Numbers have great meaning and significance. Age old beliefs about certain numbers being good or cursed is there in all cultures. Be it the infamous number 13 or the lucky 7. The practise of giving odd number values such as 101 or 501 in gifts or in donation is prevalent in India. Each culture, region has its own interpretation on what is auspicious and what is to be avoided.

The science of deriving meaning from numbers – the numerology has several interpreters hence several sets of meanings. What one teacher or a branch considers the meaning of a number say 5 will not certainly be the meaning given to it by another. We have over the years put so much effort in to making up meanings in these great concept of numbers that many believe that the entire personality, future events, past actions can be derived from the date of your birth or license number of your vehicle or your mobile phone number.

While for those who are truly gifted in reading the universe even these could be a handle to further their understanding, however trying to build a science around the numerology is somewhat ingenuous.

For example you might say the number one denotes great personal power, this number means that you don’t listen to random people, instead you have your own individuality. All this is well. But putting that in practise, saying that everybody born on the 1st, 10th, 19th or on 28th of a month belongs to number 1 and hence carry these attributes is taking things too far and simplifying the great mystery and variety of life too much.

Today is 1st of March. However according to several Indian calendars in use for tens of centuries today is a totally different date. So why would today belong to the number 1?

Numbers as concepts have great value and meanings. But using the dates or mobile numbers to do prediction is not suitable as far as I am concern. The practise of prashna jyotisha or kavadi prashna will give far greater results if done by an intuitive and knowledgeable person.

To wrap this up, here is my interpretation of few numbers (thought up in a few minutes).

One is myself. This denotes an individual and the universe. two is the other. Here duality enters. I’m not the only existence, there is another. The number 3 denotes our first rival and our first teammate. The number 4 brings balance.

What do you think the number 5 means?

The trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva in Hinduism /Sanatana dharma represents the three core processes of nature. Creation, sustenance and destruction respectively. These 3 male deity (for lack of a better word) are completed by their three female counterparts – Saraswati, Lakshmi and Shakti.

The feminine provides the raw energy, the capability of learning and wisdom, luck and wealth and strength. Their male counterpart shapes it, directs it. Similar to yin and yang, the male (yang) is action and function whereas the yin (the female) is the raw potential or the essence.

Brahma and Saraswati

For creation, knowledge is essential – Brahma cannot create without the knowledge and skill of Saraswati.

Vishnu and Lakshmi

For sustenance you need wealth, resources, luck and so on. The lord of maintenance and protection cannot function without the Lakshmi’s blessing.

Shiva and Shakti

To destroy you need power. To break creation in to raw energy Shakti is needed. For creation, you need to destroy.

The circular nature of existence

Everything comes in to being (Brahma), lives for a while (Vishnu) and dissolves again (Shiva). There is no Brahma without Shiva and no Vishnu without Brahma and no Shiva without either of the other two. The creation flows through this cycle in all the shapes and sizes be it at the level of cosmos or at the level of individual atoms. Whether it is a thought, man made product all the creation has these three stages of existence.

Tug of war is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certain distance in one direction against the force of the opposing team's pull. - Wikipedia

In our life this tug of war happens between us as individuals at one end and the other end as society, environment or other individuals. Both sides try their best to pull the rope as much as possible.

Now it depends upon the strength of each individual character how hard they pull. How resolute they are, how focused they are and how aware they are of the other. If an individual is over aware of the other in this tug of war, it becomes harder to pull. Your resolve waivers. You see the bigger picture and forget the individual. You surrender your individuality as gracefully as you can or as gracefully you are allowed to.

On the other end if your individuality is highly developed and focused then you stand firm and put up a fight. There is a better chance that you achieve your objectives and defeat the enemy. The downside is that you lose the bigger picture. You might lose friends or family whom you have defeated so ruthlessly.

Like everything in life, balance and self control is the key. You can only surrender if you are willing to swallow your ego and you can only stand firm if you have the strength for it. To top it all, you need the wisdom to know what to do in each war. Pull as much you can or let the other team have their way once in a while.

Let there be wisdom enough to illuminate the path ahead and the strength to follow along.

Sharp as an arrow, single minded, hitting the bull’s eye are the fraises we hear when someone is ultra focused on a goal or a purpose. When we are in this mode, our energies are concentrated and we become ‘ekagra’. That is one-pointed.

Like an arrow once released does not dither on route wondering should I go this way or that way, am I aimed at the right target or at the wrong target, a focused mind avoids confusion and focuses on accomplishing the objective. Whereas a confused mind will rethink decisions many times, will struggle to commit and lack energy.

Cohesiveness of mind and purpose is essential for focus. Cohesiveness comes when internal differences are resolved. When mind catches a rhythm, noise turns into music, a direction emerges.

To bring cohesiveness, practise meditation or any activity requiring cohesiveness. You will notice that your mental and emotional disturbances starts to calm and you are able to hear yourself more clearly. Surrender to the flow and cultivate the ambience.

While meditation is a great way to bring order to your thoughts, it is not the only way. Any activity where you follow a rhythm and where discipline and repetition are key will help.

Examples include dancing, singing, chanting, yoga, cycling even playing games. Order once established grows and can spread to other areas as well.

Also recognise that pigheadedness or being adamant is not as being cohesive. When you are cohesive, you are not obsessed, it is a balanced state where flexibility is possible without dissolving in to chaos. Whereas when you are obsessed, any deviation or temporary change of focus feels threatening. You lose balance easily.

Finally your mind can be a committee when deciding where to go but got to be a leader when executing the decisions. So practise meditation and develop cohesiveness. You will find that sweet spot of balance more often.