The ritual bathroom in the gangesacred river of India, is one of the most iconic and mysterious gestures of Indian culture: The Gange is in fact considered by the Hindu one Living goddess capable of purifying the soul. Millions of faithful immerse themselves every year, challenging the pollution of the river and the health risk for the strength of tradition and faith.
Not a simple river, but a living divinity
The Gangesor Gangue language Hindiit’s not just the more sacred river than Indiabut A real living divinity For millions of Hindu faithful: in fact, the earthly demonstration of the goddess gangaa generous mother who descends from heaven to purify men from their sins and free them from the cycle of reincarnations. This river has one constant presence in legends, in sacred texts and in the daily life of the Indianswho have been doing it for millennia.
According to the traditionimmersing yourself in its waters has saving and purifier power: it is not just about wash the bodybut above all the soul. Swim in the gange, especially at certain times of the year or on the occasion of great religious holidays such as the Kumbh Melais seen as a gesture that allows you to free yourself from the accumulated guilt and to obtain a sort of eternal blessing. Every year, millions of pilgrims go to Sacred cities like Varanasi, Haridwar And Allahabadwhere the banks of the river become Theaters of rituals which combine prayer, singing, offers and collective dives.
The spiritual meaning of the ritual bath
To understand the profound meaning of this gestureyou have to immerse yourself in the Hindu world viewwhich closely binds the body, the soul they Elements of nature. THE’waterfall gange it is considered “amrite“, or “nectar of immortality“, A divine gift capable of dissolving spiritual impurities, in fact, in the Hindu vision, suffering and evil They are not only consequences of the actions performed in current life, but they originate from a karma which accumulates along the cycle of reincarnations.
Immerse yourself in the gange allowstherefore, of stop this chainoffering immediate relief not only for themselves but also for their ancestors. So much so that the ashes of the deceased they are often scattered in the river precisely to guarantee they a more peaceful passage towards the final liberationThe Mokshawhich represents the end of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. For i believersThe Gange is a bridge between the visible world and the invisiblebetween the life and death.
How dangerous is it to immerse yourself in the gange?
Despite his aura of sacrednessThe Ganges Today is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world. In its waters they come together industrial waste, sewage drainsremains animals and even human corpseswhich are abandoned to the river for ritual reasons or by scarcity of economic resources to afford funeral rituals.
In some areas, the level of bacterial contamination it exceeds thousands of times the limits considered safe by the World Health Organization. In fact, the most common infections for those who immerse themselves in the gange range from dermatitis to the Intestinal problemsup to more serious diseases such as hepatitis and encephalitis.
However, most of the faithful do not perceive this risk as a priority: the wedding ring in the purifying power of the river exceeds the fear of the contamination physics. There is the widespread belief that the Gange cannot hurt true believers. Some studies have also observed the presence in the water of Natural bacteriophages which would partially reduce the bacterial load of the riverfeeding this perception of invulnerability for those who have faithalthough this does not eliminate health risks at all.
A sacred ritual that still resists today
Despite the Appeals of the authorities he is Numerous reclamation projects launched by the Indian government in recent decades, the Ritual bathroom in the continuous gange to be an act of faith that resists any modernity. For many Indians, immerse yourself in the waters of the gange It is not irrational behavior, but one spiritual choice which responds to deep needs: the search for pardonOf peace inner, of ties family members eternal. Not surprisingly, the religious tourism Legated to the river continues to thrive, also attracting curious foreigners to observe or participate in these practices.
Despite the controversies on pollution and the dangers for public health, the image of the pilgrim who immerses himself at the rise of the sun remains one of the stronger archetypes And Poetics of Indian culture.
