Welcome to The Baba Times
Your Window to the World of Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality!
This website is devoted to Philosophy, Religion, Spirituality and Science. We bring in articles on teachings by Great Saints like Sri Shirdi Sai Baba, Adi Shankara, Swami Sivananda, Swami Krishnananda, Aurobindo, Mother of Auroville and others.
LATEST NEWS We are conducting 'Guided Meditation Session' every Saturday at 5.30 PM EST from New York.
This will include discussions on various topics like Upanishads, Philosophy, Spirituality & Meditation through Skype. Please send 'Add Request' to 'DLSNewYork' from your skype account so that you can participate in this Satsang. These sessions are part of Divine Life Society from Rishikesh
Hari Om. The Baba Times Team, Contact thebabatimes@gmail.com
The Reiki Power symbol - Choku Rei
The Reiki Power symbol - Choku Rei
(Choku Rei is pronounced: “Cho-Koo-Ray”)
The general meaning of Choku Rei is: “Place the power of the universe here”.
The power symbol can be used to increase the power of Reiki. It can also be used for protection. See it as a light switch that has the intention to instantly boost your ability to channel Reiki energy.
Draw or visualize the symbol in front of you and you will have instant access to more healing energies. Choku Rei also gives the other symbols more power when they are used together.
The symbol can be used any time during a treatment but it is especially effective if it is used in the beginning of a session to empower the Reiki energy or when used at the end of a session to close the session and seal off the Reiki energies.
The Reiki Power symbol is, as I have said before, mainly a power switch but you can also assign it further uses. Remember it is always your intention that governs what happens. If you want to add new “functions” to the Power symbol then just have a clear statement and intention of what it is you want the symbol to do and it will do it for you.
Some uses:
- Increase the power of your healing abilities; use it as a light switch. (Draw or visualize Choku Rei in front of you or draw it in your hands if you want.)
- You can focus the Reiki energies (like a looking glass) on a specific point of the body. (Draw the symbol directly on the spot being treated.)
- Increase the power of the other symbols. (Draw it before drawing the other symbols.)
- One can use the Power symbol to close a space around the receiver and to stop the energies received to disappear from the body. (Draw it above the body with the intention of sealing the healing process.)
- The Power symbol can be used to spiritually clean a room from negative energy, to leave it in light and make it a holy place. (Draw or visualize the symbols on all the walls, ceiling and floor with the intent to energize the room.)
- You can clean crystals and other objects from negative energies. (Draw the power symbol above or on the crystal/object with the intent of cleansing it and restoring it to its original state. Hold the object in your hands and “give” it Reiki (or send it Reiki from a distance if it is too big to hold).)
- Protect yourself from negative energies (from people you treat or people you meet). (Draw or visualize the Reiki Power symbol in front of you with the intent of being totally protected.) You can read more about this on my page about the “Aurashield”.
- Protect yourself, your children, your spouse, your house and other things you value. (Draw Choku Rei directly on the object/person you want to protect with the intent to protect him/her/it from harm.) Since Reiki works on all different levels of existence it will naturally also give protection on all levels of existence.
These are just a few uses. You can use your own intuition and imagination to find other uses for the Reiki Power symbol – Choku Rei. There are no limits to what you can do. The power is all in your mind, let your clear intention guide the function of the symbols.
[Source]
Applications of Yoga
Applications of Yoga
Yoga is a term for a range of traditional systems of physical exerciseand meditation in Hinduism.
Modified versions of the physical exercises in hatha yoga have become popular as a kind of low-impact physical exercise, and are used for therapeutic purposes.”Yoga” in this sense and in common parlance refers primarily to the asanas but less commonly to pranayama. Aspects of meditation are sometimes included.
Both the meditative and the exercise components of yoga show promise for non-specific health benefits. According to an article in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, the system of hatha yoga believes that prana, or healing “life energy” is absorbed into the body through the breath, and can treat a wide variety of illnesses and complaints. Yoga has been studied as an intervention for many conditions, including back pain, stress, and depression.
A survey released in December 2008 by the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that yoga was the sixth most commonly used alternative therapy in the United States during 2007, with 6.1 percent of the population participating.
Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Hindu philosophy. New schools of yoga were introduced in the context of Hindu revivalism towards the end of the 19th century. The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga to a western audience was Swami Vivekananda, who toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s
The physical asana of hatha yoga have a tradition that goes back to the 15th century, but they were not widely practiced in India prior to the early 20th century. Hatha yoga was advocated by a number of late 19th to early 20th century gurus in India, including Sri Krishnamacharya in south India, Swami Sivananda in the north, Sri Yogendra in Bombay, and Swami Kuvalyananda in Lonavala.
In the 1960s, western interest in Hindu spirituality reached its peak, giving rise to a great number of Neo-Hindu schools specifically advocated to a western public. Among the teachers of hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period were B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, Swami Vishnu-devananda, and Swami Satchidananda. A second “yoga boom” followed in the 1980s, as Dean Ornish, a follower of Swami Satchidananda, connected yoga to heart health, legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises outside of counter culture or esotericism circles, and unconnected to a religious denomination.
Since then, yoga has been used as supplementary therapy for diverse conditions such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, and AIDS. The scope of medical issues where yoga is used as a complementary therapy continues to grow.
There are many different styles and disciplines and people practice yoga for a variety of reasons. One of the main goals of yoga is to improve overall well-being through teaching discipline and self-regulation. Recently, research has focused on the healing properties of yoga and how it relates to positive psychology. Researchers wonder what psychological advantages it can afford, in addition to the previously discovered physical benefits. Yoga has proven to offer different and multiple benefits for individuals ranging from consciousness of one’s body and its capabilities, satisfaction from challenging oneself physically, and increased energy and mental clarity and concentration. While the topic is still somewhat new and some research is still preliminary, results have shown significant improvements in both physical and mental health among a variety of subjects in various circumstances.
The practice of yoga traditionally includes both meditation and exercise, but in the West the focus is mainly on exercise. The more classical approaches, such as Iyengar Yoga, move at a more deliberate pace, emphasize proper alignment and execution and hold asanas for a longer time. They aim to gradually improve flexibility, balance, and strength. Other approaches, such as Ashtanga or Power Yoga, shift between asanas quickly and energetically. More recently, contemporary approaches to yoga have developed [(such as Vanda Scaravelli inspired, as taught by the likes of Diane Long, Sophie Hoare and Marc Woolford)], inviting students to become their own authority in yoga practice by offering principle-based approaches to yoga that can be applied to any form.
Nearly all types of yoga practices include asanas, pranayama (breathing exercises), and savasanas(relaxation techniques).
Anxiety and depression
The effect of yoga on symptoms of anxiety and depression is one of the most well-studied aspects of yoga’s effect on the body and mind. Although researchers are optimistic about the effectiveness of yoga in alleviating depression, a 2010 review of research says that studies to date, while suggestive, are not yet conclusive. However, some research says that regular yoga practice (at least once weekly) helps to decrease levels of depression significantly. Twice weekly yoga practice for two months showed a significant decrease in levels of depression as well as levels of both state and trait anxiety. Some studies also indicate that hatha yoga has a significant effect on lowering levels of anxiety and accompanying stress. Hatha yoga encourages an increased awareness of breath, internal centering, relaxation, and meditation. These strategies helped participants experience significantly lower stress and anxiety levels in addition to higher quality of life scores.
A rigorous randomized control trial on yoga in literature comparing kundalini yoga with the relaxation response and mindfulness meditation in obsessive-compulsive disorder patients found a significant treatment difference in favor of kundalini yoga. Moreover, a 2005 systematic review of the research on yoga and anxiety presented encouraging results, particularly with anxiety-related disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Similarly, a present study assessed state anxiety, depressive mood, and subjective well-being and analyses of variance for repeated measures revealed mood improvement following yoga sessions. Other studies have shown that yoga practices reduce anxiety and depression, all the while improving well-being.
In terms of its effects on individuals in educational institutions, recent research has found that yoga benefits students, not only in reducing basal anxiety levels, but also in attenuating further increases in anxiety as they experience stressful situations like exams. Additionally, differences in mood before and after class of college students taking different courses (swimming, body conditioning, hatha yoga, fencing exercise, and lecture) were analyzed and results suggest that courses which meet four requirements involving aerobics, noncompetitiveness, predictability, and repetitiveness may reduce stress.
