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Thread: Aarati a Spiritual perspective

  1. #1

    Aarati a Spiritual perspective

    Pranam,
    As I was looking through my "my documents file" I can across this document on Aarti that I like to share as well as get others input. This information comes from the Spiritual Science Research Foundation.

    In the Era of Strife (Kaliyug), man doubts the very existence of God. In such a spiritual climate, Hindu Dharma has provided the easy means of offering aarti, for man to be able to experience God. Offering aarti means calling out to God with intense yearning. On the Path of Ritualistic Worship (Karmakand) given by Hindu Dharma, aarti forms an important aspect. It involves worship of the divine by waving a lit lamp in front of a Deity accompanied by the singing of devotional hymns. If a human being calls out to a Deity through the medium of aarti, he is granted a vision of God in the form of either light or the Deity itself.
    2. The Deity is invoked and pleased by the aarati

    The hymns in an aarati, which are in praise of the Deities, involve an earnest prayer made unto God to win His grace. The Deities and God, who bestow grace, are pleased by the praises and worship of the one who offers aarati.
    3. The composers of the aarati's

    Most of the aaratis have been composed by Saints and spiritually evolved devotees. An aarati contains both the resolve (sankalpa) and blessings of the spiritually evolved. Thus, Their 'Energy of Resolve' (sankalpa shakti) benefits the devotee both at the material and spiritual level.
    4. Activation of spiritual emotion (bhaav)

    According to the Path of Devotion (Bhaktiyog), it is essential that the follower develops spiritual emotion and devotion unto God, sooner rather than later. In the primary stage it is difficult to develop spiritual emotion unto the formless, that is, the unmanifest principle (nirgun tattva) of God. Whereas a devotee can easily feel close to God with a form, that has attributes and a humanly appearance. The devotee is able to develop spiritual emotion quicker unto God with a form or the manifest (sagun) form of God.
    Aarati is an easy medium of worship unto the manifest form of God. During aarati, the subtle form of the words being sung softly touches the Deity’s idol or image unto which the aarati platter is being waved. The subtle form of those words/devotional hymns then returns to those listening to or singing the aarati. This benefits the worshippers’ subtle bodies (sukshma deha). The words in the devotional hymns of the aarati also transmit their spiritual purity (sattva) component to the subtle bodies of the worshippers. Hence, those who sing the aarati feel light. Further, the words in the aarati activate the central channel (sushumna nadi) of the spiritual energy system (kundalini). That in turn, awakens the spiritual emotion of the worshippers.
    5. Strengthening of faith

    Theoretical information or intellectual knowledge about Spirituality helps the devotee in developing some belief in Spirituality and the divine. However, when he gets an actual spiritual experience, he develops faith in Spirituality. As seen earlier in this article, aarati helps awaken the devotee’s spiritual emotion, which is a spiritual experience. This helps to strengthen his faith in the Deity he worships.
    6. A Deity's principle is more active during aarati

    A deity’s principle is more functional during aarati. Thus, during aarati, a devotee derives more benefit from the energy and Divine Consciousness (chaitanya) of the Deity. That is why it is more important to visit a temple during the offering of aarati than at any other time.
    Why is the waving of lit lamps (aarati) performed twice a day?

    Table of Contents

    1. Introduction
    2. Aarati timings
    3. What is the science behind performing aarati at sunset?

    1. Introduction

    The ritual of aarati refers to calling out to God with intense yearning (artataa). On the Path of Ritualistic Worship (Karmakand) prescribed by Hindu Dharma, aarati forms an important aspect. It involves worship of the divine by waving a lit lamp in front of a Deity, accompanied by the singing of devotional hymns. If one calls out to a Deity through the medium of the aarati then one is granted either a vision of God in the form of light or the form of the Deity itself.
    2. Aarati timings

    Aarati is meant to be performed at sunrise and sunset. At sunrise the raja-tama predominant atmosphere present throughout the night is destroyed and the absolute fire element (tej tattva) frequencies of Deities arrive in the universe. Hence, aarati is to be offered at sunrise to welcome them.
    Aarati performed at sunrise welcomes the saviour form of Divine Consciousness (taarak Chaitanya) transmitted during the arrival of the frequencies of Deities. Aarati performed at sunset destroys the spiritually impure (raja-tama) frequencies and invokes the Deities' destroyer form of Divine Consciousness (maarak Chaitanya).
    That is why aarati should be performed twice - at sunrise and at sunset.
    3. What is the science behind performing aarati at sunset?

    At sunset the proportion of the absolute fire element in the sun's rays starts reducing and the presence of the spiritually impure raja-tama particles in the atmosphere starts increasing. The generation of raja-tama frequencies also starts increasing. This increases the movement of the subtle distressing energies in the environment. To gain protection from distress in such a spiritually impure environment, it is essential to invoke the Deities' spiritually pure presence and frequencies. Performing aarati invokes the Deities as follows:
    ·Through the frequencies of sound emitted by the devotional hymns sung and accompanying musical instruments played during the ritual and
    ·By bringing the Deities frequencies into the orbit of the universe.
    As a result of aarati, the proportion of the frequencies of Deities, increases and the proportion of the subtle distressing vibrations and energies, decreases in the environment. This creates a subtle protective armour around the devotee's body.


