When did the Arati Rituals started in Shiridi?
Who wrote them?
What was the context & the inspiration thereof?
Why & how should we perform Arati?
What benefits would we derive in performing & participating in Aratis?
There are three beautiful ways to sail through the SAI PATH smoothly. Pilgrimage to Shiridi is the primary way, regular reading (Parayan) of Shri Sai Satcharita is the second way & final way is to sing Sai Aratis all the four times during the day. If we practice the final task first i.e performance, participation & singing of Sai Aratis all the four times, we could accomplish the first two tasks without any obstruction. Performance of Arati all the four times, thus, yields very good results. Mind would be soothed, thereby cordial atmosphere is created by singing Sai Aratis regularly along with family, relations & friends in a particular place. The place Arati is performed would be sanctified & filled with love & affection.
Arati is performed 4 times daily at Shirdi. Morning Arati is called Kakad Arati is performed at 4.30 am., Noon Arati is called Madhyahna Arati at 12 noon, Evening Arati is called Dhup Arati is performed at Sun set & finally the Night Arati is called Sez Arati is performed at 10.30 pm. While Arati is being performed at Samadhi Mandir, devotees at Dwarika Mayee, Chavdi, Gurusthan & Q complex can view the Arati & perform it through Closed Circuit TVs. Aratis are performed through the globe in all the Sai Mandirs. Many a devotees perform Aratis in their homes & Satsang Centres across the world. It is estimated that around 30 lakhs people are participating in an average at all the places through out the world. The figure may be higher side only, not on lower side & it would increase in many fold in the times to come. Thus we should understand that mass prayers are performed at all these prayers to such an extent thereby human society derives benefit .
We all know that the wonder avatar of Shirdi Sainath Maharaj is beyond caste, creed & religion. Arati rituals are performed regularly all the Datta Kshetras as well as Varanasi & Haridwar, where thousands of people perform Arati at the banks of River Ganga while eugolizing mother Ganga.
Arati Tradition is mainly prevalent in Northern India. Arati is performed timely at various pilgrim places & in presence of Saints there.
Life will be secured due to the discipline gained through performance of Sai Aratis. Lazy attitude would be hide from us if we perform the Aratis regularly. A special feature in performance of Arati is we would wake up before Sun rise.
While keeping our heart & mind on Saibaba, we would start our day with a prayer to Him to bless us all, we perform Kakad Arati (Early Morning).
We perform Madhyahna Arati to get rid of day to day calamities & to not to forget Sai.
In order to get rid of pain at reaching darkness the time of Sun set Dhup Arati is performed.
After completions of all the tasks in the day Sez Arati is the Thanks giving performance at Night. Here we plead Him that we would be waking Him up at the Early hours to save ourselves.
Mind & heart will be peaceful & travel in His path if we perform all the four Aratis. Further there was a promise from Sainath Maharaj that He would be present wherever Arati is performed.
Now let us try to know who were the authors of Sai Aratis & when did the Arati tradition started in Shiridi.
“ARATI SAIBABA’
It was the first ever song written on Sainath Maharaj. This song is included in Madhyahna & Dhup Arati; Dhup Arati starts with this song itself.
Madhav Adkar had written this song in September 1904 & shown it to Dasganu. Dasganu congratulated him for its content & beautiful composition & suggested Adkar to show it to Maharaj. Madhav Adkar had shown the song to Sainath Maharaj & appreciated. ‘They reach me positively, who sings this song every day’ Saibaba blessed Madhav Adkar, ‘name your son who will born through my blessings as RAM’. The blessing was fulfilled in the later years. Another example is also there to say that this song has the blessings of Sainath Maharaj. Maharaj has got this song written on a piece of paper by Shyama & gave it to Ramgiri Bua along with Udi.
Ramgiri Bua with the blessings of Maharaj had been to Nana Chandorkar’s house at Jamner. Immediately on consumption of Udi with water, Mynatai had relieved from labour pains & safely delivered. Not only Dhuni lit by Him, but this song also had the divine power according to Maharaj. Arati Saibaba song gave Safe Delivery to Mynatai & male child to Madhav Adkar.
After these two incidents devotees used to sing Arati Saibaba occasionally in the presence of Maharaj. Devotees believe that their calamities would come to an end, if they sing this song. This song was included in Sai Aratis immediately when Arati tradition started.
(Pujya Shri Sainathuni Saratbabuji in his book ‘Arati Saibaba’ differed from the above. We can discuss this later at the end of this translation work).
Krishna Jogeshwar Bheeshma, who has come to Shirdi along with Dada Saheb Khaparde, was sitting in the Masjid once. Maharaj suddenly asked Bheeshma ‘Give me five ladoos’. Bheeshma could not understand this.
Maharaj gave him Chilum after puffing it. Thus He lit the internal power within Bheeshma. He has written five songs on Maharaj by next morning. He couldn’t write any more despite sincere efforts. Then he has come to Masjid & kept the five songs at Maharaj’s feet. On seeing them Maharaj gave them back to Bheeshma again & asked him to sing. After singing the songs, Maharaj blessed Bheeshma by putting His Hand on his head. Bheeshma immediately got the inspiration to write, compose & sing four more songs. Thus Bheeshma wrote nine songs with the grace & inspiration only from Maharaj. This was stated humbly by Bheeshma himself.
Bheeshma compiled a book comprising the nine songs written by him, aratis written by others & abhangs. Khaparde took the responsibility to print the book. Radhakrishna Ayi has taken sincere efforts to perform Aratis in time.
Maharaj used to sleep at Chavadi on alternate days from 10th December 1909 & performance of Arati started at Chavadi exactly a year after Maharaj’s entry into Chavadi i.e from 10th December, 1910.
Upasani has written ‘sada satswaroopam, chidananda kandam’. Generally songs are written since the beginning, but this song/stotra is not written like that by Upasani. It is known to all who read Shri Sai Satcharita that Padukas (Holy Footwear) of Maharaj were installed at Neem 0n Shravan Poornima day in 1912. Upasani made many improvements in the model set of Padukas shown to him by drawing Lotus, Flowers. Conch, Disc, Mace etc., & suggested to inscribe the following sloka regarding Neem Tree’s greatness & Maharaj’s yogic powers.
“Sada nimbavrikshasya mooladhiwassat,
Sudhastravinam tiktamapiapriyantam
Tarum kalpavrikshadhikam sadhayantam
Namameeshwaram Sadgurum Sai Natham”
Though written to inscribe at Padukas only at first, Upasani written verses prefixing & suffixing the above in the later years. This song entered into Sai Aratis after December 1912.
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