Controversy
In regard to the practice of yoga itself, especially hatha (physically active) yoga, there are controversies over the legitimacy of “prescribing” yoga for individuals afflicted with particular conditions due to the risk of injury associated with the practice. There have been reports of yoga-related injuries and this is one reason why the practice of yoga as alternative therapy is questioned. These include carotid artery tears, bulging intervertebral discs, rotator cuff injuries, ganglion cysts, compression of the spine (vertebral column), vertebral artery dissection, and hyperextension of the neck. According to Gary Kraftsow, author of Yoga for Transformation, many asanas aren’t suitable for everyone. Orthopedic surgeon Jeffrey Halbrecht, medical director for the Institute for Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine in San Francisco, warns that both experienced and novice yoga practitioners can experience injuries. “Yoga is marketed as such an innocuous thing,” says Loren Fishman, assistant clinical professor of rehabilitation medicine at Columbia University in New York City. “But without care, injuries can absolutely happen.” ‘Strenuous’ yoga has been connected to a form of stroke in young women. Practice of yoga has also been linked to causing hyperextension or rotation of the neck, which may be a precipitating factor in cervical artery dissection.
While much of the medical community views the results of yoga research to be significant, others argue that there were many flaws that undermine results. Much of the research on yoga has been in the form of preliminary studies or clinical trials of low methodological quality, including small sample sizes, inadequate blinding, lack of randomization, and high risk of bias. As of 2011, evidence suggests that yoga may be at least as effective at improving health outcomes as other forms of mild physical exercise when added to standard care. What is found most concerning regarding the legitimacy of yoga as a method of healing is the current lack of specificity and standardization regarding the practice of yoga. One recent study examined the difficulties of implementing yoga-based therapies and methods of healing without any detailed, standardized and vetted descriptions of the asanas promoted as being beneficial for healing. This research calls for the creation of supported intervention practices that could be distributed and applied for use in clinical practice for patients.
[Source]
Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine
Yoga as exercise or alternative medicine
Yoga is a term for a range of traditional systems of physical exerciseand meditation in Hinduism.
Modified versions of the physical exercises in hatha yoga have become popular as a kind of low-impact physical exercise, and are used for therapeutic purposes.”Yoga” in this sense and in common parlance refers primarily to the asanas but less commonly to pranayama. Aspects of meditation are sometimes included.
Both the meditative and the exercise components of yoga show promise for non-specific health benefits. According to an article in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, the system of hatha yoga believes that prana, or healing “life energy” is absorbed into the body through the breath, and can treat a wide variety of illnesses and complaints. Yoga has been studied as an intervention for many conditions, including back pain, stress, and depression.
A survey released in December 2008 by the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that yoga was the sixth most commonly used alternative therapy in the United States during 2007, with 6.1 percent of the population participating.
Yoga came to the attention of an educated western public in the mid 19th century along with other topics of Hindu philosophy. New schools of yoga were introduced in the context of Hindu revivalism towards the end of the 19th century. The first Hindu teacher to actively advocate and disseminate aspects of yoga to a western audience was Swami Vivekananda, who toured Europe and the United States in the 1890s
The physical asana of hatha yoga have a tradition that goes back to the 15th century, but they were not widely practiced in India prior to the early 20th century. Hatha yoga was advocated by a number of late 19th to early 20th century gurus in India, including Sri Krishnamacharya in south India, Swami Sivananda in the north, Sri Yogendra in Bombay, and Swami Kuvalyananda in Lonavala.
In the 1960s, western interest in Hindu spirituality reached its peak, giving rise to a great number of Neo-Hindu schools specifically advocated to a western public. Among the teachers of hatha yoga who were active in the west in this period were B.K.S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, Swami Vishnu-devananda, and Swami Satchidananda. A second “yoga boom” followed in the 1980s, as Dean Ornish, a follower of Swami Satchidananda, connected yoga to heart health, legitimizing yoga as a purely physical system of health exercises outside of counter culture or esotericism circles, and unconnected to a religious denomination.
