\u201cOpen your eyes, my son!\u201d and he gradually\ndid so. His eyes were blinded with the bright light emerging from the front. He rubbed his eyes and\ndropped on his knees genuflecting himself in utter devotion. The divine voice continued\n\u201cyour firm devoutness has elated me. Bhagirath, what do you wish for?\u201d He lifted\nhis face, with tears trickling down his cheeks, to see the eldest of the Hindu\ntrinity and saw all 4 faces of the God smiling at him. He stammered and said in\na parched and low voice \u201cSalvation, my lord, salvation. Not mine, but for all\n60,000 descendants of Rishi Sagar. Maa Ganga be descended to Earth\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The omniscient Brahma\nbeamed and said \u201cSo it shall be\u201d. Immediately, Ganga was summoned. Fearing that\nearth would not be able to tolerate the pressure of her frothy waters, she\nprotected herself in the tangled locks of Shiva\u2019s long and unruffled hair.\nThereafter, she emerged like an enormous fountain and followed the path lead by\nBhagirath, thereby absolving the sins of Sagar\u2019s sons and bringing \u2018moksha<\/em>\u2019 for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The above narrative has been repeated\ninnumerable times in Indian mythology and highlights a very important aspect.\nYes, a snaan<\/em> (bath) even after one\ndies can bring in ultimate salvation. And that\u2019s the importance of shower\nplaced in Indian culture, in Hinduism. The timing and nature of a bath\nundertaken by an individual is of critical importance. The scriptures are very\nclear about the right way and timing of your showers. The ideal way to begin\nyour day is to take a good cold shower before you get on with your daily\nroutine preferably before the sunrise. The regime doesn\u2019t end there because\nafter you take a bath, you need to give the same to \u2018Surya Dev\u2019 (sun god) by\noffering water to it. This is further followed by prayers to all the idols and\ndeities. Hold your breath, before you start praying all the gods should be\ngiven a bath in the holy water of Ganga River. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from the daily routine, every stage of\none\u2019s life is defined by the kind of bath one should undertake. When a child is\nborn, the first bath is given on the second day of birth with cow milk. The\ndiseased or sick people should be given their shower laced in neem leaves.\nDuring marriage, the bride and groom are applied turmeric powder paste all over\nthe body and then given a bath in warm water with aromatic rose water. Such\nbaths are believed to enhance sensuousness in the newly married couple. Before\nany puja<\/em> or yagna all the deities and\nidols are given a bath, post which they are adorned with janeu<\/em> (sacred thread), itra<\/em>\n(perfume) and then served a wholesome meal. At the last stage of one\u2019s life,\nthe body is given bath again in Ganga water and after the death the ashes are\nalso submerged in the holy rivers. It is believed that this brings salvation\nand gives one riddance from the cycle of life and death. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are seven types of bath defined by Hindu\nmythology:-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although, normally we consider a typical\nsplash of water from the top as shower, but Indian scriptures and rituals\nidentify various other ways for self-cleansing. And it elevates the hygiene\nmerely from the physical way to a much higher level of cleansing your mind and\nevolving yourself in divine and spiritual way. This definitely takes the\nhygiene to a different level and it really reflects an evolved and matured\nthought centuries ago. In recent times we have seen that other ways of baths\nhave found their way into the western culture in form of sunbathing, spa,\nsauna, mud baths and more contemporary ways of taking baths, which has their\nroots in our rich culture and heritage. It brings an immense sense of pride\nwhen these practices have not only being recognized but has permeated into our\nlives in recent times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n