Aarti is performed in every home and temple with great joy and devotion in Hinduism. It is not just the ritual activity but it is unite in our day to day life. When we perform Aarti in temple, ritual of singing and music enhance the experience and we try to please and welcome the supreme lord. Aarti is a profound act of selfless devotion, gratitude, spirit of humility and love towards the supreme lord. At the end of any rituals of the Lord we perform the Aarti. It is one of the sixteen steps -Shodas Upchar of the Pooja ritual. Aarti is like open eyed meditation on the beauty of the lord, singing, clapping and ringing bells denotes the joy and auspiciousness. Aarti is performed mainly with flame, incense, peacock fan, ardhya and auspicious sound; these are nothing but the symbol of five gross elements, fire, earth, air, water and ether respectively. Aarti is nothing but offering these five elements back to the supreme Lord. Apart from five elements we also put down our mind, intelligence and ego in the foot of Supreme Lord. Ritual is not just the religious or spiritual activity that we perform but ritual is the routine part of our life. During Aarti, chanting of mantra and kirtan is for intellectual focus towards the Lord and clockwise circulation represents the center and acceptance of supreme lord as center. It reminds the devotee that God comes first and all other wordly activities are secondary. Aarti is also called the arartik or nirajan means remove darkness and illumined in specific way.
There are mainly four types of Aarti – Deep Arti, Jal Aarti, Dhoop Aarti and Pushp Aarti, as per Skundh Puran if someone doesn’t know the mantra or Yagya then devotee can do the Aarti and get the same benefits. Devotee moves the platter in a clockwise circle from the Anahat Chakra – near heart to the Agya - Chakra mid eye brow of the Lord. This results in release of Satva frequencies and help in increasing concentration. Aarti plate is usually made of metal and one or more cotton wicks should be put into the oil and then lighted, at the end of Aarti camphor can be burnt. Generate positive energy and remove bad thought.
Scientific reason behind Aarti is, sound from bell and drum generates specific waves and travel around the surrounding. It reduces air pollution and bacteria in air and dhoop creates positive energy in devotees. Long time ago, idol are in basement of temple and in dark or low light, so in the morning and evening Aarti is performed and so all devotee can see the lord.
Mostly Aarti perform with the camphor, which burn it completely without leaving a trace of it when it is lit, camphor represent our inherent tendencies - vasana. Ego and vasana creates distance between us and Lord. So we must burn ego and vasana same as camphor. At the end of Aarti we place our hand over the flame and then touch the eye and forehead that means light which illumined the Lord, light up our vision and thought and make them divine. Aarti completes the works which are incomplete during any ritual. During the war wife or mother performs the Aarti of fighter and same is done after the win.
We worship the Lord with love and performing abhisheka, decorating the idol and offering fruits, we see the beauty and glory of the Lord. Our minds are focused on each limb of the Lord as the lamp lights it up. Thus Aarti help us in our spiritual progress and service towards the society.