Since then, yoga has been used as supplementary therapy for diverse conditions such as cancer, diabetes, asthma, and AIDS. The scope of medical issues where yoga is used as a complementary therapy continues to grow.
There are many different styles and disciplines and people practice yoga for a variety of reasons. One of the main goals of yoga is to improve overall well-being through teaching discipline and self-regulation. Recently, research has focused on the healing properties of yoga and how it relates to positive psychology. Researchers wonder what psychological advantages it can afford, in addition to the previously discovered physical benefits. Yoga has proven to offer different and multiple benefits for individuals ranging from consciousness of one’s body and its capabilities, satisfaction from challenging oneself physically, and increased energy and mental clarity and concentration. While the topic is still somewhat new and some research is still preliminary, results have shown significant improvements in both physical and mental health among a variety of subjects in various circumstances.
The practice of yoga traditionally includes both meditation and exercise, but in the West the focus is mainly on exercise. The more classical approaches, such as Iyengar Yoga, move at a more deliberate pace, emphasize proper alignment and execution and hold asanas for a longer time. They aim to gradually improve flexibility, balance, and strength. Other approaches, such as Ashtanga or Power Yoga, shift between asanas quickly and energetically. More recently, contemporary approaches to yoga have developed [(such as Vanda Scaravelli inspired, as taught by the likes of Diane Long, Sophie Hoare and Marc Woolford)], inviting students to become their own authority in yoga practice by offering principle-based approaches to yoga that can be applied to any form.
Nearly all types of yoga practices include asanas, pranayama (breathing exercises), and savasanas (relaxation techniques).
[Source]
Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali
Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali are 196 Indian sūtras (aphorisms) that constitute the foundational text of Rāja Yoga. Yoga is one of the six orthodox āstika schools of Hindu philosophy, which, according to the Yogatattva Upanishad, is divided into four forms – Mantrayoga, Layayoga, Hathayoga and Rājayoga – the last of which is the highest (or royal) practice.
Although the Yoga Sutras have become the most important text of Yoga, the opinion of most scholars is that Patañjali was not the creator of Yoga, which existed well before him, but merely a great expounder.
Compilation and dating
Various authorities attribute the compilation of the sutras to Patañjali, who is also referenced as the author of a major treatise on Sanskrit grammar, the Mahabhasya. It is considered that Patañjali was not the first to write about Yoga - other authors had written before him, and he used their writings in his work. However, as it often happens, his text became the authority on the subject.
(Pandit Usharbudharya)
Gavin Flood places the composition of the Yoga sutras between 100 BCE and 500 CE.
Contents
In the Yoga Sutras, Patañjali prescribes adherence to eight “limbs” or steps (the sum of which constitute “Ashtanga Yoga”, the title of the second chapter) to quiet one’s mind and achieve kaivalya. The Yoga Sutras form the theoretical and philosophical basis of Raja Yoga, and are considered to be the most organized and complete definition of that discipline. The Sutras not only provide yoga with a thorough and consistent philosophical basis, they also clarify many important esoteric concepts which are common to all traditions of Indian thought, such as karma.
Structure of the text
Patañjali divided his Yoga Sutras into 4 chapters or books (Sanskrit pada), containing in all 196 aphorisms, divided as follows:
Samadhi Pada (51 sutras)
Samadhi refers to a blissful state where the yogi is absorbed into the One. The author describes yoga and then the nature and the means to attaining samādhi. This chapter contains the famous definitional verse: “Yogaś citta-vritti-nirodhaḥ” (“Yoga is the restraint of mental modifications”).
Sadhana Pada (55 sutras)
Sadhana is the Sanskrit word for “practice” or “discipline”. Here the author outlines two forms of Yoga: Kriya Yoga (Action Yoga) and Ashtanga Yoga (Eightfold or Eightlimbed Yoga).
Kriya yoga, sometimes called Karma Yoga, is also expounded in Chapter 3 of the Bhagavad Gita, where Arjuna is encouraged by Krishna to act without attachment to the results or fruit of action and activity. It is the yoga of selfless action and service.
Ashtanga Yoga describes the eight limbs that together constitute Raja Yoga.
