108 BEAD MALAS
I hand string all my Malas while chanting the Ganesha mantra for prosperity & removing obstacles. I specifically choose my gemstones & woods for their healing & energetic qualities.
A mala, meaning garland in Sanskrit, evokes a circular, continuous form. In practice, a mala, or Japa bead necklace is used in mantra practice to keep count of the devoted offering of mantra chanting. They typically have 108 beads. Within a mala, there is always a sense of beginning, continuing & completion. Both inside each individual cycle & in the practice as a whole. This three form (trimurti) quality allows us to embody, in practice, the rhythmic cycles ever present in the natural universe: creation (srishti), sustaining (sthiti) & destruction (samhara).
The number 108 is significant in many different cultures & disciplines. For example, this number informs the architecture of sacred texts that are central to yoga & eastern philosophy. There are 108 chapters of the Rig Veda, 108 Upanishads, & 108 primary Tantras. These texts are written in Sanskrit, a language comprised of 54 letters, each with a masculine (Shiva) & feminine (Shakti) form, 54 x 2 = 108.
In the field of Ayurveda, there are 108 sacred places, or marmas, in the body, identifying intersections of matter & consciousness. When manipulated, these points can awaken and align the vital energy. Members of the Vedic tradition see this number as denoting the wholeness of the universe: 1 represents the solar masculine, 0 represents the lunar feminine & 8 represents the infinite nature of all things.