    Pujaa platter arrangement


    Table of Contents

    1. Introduction
    2. Arrangement based on cosmic elements
    3. Arranging the components of the ritualistic worship platter
    1. Introduction

    Hindu Dharma provides various pathways to worship the divine. Ritualistic worship (Karmakand), a subset of Path of Devotion (Bhaktimarg) , is one such path. In the Path of Ritualistic Worship (Karmakand), as the name suggests, every aspect of the ritual has spiritual significance and science behind it. In this article, we will look at the aspect of arranging the platter for ritualistic worship.
    2. Arrangement based on cosmic elements

    Before commencing the actual ritualistic worship (pujaa), it is important to arrange the tools and other components used in the ritualistic worship in a spiritually beneficial manner. From the viewpoint of the science of spirituality it is appropriate to arrange them based on the level of the five cosmic elements. The cosmic elements are Absolute Earth (Pruthvi), Absolute Water (Aap), Absolute Fire (Tej), Absolute Wind (Vaayu) and Absolute Ether (Aakaash). The reason for an arrangement based on the cosmic elements is that such an arrangement balances and coordinates the five cosmic elements that are active in the universe. This helps the embodied soul (worshipper) to derive maximum benefit from the manifest (sagun) and unmanifest (nirgun) frequencies emitted by the deity being ritualistically worshipped.
    3. Arranging the components of the ritualistic worship platter

    The arrangement of the components of the ritualistic platter is as seen in the above image. It is explained in the two-dimensional context of the relative position of the deity being ritualistically worshipped and the worshipper. Thus, ‘at the forefront’ refers to the part of the platter positioned close to the image or idol of the deity being worshipped, and ‘lower end of the platter’ refers to the part of the platter positioned close to the worshipper.
    Powders: In the ritualistic platter, turmeric (haldi) and vermilion (kumkum) are to be placed to the right of the embodied soul (worshipper). The black coloured powder (bukka), magenta coloured powder (gulal) and saffron coloured powder (shendur) are to be placed to the left of the worshipper.
    Fragrances: The perfume bottle, fragrant paste (usually sandalwood paste), flowers, a special type of tender grass (durva) and leaves (patri) are to be placed at the forefront of the platter, i.e. close to the image of the deity being ritualistically worshipped. This is because the subtle, spiritual frequencies of the deity are activated by the fragrance particles in the perfume, fragrant paste and flowers and by the colour particles in the special grass and leaves.
    Betel and monetary offering: The leaves and nuts of the betel plant and money are offered in the ‘ritual of offering money’ namely dakshina. These components are to be placed at the lower end of the platter, i.e. close to the worshipper. This is because these components are an effective medium for transmitting the deity’s subtle, spiritual frequencies towards the worshipper.
    Unbroken rice grains: In the center, the all encompassing unbroken rice grains are to be placed. The unbroken rice grains become the central portion of the platter because the frequencies of the five superior deities, namely Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, Lord Rama, Lord Krushna (Krishna) and Lord Ganapati are attracted to them. These divine frequencies are then transmitted as needed to the other components like vermilion, turmeric, etc., placed around the rice grains in a circular manner.

    GHOSTS


    Ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.) though neither visible to the gross eye, nor perceived by the other sense organs, mind and intellect are factors that affect all of mankind. The manifestations of distress due to ghosts or negative energies are varied, and can be from a person displaying uncharacteristic behaviour to erratic violent behaviour, addictions, various physical and psychological illnesses, family problems, business problems etc. The Spiritual Science Research Foundation has done extensive research in this field and has over 1000 hours of video footage capturing this phenomenon. We present in a scientific manner so as to demystify this phenomenon. This will help our readers in recognising and treating the adverse effects caused by ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.) through proven methodology according to the Spiritual science.


    Namaste,

  2. #2
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    Re: Aarati a Spiritual perspective

    Quote Originally Posted by Hiwaunis View Post
    The Deities and God, who bestow grace, are pleased by the praises and worship of the one who offers aarati.
    Namaste,

    I have always admired our tradition of offering Aarti to various deities and trying to connect with the divinity through the process. I think it is a wonderful way of taking time off from our mundane activities to spend some time with the Lord. Some authors make the claim that various gods are "pleased" by our praises. My doing the Aarti is "my personal effort" to connect with the divinity to calm myself and experience some peace of mind. Various gods are always happy, with or without my singing their praises. They are not like some puny creatures with no concept of self-worth who would gloat when somebody heaps praises on them. I wish someone would convince me otherwise. But till then, I fail to grasp the meaning/rationale/purpose of this claim, that gods feel happy when we sing their praises.

    Regards.

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