Vibhuti Pada (56 sutras)
Vibhuti is the Sanskrit word for “power” or “manifestation”. ‘Supra-normal powers’ (Sanskrit: siddhi) are acquired by the practice of yoga. The temptation of these powers should be avoided and the attention should be fixed only on liberation.
Kaivalya Pada (34 sutras)
Kaivalya literally means “isolation”, but as used in the Sutras stands for emancipation, liberation and used interchangeably with moksha (liberation), which is the goal of Yoga. The Kaivalya Pada describes the process of liberation and the reality of the transcendental ego.
[Source]
Religion - Bhairava
Lord Bhairava
Bhairav means terrible or frightful in Sanskrit. Lord Bhairava is said to be the fierce manifestation of Lord Shiva associated with annihilation. He is depicted with frowning, angry eyes and sharp, tiger’s teeth and flaming hair, stark naked except for garlands of skulls and a coiled snake about his neck. His ornaments are twisted serpents, which serves as earrings, bracelets, anklets, and sacred thread (Ajnopavita). He is sometimes shown wearing a tiger skin and a ritual apron composed of human bones. In his four hands he carries a noose, trident, drum and skull. He is often shown accompanied by a black dog.
Dogs (particularly black dogs) were often considered the most appropriate form of sacrifice to Bhairava, and he is sometimes shown as holding a severed human head, with a dog waiting at one side, in order to catch the blood from the head.
Bhairava is the embodiment of fear, and it is aid that those who meet him must confront the source of their own fears. He is also said to safeguard the devotees on all eight directions.
(Kalabhairava Temple, Ujjain)
According to Shiv Mahapuranam, an arrogant Brahma tells Vishnu, that he being the supreme creator, everyone including Vishnu and Shiva must worship him. This angered Shiva who in reality is the creator of all. He manifested in the form of Bhairava and beheaded one of Brahma’s five heads. Bhairava incurred the Brahmahathi dosha and had to roam as Bhikshatana, until he had been absolved of the sin. Kala Bhairava is depicted as carrying the decapitated head of Brahma.
It is also said that Brahma created Saraswati from his imagination (Manasaputri), to help solve the cosmic confusion which arose due to the creation of Universe. Shatarupa was born and she presented Brahma with the wealth of knowledge and wisdom. But Brahma was infatuated with her beauty and pursued her. He even sprouted a fifth head to gaze at her continuously. This unlawful lust caused an imbalance in the universe and Lord Shiva took the form of Bhairava to put an end to this. He confronted Brahma and cut off his fifth head which brought him to his senses. He then performed a yagna to purify himself, reciting mantras with his four heads for salvation.
Bhairavi, the consort of the Bhairava, is also a fierce and terrifying aspect of the Devi who is virtually indistinguishable from Kali.
[Source]
Calendar - Yuga
Yuga in Hindu philosophy
It is the name of an ‘epoch’ or ‘era’ within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years,
Kalki
Lord Vishnu has many avatars and in each yuga,he has revealed all of them except-the last avatar(tenth)-Kalki.It is said that in the last yuga Lord Vishnu will reveal this avatar too and the Kalki avatar will lead to the end of the world.The main reason is to destroy the wicked,to restart the new creation,and to restore the purity of conduct in people’s life. This avatar will be seated in a white horse with a drawn sword blazing like a comet.
Durations of four yugas
According to the Laws of Manu, one of the earliest known texts describing the yugas, the length is 4800 years + 3600 years + 2400 years + 1200 years for a total of 12,000 years for one arc, or 24,000 years to complete the cycle (one precession of the equinox). There is no mention of a year of the demigods or any year longer than the solar year, which is consistent with description in The Holy Science. [Source]
Prayers - Idol Worship
Idol worship – by Swami Vivekananda
During his wandering days, Swami Vivekananda visited Ajmer where he happened to meet the local Raja, Mangal Singh. While the court was in progress, the Raja smilingly asked Swamiji, ‘Well, I have no faith in idol worship. What is going to be my fate?’
Swamiji replied, ‘Surely you are joking’.
‘No, Swamiji, not at all. You see, I really cannot worship wood, earth, stone or metal, like other people. Does this mean that I shall fare worse in the life thereafter?’
