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Living with the Gods

Religion & Ethics

How shared beliefs have shaped societies from the earliest days of humanity

How shared beliefs have shaped societies around the world, from the very earliest days of humanity with Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum.

How shared beliefs have shaped societies around the world, from the very earliest days of humanity with Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum. 

Image: Gold coin, Credit: The Trustees of the British Museum

Living with the Gods: Water of Life and Death

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Water of Life and Death

18/11/2017 GMT

BBC World Service - Living with the Gods, Water of Life and Death

How water became an essential part of religious practise in Christianity, Islam, Judaism

How water became an essential part of religious practise in Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

Neil MacGregor continues his series on the expression of shared beliefs in communities around the world and across time, and focuses on water, including a visit to the Ganges at Varanasi, India. 

In Islam, Christianity and Judaism, water is an essential part of religious practice. But for no faith does water - and one particular kind of water - play such a significant role as for Hindus. To bathe in the river Ganges is ustnot j to prepare to meet the divine, but already to be embraced by it. The river Ganges is the goddess Ganga, and the waters of this river, which govern life and death, have not only determined many aspects of Hinduism, but in considerable measure shaped the identity of the modern state of India. 

Producer Paul Kobrak

The series is produced in partnership with the British Museum. 
Photograph: (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.

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