 Sanctity of Water
By
Thomas Erie
July 2010
Water has played a central role in religion and
different belief systems all around the world for thousands of years. It is said to be a purifying tool as well as
a cleanser of the body, which leads to the great symbolism of water and even sacredness in some circles. Whether
its Buddhist funerals, Christian Baptism, Hinduism ritualistic bathing, and all sorts of religious purification
including the myth of the Fountain of Youth, water plays a huge role in the world of the mysterious and
sacred.
Holy Water
In the religious world, water never takes form as ‘just water’ as it does in the
scientific world. Instead of being referred to as H2O, in the religious world you may hear it referred to as an
expression of the eternal spirit of God, and you may hear it referred to as a tool for purification.
In Hinduism specifically, the Hindus use water as a container in which they contain
powers of spiritual purification, which is then later used when needed.
In other religions such as Islam, such ‘meddling’ with the water is unnecessary,
because they believe that water in and of itself has vast healing and purification properties. The followers of
Islam practice bathing of their head, hands, forearms and feet before each of their five daily
prayers.
Shintoists in fact, see waterfalls as sacred and must also perform a ritual of
purification using water before worshipping the kami, who are what they believe to be numerous deities that inhabit
nature.
In the Jewish religion, mikveh(otherwise known as ritual baths) used to be very
important to them, though now it is much less important. However, in some circles of Judaism men still attend
mikveh on Fridays and before large celebrations, and women attend mikveh before marriage, after giving birth and
after menstruation.
In most Christian beliefs, water is seen as a tool of purification, baptism(which is
sometimes seen as necessary to be ‘saved’), and even symbolic of the eternal spirit that is their God. In
purification, some circles believe it can be used as a tool to treat injuries of the flesh and bone, while others
belief it can be used to sway atheists and purify those who are said to be possessed by the devil. As for baptism,
the process differs, in some churches a drop of water on the head with a prayer is the method, while in others you
are submerged in a tub of water and then brought back up drenched.
In the Christian religion there is also several varieties of holy water, the
varieties are as follows:
- Regular Holy Water which is blessed and preserved with salt, the kind of water used
in blessings.
- Baptism Holy Water, which anointing oil and water combine as one. Used in churches
as the water used for Baptism.
- Gregorian water, where ashes, whine and salt are added to the blessed water. This
type of Holy Water is used for Church consecrations.
- Easter water, the type of Holy Water distributed on Easter Day for personal
use.
Conclusively it can be seen that many people see water as even more special than what
science can ‘prove’, and is used periodically. In fact, water may be the most widely accepted holy substance in
existence. Water was seen as vastly important thousands of years ago and it still is, perhaps there is a reason for
that beyond it’s scientific properties? You decide for yourself.
The Fountain of
Youth
Whether or not you believe that water has properties beyond what science tells us is
irrelevant to Juan Ponce de Leon, a European explorer who was the first to
explore what we now know as Florida. What was he doing exploring Florida? Well, he didn’t mean to. He was on his
way to Bimini, one of the islands in the Bahamas searching after a myth and what he found was something real, but
it wasn’t what he was looking for. What he was looking for was a mythical Fountain of Youth, a literal fountain of
water that upon consumption was said to allow one to never grow old. He made two attempts in finding the fountain,
and although he made it all the way to Cuba in his search, it is said that he never found it. Of course, whether he
found it or not is to be left to speculation, and we wouldn’t find out by watching him as he died from injuries
after his second exploration. Although he never found the Fountain of Youth, he was the first to explore Florida, a
name he gave it due to its immense flower population (flowery = Florida in Spanish).
Could there be a fountain of water with such grand
healing powers that it lends the consumer the ability to never age? I’ll leave that for you to decide and
maybe the next time your in Bimini, you’ll take a look around.
Sources:
Holy Water -
http://www.worldwaterday.org/page/442
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/things/holy_water.htm
The Fountain of Youth -
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002678F/ponce_de_leon.htm
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ttp://www.fragrancex.com/Fragrance-Information/ponce-de-leon-and-the-fountain-of-youth.html
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