While he was preparing to answer, Swamiji spotted a picture of the Maharaja on the wall.
He asked for it and holding it, he asked, ‘Whose picture is this?’
The Dewan answered, ‘It is the likeness of our Maharaja’.
‘Spit on it.’ Commanded Swamiji. ‘Any one of you may spit on it. What is it but a piece of paper? What objection can you have against doing so?’
Everyone stood dumbstruck.
When Swamiji insisted, the Dewan cried out, ‘What, Swamiji! What are you asking me to do? This is the likeness of our Maharaja! How can I do such a thing?’
Turning to the king, Swamiji continued, “See, Your Highness, thus it also is with the devotees who worship stone and metal images of gods and goddesses. It is because an image brings to their minds their Ishta, or some special form and attributes of the Divinity, and helps them to concentrate, that the devotees worship God in an image. They do not worship the stone or the metal as such. I have traveled in many places, but nowhere have I found a single Hindu worshiping an image, saying, ‘O Stone, I worship Thee. O Metal, be merciful to me.’ Everyone, Maharaja, is worshiping the same one God who is the Supreme Spirit, the Soul of Pure Knowledge. And God appears to all according to their understanding and their representation of Him.”
(from “Vedanta Kesari- May 2012”)
http://www.chennaimath.org/edownloads/emagazines/vedanta-kesari
[Source]
Prayers - Why 108 Part 3
The sacred 108 Part 3
Planets and Houses: In astrology, there are 12 houses and 9 planets. 12 times 9 equals 108.
Epic significance:
Gopis of Krishna: In the Krishna tradition, there were said to be 108 gopis or maid servants of Krishna.
Fine Arts Significance:
Dance: There are 108 forms of dance in the Indian traditions.
Miscellaneous:
An official Major League Baseball has 108 stitches.
108 is the name of a community of and for open source developers, created by Red Hat.
There are 108 cards in a deck of UNO cards.
In India, 108 (1-0-8) is the toll-free emergency telephone number.
References:
http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/misc/why108.html
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/717
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/108_%28number%29
http://www.salagram.net/108meaning.html
http://humanityhealing.net/2011/08/the-mystic-meaning-of-the-number-108/
[Source]
Prayers - Why 108 Part 2
The sacred 108 Part 2
Buddhism: Soshu Buddhists use 108 beads in their malas. They implement the following formula:
6 x 3 x 2 x3 = 108
6 senses [sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought]
3 aspects of time [past, present, future]
2 condition of heart [pure or impure]
3 possibilties of sentiment [like, dislike, indifference]
In Japan, at the end of the year, a bell is chimed 108 times in Buddhist temples to finish the old year and welcome the new one. Each ring represents one of 108 earthly temptations a person must overcome to achieve nirvana.
Islam: The number 108 is used in Islam to refer to God.
Jain: In the Jain religion, 108 are the combined virtues of five categories of holy ones, including 12, 8, 36, 25, and 27 virtues respectively.
Sikhism: The Sikh tradition has a mala of 108 knots tied in a string of wool, rather than beads.
Chinese: The Chinese Buddhists and Taoists use a 108 bead mala, which is called Su-Chu, and has three dividing beads, so the mala is divided into three parts of 36 each.
Mathematical significance:
The ancient Indians were excellent mathematicians and 108 may be the product of a precise mathematical operation (e.g. 1 power 1 x 2 power 2 x 3 power 3 = 108) which was thought to have special numerological significance.
Numerical scale: The 1 of 108, and the 8 of 108, when added together equals 9, which is the number of the numerical scale, i.e. 1, 2, 3 … 10, etc., where 0 is not a number.
Smaller divisions: The number 108 is divided, such as in half, third, quarter, or twelfth, so that some malas have 54, 36, 27, or 9 beads.
Pythagorean: The nine is the limit of all numbers, all others existing and coming from the same. ie: 0 to 9 is all one needs to make up an infinite amount of numbers.
