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| Aarti
is a form of congregational worship, in which the devotees
stand facing the image of a deity or a defied saint or, the
personage (‘living idol’) of an exalted saint
singing devotional songs in unison.
Normally, the singing is accompanied by musical instruments
such as bells, gongs and crymbals. The object of worship is
devoutly decorated with posy garlands and, aromatic incence
and musk are kept smouldering.
While the devotees sing psalms, either an official or a devotee
revolves clockwise, (usually) a fivefold oil lamp –
consisting of five oil – traylets - round the object
of adoration. Such a performance of aarti with a fivefold
oil-lamp is called panchaarati.
A lamp with wicks
burning clarified butter (ghee) is most preferred. After the
devotional singing, the flame of the aarti-lamp is offered
to the devotees, who pass their hands by turns over the sacred
flame and quickly draw them to their faces and heads as a
gesture of drawing onto themselves the auspicious energy emanating
from ‘the receptable grace’ i.e the flame.
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The essential
constituent, of the ritual of aarti is a kind of simple
fire ritual. That is why it is frequently translated as
a ritual as of ‘waving
lamps’.
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It was the
masters of the school of Bhakti (devotion) who transformed
the simple-fire ritual into an exalted spiritual method.
Worship in a congregational setting is helpful in more
than one way.
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In a communal
prayer devotees can pray in a space charged with the homogeneous
devotional fervour of a group can cut across the insulation
of the ego and merge easily into a group rhythm.
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It induces
a sense of expanded consciousness in which one tends to
lose the individual ‘voice’ subtly, an awareness
of being a part of a ‘Whole’ sense of separate
identity melts into the mainstream 0f collective consciousness.
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A hymn or
a psalm is an expression of ardent devotion which in turn
is capable of evoking kindred emotions in the hearts of
those who recite it This is a language to commune with
the Divine.
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By waving
the lights in circular motion, we, in fact, symbolically
perform ‘Pradakshina’
around our Deity.
When the five-wick lamp
is lit, the devotee waves it symbolically, offering his five
pranas (The entire being of five pranas, which are praan,
apaan, samaan, udaan and vyan. Praan has it’s seat in
the lungs and is breath, Apaan goes downwards and out at the
anus. Samaan has its seat in the cavity of the navel and is
essential to digestion. Udaan rises up in the throat and enters
the head. Vyan is diffused through the whole body), to the
Lord, totally surrendering himself and gaining, seeking the
union of the devotee’s soul with the Supreme Self. |
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