Sound Healing Instruments

108 has many auspicious things about it — especially in India.

The number 108 has always been a highly revered number for thousands of years, coveted by many spiritual traditions and ascribed special significance in meditation and prayer.  Considered to be the most auspicious number of all, 108 also happens to be the number of stitches on a baseball.

In yoga, the number 108 refers to spiritual completion. That’s the reason why malas used for japa (silent repetition of a mantra) are composed of 108 beads – with an additional “meru” bead, which when reached, prompts the practitioner to count the mala beads in reverse order. Pranayama cycles are often repeated in 108 cycles and even sun salutations are often completed in nine rounds of the 12 postures, which when multiplied, adds up to 108. Ancient yogis believed that we can attune ourselves to the rhythms of creation by completing practices in rounds of this sacred number.

108 seems to be a mysterious number that connects the ancient world to the modern world and also connects the physical realm to the metaphysical realm. The number 108 is sacred in mathematics, geometry, astrology, numerology and in many world religions and spiritual traditions.

108 is exactly 2 octaves below 432.
The distance to the sun is 108 diameters of the sun.

108 Nadis
108 beads on a mala
108 repetitions of a mantra
108 types of meditation
108 dance forms in Indian traditions
108 time frame in Rosicrucian cycles
108 gopis of Vrindavan in the Gaudiya Vaishnavism
108 defilements in some schools of Buddhism
108 earthly temptations
108 beads on a juzu (prayer beads) worn by Zen priests
108 questions for Buddha in the Lankavatra
108 previous incarnations remembered in modern Gnosticism
108 chances or lifetimes to rid the ego and transcend the materialistic world
108 earthly desires/lies/delusions in Buddhism
108 is maximum number of repetitions in Kriya Yoga
108 Sun Salutations in yoga
108 breaths in a day to reach enlightenment
108 energy lines or nadiis converging to form the heart chakra
108 sacred books in the holy writings of Tibet
108 epistemological doctrines in Hinduism tradition
108 virtues in Jain tradition
108 steps in temples mentioned in the Lankavatara Sutra
108 sins or 108 delusions of the mind in Tibetan Buddhism
108 pressure points in body according to Marma Adi and Ayurveda
108 stitches on a baseball