Powers of 1, 2, and 3 in math: 1 to 1st power=1; 2 to 2nd power=4 (2x2); 3 to 3rd power=27 (3x3x3). 1x4x27=108
Language significance:
Sanskrit alphabet: There are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet. Each has masculine and feminine, Shiva and Shakti. 54 times 2 is 108.
Spiritual significance:
9 times 12: Both of these numbers have been said to have spiritual significance in many traditions. 9 times 12 is 108. Also, 1 plus 8 equals 9. That 9 times 12 equals 108.
1, 0, and 8: 1 stands for God or higher Truth, 0 stands for emptiness or completeness in spiritual practice, and 8 stands for infinity or eternity.
Stages of the soul: Said that Atman, the human soul or center goes through 108 stages on the journey
Biological significance:
Heart Chakra: The chakras are the intersections of energy lines, and there are said to be a total of 108 energy lines converging to form the heart chakra. One of them, sushumna leads to the crown chakra, and is said to be the path to Self-realization.
Yogic significance:
According to Ayurveda and the Chinese school of martial arts, there are 108 pressure points in the body, where consciousness and flesh intersect to give life to the living being.
Marmas or marmastanas are like energy intersections called chakras, except have fewer energy lines converging to form them. There are said to be 108 marmas in the subtle body.
Time significance:
Some say there are 108 feelings, with 36 related to the past, 36 related to the present, and 36 related to the future.
Astrology:
There are 12 constellations, and 9 arc segments called namshas or chandrakalas. 9 times 12 equals 108. Chandra is moon, and kalas are the divisions within a whole.
[Source]
Prayers - Why 108 Part 1
The sacred 108 Part 1
Why do the ancient scriptures, religions and traditions of the East like Hinduism, Buddhism, say 108 as sacred? Is 108 a very important number in Vedantic chantings because the great scholars knew something that we don’t?
The individual numbers 1, 0, and 8 represent one thing, nothing, and everything (infinity). 108 represents the ultimate reality of the universe as being (seemingly paradoxically) simultaneously One, emptiness, and infinite.
The Rosary beads known as the Japa Mala has beads for 108 repetitions of a mantra (Japa), usually called Naam Japa done during religious ceremonies.There are Ashtothras with 108 names of the respective deity. Like, Lakshmi Ashtotra. Let us explore this even though we can never have an absolute view of anything but only a general view.
Scientific significance:
Volume expansion of freezing water is roughly 108%. 108 degrees Fahrenheit is also the internal temperature at which the human body’s vital organs begin to fail from overheating. The moon is 108 moon diameters away from the earth the sun 108 moon diameters from earth. In other words, the distance of Sun from Earth divided by diameter of Sun and distance of Moon from Earth divided by diameter of Moon is approximately equal to 108.
Historic significance:
The pre-historic monument Stonehenge is about 108 feet in diameter.
Religious significance:
Hinduism: The Indian Subcontinent rosary or set of mantra counting has 108 beads. 108 has been a sacred number in the Indian Subcontinent for a very long time. This number is explained in many different ways.
In a book by Khurana, the explanation closely mirrors the original Vedic justifications: A circle has 360 degrees, which when multiplied by 60 gives us 21,600 minutes in a circle. 60 comes from the 60 ‘ghatis’ which Sanatana Dharmiks believe in. One ghati is equal to 24 minutes and 60 ghatis come to 24 hours. One ghati is divided into 60 parts or ‘palas’. So the 60 ghatis multiplied by 60 palasa comes to 3,600. This is further multiplied by 60 (becase a pala contains 60 vipalas) which gives us 21,600. Half of this is for the day, and the other half for the night. So, 21,600 divided by 2 gives us 10,800. For practical purposes, we use 108. Using the number 108 helps us coordinate the rhythm of time and space & we remain in harmony with the spiritual powers of nature.
Mantra and Tantra significance:
Sri Yantra: On the Sri Yantra there are marmas where three lines intersect, and there are 54 such intersections. Each intersection has masculine and feminine, Shiva and Shakti qualities. 54 x 2 equals 108. Thus, there are 108 points that define the Sri Yantra as well as the human body.
Meru: This is a larger bead, not part of the 108. It is not tied in the sequence of the other beads. It is the guiding bead, the one that marks the beginning and end of the mala.
[Source]