Why Sprinkle water at the start of a Hindu / Buddhist ceremony?

Why Sprinkle water at the start of a Hindu / Buddhist ceremony?

It is generally seen that when the person who is to perform the religious ceremony is seated the priest sprinkles water on him and chants the mantras. There is a strong relevance and a reason why the priest does this.

As per tradition everyone who joins in a Hindu / Buddhist religious ceremony does so after a bath. After chanting the mantra and sprinkling water, the performer’s attention is immediately focused on the ceremony. Sprinkling water is symbolic of bringing purity.

The lotus comes out of water, but is impervious to water. This makes it symbolic of detachment. Similarly sprinkling of water symbolizes that the person performing the ceremony should learn to live a detached life.

Water is symbolic of life. One cannot do without it. Therefore at every religious ceremony the importance of water is acknowledged by sprinkling it. Water is acknowledged as a cleansing medium that is said to destroy all sins. Water that can end fire is also known to attract wrath. Sprinkling of water scares away poisonous and disease-causing elements. Water filled in a conch shell becomes pure and is capable of destroying harmful germs.

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