Water-The Amrita or Nectar of Immortality

This week on 22nd of March 2018 we celebrated World Water Day with
the theme “Nature for Water.” The President of the 72nd session of the
United Nation General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák launched the
International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development
(2018-2028) on this eve. It was a great time for all of us to be conscious of
how much water we use every day, recognize how fortunate we are to
have it at our disposal, appreciate the vital role it plays in our lives, and
reflect on how important it is that we continue to work to ensure that
someday everyone is able to take advantage of this important resource in
the same ways we enjoy today. Water is the most precious resource on
the earth. It is the most vital element of life and that is why whenever we
talk about life we talk about water.

In Hindu mythology we find a reference of Amrita or Nectar of

Immortality obtained after the Sagara Manthana (ससगरमनथन) or the
churning of ocean by the gods and the demons. What was this Amrita or
the Nectar of Immortality? This Amrita or the Nectar of Immortality was
surely nothing but pure drinking water and probably the Halahala or the
poison was the excess salt. Water is symbol of life and so is Amrita. And
therefore, our forefathers must have referred water as Amrita or Nectar
of Immortality. The most recent scientific researches narrowing down the
hypothesis of life originating from near a deep sea hydrothermal vent;
support the hypothesis of Sagara Manthana and Amrita or origination of
life from water. One can survive without food for days together but not
more than 3 days without water. Water is life as about 60% of our body is
nothing but water. In childhood, water accounts for about 75%-78% of our
body. According to the paper published in the Journal of Biological
Chemistry by H.H. Mitchell, the amount of water in the human heart and
brain is 73%, and in lungs it is 83%, in muscles and kidneys it is 79%, in the
skin it is 64%, and in bones is around 31%. No life, what so ever it is, can
withstand for long without water. So it is a high time for all of us to
commit ourselves to save this precious resource on earth.