guv Posted May 9, 2003 Report Share Posted May 9, 2003 this is a post i put up on the boss forum... ---------- last month i sang the aarti shabad at the london sikhi week kirtan darbar... there was a program on tv showing the aarti ceremony being performed at hazoor sahib. i thought i'd do some research into it so that i could talk about how it shouldn’t be done because it’s a hindu ceremony & how it’s all wrong :evil: , but much to my surprise, i found the complete opposite… first, the shabad is in raag dhunasaree… a care free raag, which relaxes & relieves stress (so rishi tells me, maybe u can add a bit more rish), anyway, the shabad is online http://www.sikhitothemax.com/PageASP.asp?ShabadID=51 aarti is a ceremony to show respect. it used to be performed in front of kings & is still performed in southern india when someone has a guest come to their house. at the time of guru gobind singh ji, the moghul emperor aurengzeb banned performing of raags & doing aarti. as the sikhs stood up for freedom & against oppression, guru gobind singh ji said we shall sing just raag, not even the shabads, just pure raags and introduced the aarti ceremony into the panth (the udasis had been doing aarti since guru nanak dev jis time, guru gobind singh ji introduced it into the rest of the panth) just as guru ji had taken holi (the festival of colour) and added the warrior bir ras aspect to make hola mohalla, he took the aarti ceremony with guru nanak’s shabad and added aarta (bir ras aspect) to give the aarti-aarta ceremony, and showed how it symbolised the entire universe doing aarti to akaal purkh (read the translation from the link above). this tradition has been kept alive at hazoor sahib and a few other gurdware and dere. bhagat peepa ji says: jo brehumu(n)ddae soee pi(n)ddae jo khojai so paavai || The One who pervades the Universe also dwells in the body; whoever seeks Him, finds Him there. (see http://www.sikhitothemax.com/PageASP.asp?ShabadID=2641 for full shabad) so the same akaal purkh is present in both the cosmos and within each and every body. the aarti ceremony is a reflection of that, performed to guru ji, while also symbolising the cosmic aarti to vaheguru. so, to recap, the aarti ceremony is a sign of respect & not of idol worship (any more than doing mutha tekh is idol worship! :wink: ) and was done to kings. it is done by sikhs to the king of kings… shahe shahan shah… the emperor of emperors… the jyot of the ten gurus… guru maharaj. in fact, sant gurbachan singh ji bindrawale – former head of sampardayee bindrawala (now known as damdami taksal) and a very prominent & respected scholar of the panth – says in the gurmat rehat maryada that the aarti-aarta ceremony is essential! giani kirpal singh – former jathedar of akaal takht – says the same. sant gurbachan singh ji places particular importance in the jyot… it had to be filled with ghee, because he said the jyot attracts shaheed singhs and devte to the side of guru ji. he forbade the use of kerosene oil. which is something backed up by bhai randhir singh. in his autobiography he speaks of a time when he was in jail & had an out of body experience to go & listen to an akhand paath. his atma could not get near to the paath though because there was a kerosene lamp burning. the aarti-aarta ceremony is sadly not performed in many gurdware today because people fear it as a hindu ceremony, when in fact it has always been secular & common in a number of religions. it is used as both a religious & non-religious ceremony as a sign of respect (just like doing mutha tekh or touching someones feet… both common indian practices of showing respect – try doing it in front of western people & they look at u as if you’re crazy!! ) hope that sheds some light on the practice. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kaur1699 Posted May 9, 2003 Report Share Posted May 9, 2003 hmm... interestin info.... stuff i did not kno... thanx for sharin... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 9, 2003 Report Share Posted May 9, 2003 listen to the aarti sung by bhai harjinder singh shri nagar wale. soooo awesome!!!!!! http://www.proudtobesikh.com/sikh/music/Di...albumid=6000876 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Singh_but_cant_Sing Posted May 10, 2003 Report Share Posted May 10, 2003 and also download, London Samagam 1976 - Giani Amolak Singh Jee (UK) 01, from www.gursikhi.org. It is amaizing....starting with the shaan.....just lovely 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2003 Report Share Posted May 10, 2003 singh paji - the link dont work... :cry: fateh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Singh_but_cant_Sing Posted May 10, 2003 Report Share Posted May 10, 2003 Dont worry veer ji , I fount it on sikhnet as well. http://www.sikhnet.com/Sikhnet/Music.nsf/5...88!OpenDocument ......... it is just bunderful I tell yaa!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2003 Report Share Posted May 10, 2003 listening to it now :wink: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guv Posted May 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2003 this is a really beautiful email i got from someone who read the post i made... not sure about the dead elders thing, gonna have to look into that, but i thought i'd post it in its entirety. I think wot u said was a fair. some guys will disregard something just bcause it has Hindu tradition. Aarti is something really beautiful, that glorifies the person that u r doing it to. In old Hindi luv songs, the writers ask nature to do aarti for their lovers, so that they could walk on rose petals. we have lost the romance in our relationship with Maharaj. What WOULDN'T I do if I were ever to see Guru Nanak Dev Ji, I would place my body for Him to walk on, let alone petals. There are various Shabads in Guru Granth Sahib Ji that advocate praying for your dead elders (you'll have to do a search), but mainstream Sikhi prohibits this! Guru Nanak is called Krishna in some Shabads... I don't want to go on and on about it, all I would say is that these people need to be inspired, to do that u must lead them to Maharaj. There are various refernces in Dasam Granth and Guru Granth, that you can give them. You should be the spark, let them burn (in His love)reading passages from Guru. Vaheguru Sorry if I went off the point, but I do support what u say. Vaheguru Gur Bar Akaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllll!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guv Posted June 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 i posted up this article on the aarti-aarta ceremony a month ago, & noone has raised any objections to it. does that mean that everyone is happy with the aarti-aarta ceremony being performed? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaapaaraa Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 listen to the aarti sung by bhai harjinder singh shri nagar wale. soooo awesome!!!!!! http://www.proudtobesikh.com/sikh/music/Di...albumid=6000876 I heard this before, its really awesome =) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugermach Singh Posted June 14, 2003 Report Share Posted June 14, 2003 Guv, I object, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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