… beloved Vikram, I thought I left it here but something more interesting and complicated, to further bog you down in your quest of ‘why 108?’ just got to my chittam. It is a fresh download.. No AI tool would give you this perspective so I feel I should heap this information too upon you (laughs). Listen carefully.. this is about another aspect of our existence – the Time.
Just like our physicality (matter or energy?) there is yet another constant companion of our physical existence and that is ‘Time’. As per our ancient seers who decoded the principle of time found out that it has 27 aspects (both in sequential and in composite way). They related these aspects of time with the constellations (or star formations) in the sky above.. and called them Nakshtras. So this cosmic experience that we call ‘the physical world’ (it includes our own body as well .. which has doorways to reality in the form of chakras) is supported by (or ‘lives in’) or dissipated (destroyed) by this element called time (having 27 attributes). Every moment that we live, belongs to dominantly 1 nakshatra however it also carries the seeds of all 27 nakshatras as well. Let me clarify.. at this moment (time being 10:30 PM of 4th July 2024) the moon (moon is one hand of the celestial clock as envisioned by our ancient Masters of astronomy.. the other hand being the sun) is travelling in one particular nakshatra.. just for example lets say it is Bharani (one of the 27 attributes of time) so we will say right now we (at earth) are experiencing (or under the influence of) Bharani aspect of time. Even this Bharani (similarly each of these 27 nakshatras) has 4 sub-divisions in it. So going deeper we may say more accurately “this moment we are experiencing 2nd paada (2nd subdivision) of Bharani aspect of time. But.. but.. this moment is also having all other remaining 26 aspects of time (along with their 4 subdivisions too). So if we want to peep into the reality beyond time we have (at this moment and every single moment) 27×4 =108 windows to direct our tool (mantra) to. Although this process of entering the Reality (Truth or Source of all that is) beyond this physicality is little more sophisticated and complex but Masters of the traditions have successfully used it by piercing this aspect of ‘time’ through the power of ‘mantra’ by unlocking it in all possible permutations i.e. 27×4 = 108 ways. Hope it is more than enough for you to chew and digest (smiles)
Whenever I shall have time and intentions, would give more information on 108 and even 1008, till then for all the seekers here is an open invitation to start their journey with Tattva Shakti Vigyaan.
Blessings from Masters..
– Ach. Agyaatdarshan Anand Nath
Its all about you! 