Ajita's recent article on the myth of '
sound healing' in different religious traditions, led me to look for instances of another such myth that is prevalent across many different religions:
healing waters.
It is not just homeopathy enthusiasts who insist on magical properties of water like the so-called 'memory of water'. In many religious traditions, water from ponds in shrines or from natural springs which may have some historical significance, is claimed to be, and more importantly, marketed, as a miracle cure. Here are some instances:
Catholicism (Lourdes) : The obvious statistical insignificance of the cure claim does not seem to deter believers. Watch
this clip.
Mahayana Buddhism (Spring Temple) : Bottling and selling such water is good business. Watch
this clip.
Islam (ZamZam) : There is no claim of a miracle cure here, but a claim that even
presence of pathogens and carcinogens in this water does not harm the faithful.
Hinduism : As always, there are too many instances to count in this category. The '
temple tank' in several temples is supposed to have healing properties. A quick Google search yielded
this instance.
The origins of these myths could be many: these may have been conserved from pagan traditions, maybe thought of as a victory of divine spirit over matter (here water) or as been proposed (controversially) in the case of the Delphic Oracle, the presence of
psycho-active substances in the springs.