The Hindu ritual of aarti accrues from the ancient Vedic concept
of fire ceremony or the 'homa'. Generally, one or more wicks made of cotton, or
thin cloth strip, is soaked in ghee or camphor, lighted and offered to the
deity. The term 'aarti' may also refer to the traditional Hindu devotional
songs that are sung while the fire ritual is being performed. Apart from the
national anthem of India, perhaps, the only other song sung popularly and
lovingly across all age and social groups and regions is the aarati.
Though arti may be sung differently in different parts of the
Indian subcontinent, the core intention never varies. All aarti songs signify
the highest form of love for God. As per Indian beliefs and tradition,
worshiping God through 'bhava' or emotion is the highest form of worship. And
in arti, both the singing of the traditional hymn, or the devotional song, and
the fire serve to prevent the deflection of the worshipper's concentration from
the act.
In Sanskrit, the term aarti can be broken up into two words -
"aa' meaning towards and "rati" meaning the highest love for
God. Traditionally, aarati is done two or three times a day, at the conclusion
of a puja, bhajan or havan. It is a mandatory ritual performed on all
auspicious occasions of Hindus. The aarti thali, which contains diya, flowers,
incense and akshata, is circulated in front of the deity and arti song is sung
by all members present there. When arti is performed before God, it is believed
that the plate and the light get blessed by the deity.
The pandit, or the priest, passes on the arti plate from one
person to another, present there, who cup the flickering fire lightly with
their down-turned hands. Then, they put their hands over the flame and then
touch their forehead, as a gesture of seeking holy blessings. The plate on
which the aarati is performed is usually made of silver, bronze or copper.
Aarti is also performed in front of a person, either as a welcome gesture or to
ward off bad influences from him. Infact, the whole purpose of arti is to ward
off the evil spirits and bad omens.
In India, the aarti is also performed before people of high
status, little kids during certain ceremonies, on people embarking or returning
from a long journey (especially if it's a pilgrimage) and on a newly married
couple when they enter their house for the first time, etc. The arti is also
performed on some newly acquired land and before initiating some pertinent
chore. There are different types of arti for different Indian deities and often
arti contains important snippets about them.
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