The Mala is a rosary containing 108 beads.It is used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or name/s of a particular deity, a practice known in Sanskrit as japa.
Hindu tradition holds that the correct way to use a mala is with the right hand, with the thumb flicking one bead to the next, and with the mala draped over the middle finger. The index finger represents ego, the greatest impediment to Self-Realization, so it is considered best avoided (as with the ego) when chanting on a mala.

The number 108 is sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism.
There are 108 energy lines that converge from the Heart Chakra.
108 = The 12 solar houses x 9 planets of the solar system.
The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth.
There are 108 sacred stars in the Tao.
108 is an Islamic number used to refer to God.
108 is a Harshad number i.e. it is divisible by the sum of its digits.