Why do we consider 108 times chanting as 1 round?
From: manikandan
Why 108 times, is there any reason and i heard 108 Divyadesam or Divyastalam temples are there according to Sri-Vaisnava Samprataya, is there any connection between this two?
Transcript
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Any other questions? Question from Manikandan Prabhu. Why do we consider 108 times chanting as Vandram? Why 108 times? Is there any reason? I heard there are 108 divya deshyams or divya sthalam temples.
According to Shivaishya Sampradaya, is there any connection between these two? Yes. The word 108, the number 108 is considered a sacred number according to Vedic numerology. And that sacredness is associated with various factors.
So one of those factors is indeed that there are 108 divya deshyams, holy places in Shivaishya Sampradaya. The other factor is also that there are 108 Upanishads. And from the Gaudiya Vaishnava perspective, when we chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra, we refer to the 108 intimate devotees of Krishna.
Among his 16,108 queens, 108 are very dear to him. Similarly, among his many many devotees and devotees, also 108 are especially dear to him. So the 108 Upanishads, they point, each of them in a metaphorical sense, point to the holy names of Krishna.
Kulshikar Maharaj says that in Sakalampuja, Sampuja Mantram, this is the mantra that is worshipped by all the Upanishads. And similarly, we want to take the blessings of all his primary exalted devotees. So every mantra that we chant is like, we are invoking the blessings of each of those devotees to guide us and to connect us with Krishna.
And similarly, it can also refer to the divya deshyams. So as Gaudiya Vaishnavas, we primarily consider that we want to, while connecting with Krishna, seek the blessings of each of his primary devotees. And that’s why the 108 in the mantra.
But if Sri Vaishnavas consider the correlation with the 108 divya deshyams, and they think that they are remembering each of the divya deshyams and taking the blessings of the presiding deities of those particular divya deshyams, that is also perfectly valid. The most important thing while chanting is that we remember Krishna sincerely and try to call out to him devotionally. So even if we don’t, we are not conscious about the Upanishads or the divya deshyams or his devotees, but if we are trying to remember Krishna and call out to him, then we will get the benefit, we will still get the benefit.
So that’s why we don’t have to become, do any hair splitting and become particularly sectarian about the significance of the 108 figure. Depending on the personal devotional inclination and inspiration of various devotees, they can refer to, they can correlate that figure 108 with whatever is connected with their devotional tradition. And we can respect that also.
Thank you.