What is the basis for the general idea that a river is a desirable place for prayer? Can this be attributed to any particular religion or sect, or even to a particular period in time?
It’s peaceful?
Acts 16:13
And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither
Water is essential to life, having a really big flowing amount of it would be something easily taken as a gift of God, especially to people in dry areas. So I think it would be pretty universal and I suspect you would find it in many faiths (unless that faith barred it for some reason).
Even in space exploration today we try to ‘follow the water’ to try to find life. Life is associated with God in most faiths I know.
I have found nothing to compare to sitting next to a river or stream when I feel like I really need to have some clear thoughts. I know a lot of folks who feel the ocean has that effect on them. I went on vacation one year and had some car trouble, I ended up just camping out next to a small river for almost a week and doing nothing but sitting by or wading in the water, I felt like a million dollars at weeks end.
Do they? Various Christian sects do baptisms near rivers, presumably to follow the gospel description of John the Baptist doing so in the Jordan (and because there’s water there).
But I don’t know of any other religious ceremony preformed by rivers*, at least, more so then to other pretty geographic features.
*ETA: Actually, the Hindus worship the Ganges. So there’s at least one more example.
From the Hindu perspective: In the Bhagawat Gita, the riverbank is identified as one of the sattvic (pure/untainted) places where deep and sustained meditation is possible. Spiritual practices - and not only prayer - performed on riverbanks have enhanced power and potency. Water-bodies in general assist the practitioner; hence many great temples will have a tank full of water within the perimeter.
In Hindu religion many rivers are considered sin-destroying and even liberating, for many reasons:
- Generally there is undisturbed peace, conducive to a deep practice.
- Rivers are life-giving and some have been so incredibly important they have been elevated to the status of Gods, with the power to bless and curse.
- Hence, rivers have a natural ability to wash away both physical and spiritual grime.
- Rivers are a vehicle for some kind of offerings, similar to the way fire is.
Besides, the white noise of a babbling stream can be very soothing and relaxing.
In Judaism, in the period before Yom Kippur there’s a ceremony called Tashlich, where you cast your sins in the river.
Egyptians worshipped the Nile. Greeks believed that this world and the afterlife were separated by the river Styx (and you needed a coin for the ferryman. Yeesh!)
A river is where you clean your body and get your water, its a source of a trade connections, it supplies goods (food, mud for bricks, reeds, etc.), it’s how strangers come to your town, and how you leave on an adventure. It flows in one direction, just like life. For people who live on a river (and historically most people lived near a river or a lake) the river is the most important thing in their world. It’s not surprising that many religions would use a river as a metaphor for transformation, a place where change is possible.
Check out the Kumbh Mela festival on Youtube.
A river is an an appropriate site for Jewish ritual ablutions. Jewish communities typically build a dedicated structure (a mikveh) for this purpose, but any body of “living,” i.e. flowing, water - such as a stream or the ocean - can be used. This is probably why Jesus baptized John in the Jordan in the first place.