In cultures water is used in commemoration of the sacred.

It symbolizes life, protection, and healing.

But above all, different faith traditions use water for purification purposes.

That’s because it cleanses, and washes away impurities

And has become the objective of rituals in sacred ceremonies

Believers are at the mercy of water just like the God or gods they worship.

Buddhist monks used it in bowls for ceremonial rites of the dead.

Christians baptize with water and original sin is washed away.  Initiates are either immersed, have water poured over their heads, or sprinkled.

Hindus seek cleansing in sacred rivers like Ganges, Yamuna, or Godavari for purification purposes, freeing themselves of pollutants, and to attain Svarga (the paradise of Indra).

Muslims literally purify themselves before approaching God in prayer.

Jews also practice rituals of washing.  And Exodus tells the story of the Israelites’ liberation, their journey through the Red Sea, and the drowning of Egyptians charioteers pursuing them.

Water is also known to have other mystical qualities.

In different denominations it not only liberates, but free believers from sin, and redeemed by God.

To Christians the “living water” is Jesus Christ himself.

Performing ritualistic rites in the Ganges dispels differences in the Indian caste system that are often part of Hindu culture that Buddhism deplores.

So every Hindu temple has a pond of some sort for the rite of washing before entering the temple.

“Eternal Spirit – thank you for water as the building block of life, and all its precious gifts”

Amen