ROLE OF WATER

Water plays an important role in religion.  It is associated with the cleansing and purification of both body and spirit.

For Christians, baptism by water signifies spiritual rebirth. The word "baptism" comes from the Greek word meaning to plunge or to wash.

Certain miraculous events are associated with water, such as a vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes grotto in France.

Sacred healing rivers and wells abound in religion, including the grotto and holy well at Chartres, France, and the Chalice Well at Glastonbury, England.

Central to Vedantic religious practice are the pure and sacred rivers of India, in particular the Ganges, which comes directly from a holy source in the Himalayas. Immersion in the Ganges is said to bring believers purification and freedom from sin.

Those who have their bodies cremated on the banks of the Ganges are granted instant salvation.  If the death and cremation has occurred elsewhere, salvation can be achieved by immersing the ashes in the Ganges