Inside Yoga 91 (2/12/13)

Numbers!!! They are everywhere – some say the universe runs through numbers and as many of your will have noticed a yoga practice, a Buddhist practice and for that matter, most spiritual practices are littered with numerical references.

For those who never liked Maths, this fact may just pass them by, unnoticed and unimportant, but for numerate it holds endless fascination or at perhaps, mild amusement.

So here are a few examples of how numerology is embedded within these practices – you will notice that some of them are mentioned periodically in my classes.

First of all, one I mentioned in a class recently: 108. This auspicious number is based upon the Sanskrit alphabet, which has 54 letters. When reciting a mantra, the practitioner would normally start by reciting each Sanskrit letter twice, which would mean 108 times – and this is also why most malas (the beads on a string that yogis, hindus, and Buddhists use to count their mantra recitation) have 108 beads in one loop. In Islam and other spiritual traditions the beads are used in the same way, though I cannot say for sure if they also have 108 beads. Malas are also made in shorter versions and these are divided in relation to the magical 108 – sets of 54 and 27 being common.

After reciting the Sanskrit alphabet, the practitioner would proceed with their mantra, whatever this might be – this commonly would be in Sanskrit but could also be in Pali (the language spoken by the Buddhha).

Another number that comes up: 84. It is said that the Buddha taught 84,000 teachings. How do they know you might ask, did someone count? Hard to say for sure, as in those days the aural tradition of teaching was the way people learned – you listened and learned to someone speaking, with little if nothing being written down. I would think that memorisation was particularly good back then! The Buddha’s teaching were written down from memory a long time after his death.

So how did they get the figure 84,000? I have been told that in south Asia, and perhaps further afield, the figure 84 represents infinity. So the Buddha taught infinitely thousands of teachings – as with many of teachings from this tradition, lessons are delivered in aphorisms and thought provoking comments designed to ask you to think yourself about what has been said and see if this is true for yourself. It is said the Buddha said do not take what he said to be true without first investigating this yourself – hence meditation which is so important in these practices.

Another number that is seen so much is 3. In Buddhism there is the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha – the Buddha himself, dharma means his teachings, and Sangha is the spiritual community which supports the teachings.

These three pillars of practice are found in other traditions, echoing the same style of teaching – in Hinduism, there are the three gods, Brahma – the creator, Vishnu – the preserver, and Shiva – the destroyer/transformer. Note that destroyer is positive in the sense that everything comes from something, so for something to be created something else has to be destroyed (transformed). That is why they are called the Great Trinity.

This triad is echoed with Christianity’s Holy Trinity. God is described as being “one god in three persons” – this being the father, the son – Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Similarly, the three Hindu gods are in effect “one” god, as they are derived from Brahman.

Brahman is described as “the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world”, the non-dual reality which lies beyond the duality most of us live within.

The quality of Brahman has been described as satcitananda – three words which go together to make one quality – another use of three to make one! Sat means “being”, chit (or cit) refers to “consciousness” and “ananda” means bliss. Although our practice might not feel as if it is achieving these qualities, we are moving towards satcitananda through our practice.

In Buddhism there is the Eightfold Path, while in Yoga we speak of the Eight Limbs of Yoga, and in China, the number 8 is so auspicious the folk there will do what they can to have the number 8 in their lives. For example, I heard that in Hong Kong (or somewhere near there) the car number plate 8 fetched a huge sum!!

Why do we need numbers? I think it is simply because it holds us together. It gives us a framework within we can function, and sets the boundaries for us. It gives us a methodology by which we can achieve something. We might hate them, and feel a free-wheeling radical, but numbers are a feature of our life and lives.

In traditions where there is the belief in reincarnation the people are given huge numbers to grapple with. They are told to achieve a better life in the next life they must practice a good life, meditate, pray and so forth, but it might not happen for many lives – thousands, millions, or an epoch. It does beg the question why bother if it is so far off, but that is where the magic of numbers works. It is far enough off to encourage spiritual practice is maintained, in the same way that a climber of a big mountain knows: one must keep on making progress, and slowly, towards the summit, without knowing where it is, or even if they will ever reach it. They do this “because it’s there” – to quote Everest climber George Mallory, who said this in the 1920s.

Or see it the other way round, if it was so close to hand people might become complacent and lazy – and greedy. Which has a parallel with our modern world, the one that many say is becoming degenerate, soulless, losing its sense of society and how to behave. Why? Because everything is at hand and accessible, and this in turn has led to complacency, apathy and above, greed.

We might not feel this is a long journey when we begin a yoga class, and practice, but it is this very realization that we are on a long (life-long) journey that will keep us going, step by step with our practice – after all it will be progress.

As for the numbers? They are always there and we might – sometimes – notice their significance and feel supported by them. There are of course many more numbers that can be mentioned – and though they might be infinite in number, my time right now is finite and I must stop!

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