Water

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Water has a central place in the practices and beliefs of many

religions for two main reasons. Firstly, water cleanses. Water

washes away impurities and pollutants, it can make an object look as

good as new and wipe away any signs of previous defilement.

 

Water not only purifies objects for ritual use, but can make a person

clean, externally or spiritually, ready to come into the presence of

his/her focus of worship. Secondly, water is a primary building

block

of life. Without water there is no life, yet water has the power to

destroy as well as to create. We are at the mercy of water just as

we

are at the mercy of our God or gods. The significance of water

manifests itself differently in different religions and beliefs but

it

is these two qualities of water that underlie its place in our

cultures and faiths.

 

Hinduism

 

Water in Hinduism has a special place because it is believed to have

spiritually cleansing powers. To Hindus all water is sacred,

especially rivers, and there are seven sacred rivers, namely the

Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri.

Although Hinduism encompasses so many different beliefs among those

that most Hindus do share is the importance of striving to attain

purity and avoiding pollution. This relates to both physical

cleanliness and spiritual well-being.

 

Pilgrimage is very important to Hindus. Holy places are usually

located on the banks of rivers, coasts, seashores and mountains.

Sites of convergence, between land and river or two, or even better

three, rivers, carry special significance and are specially sacred.

Sacred rivers are thought to be a great equalizer. In the Ganges the

pure are made even more pure and the impure have their pollution

removed if only temporarily. In the sacred

water distinctions of caste are supposed to count for nothing, as all

sins fall away. Kumbhamela is a pilgrimage of Hindu devotees and is

held every three years at four different places in turn - Hardwar,

Nasik, Prayaga and Ujjain. These places are believed to be where

drops of amrta - the nectar of immortality - fell to earth during a

heavenly conflict.

 

The Ganges river is the most important of the sacred rivers. Its

waters are used in puja (worship) and if possible a sip is given to

the dying. It is believed that those who bathe in the Ganges and

those who leave some part of themselves (hair, bone etc) on the left

bank will attain Svarga (the paradise of Indra). The river is said

to

flow from the toe of Vishnu to be spread into the world through the

hair of Shiva.

 

Funeral grounds are always located near a river. Sometimes at the

funeral a small hole is drilled in an earthen pot, which is then

filled with water. As the son of the deceased walks around the

burning funeral pyre with the pot, dripping water forms a limiting

line to prevent the soul from escaping back into the earth as a

ghost.

When the heat of the pyre cracks the skull of the corpse, the

mourners bathe in the river and return home. On the third day after

the cremation the ashes are collected and, on or after the tenth day

they are cast into a holy river.

 

For Hindus, morning cleansing with water is a basic obligation.

Tarpana is the point at which the worshipper makes a cup with his

hands and pours the water back into the river reciting mantras.

 

After sipping some water, he may then apply the distinguishing mark

of

his sampradaya (tradition), and say the morning prayer, samdhya.

Sodhana is Hindu purification and is necessary for different reasons

and at different levels. Physical purification is a part of daily

ritual which may, in the case of sadhus (Hindu holy people who

renounce the world seeking Brahman), be very elaborate. Every

temple

has a pond near it and devotees are supposed to take a bath before

entering the temple.

 

Om ParaShaktiye Namaha