Practice at home
How to Offer Arati at Home
A simple arati you can offer before your home altar every morning and evening, following the standard Srila Prabhupada set in his temples
Arati is the ceremony of worship in which articles such as incense, a lamp, water, cloth, and flowers are offered to the Lord while the devotees sing. It is done several times a day in the temple. At home, a short morning and evening arati before your pictures or Deities transforms the room and anchors the whole day's practice. If you have not yet set up an altar, start with Setting Up Your Altar.
What you need
- Incense and a holder
- A ghee lamp or a candle. A small brass lamp with a cotton wick soaked in ghee is traditional; a candle or an oil lamp is fine to begin with.
- A small cup or conch of fresh water
- A clean handkerchief-sized cloth
- A flower, or a few flowers on a small plate
- A small bell, held in the left hand and rung throughout
- Optionally, a yak-tail whisk (camara) and a peacock-feather fan
Keep these items only for the Lord's use, clean, and stored near the altar.
Before you begin
Bathe, put on clean clothes and tilak, and clean the altar. Change the water cups, remove old flowers, and light the lamp and incense. Offer obeisances to Srila Prabhupada and the Deities. Then chant the prayers to the spiritual master:
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-swamin iti namine
namas te saraswate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet. Our respectful obeisances are unto you, O spiritual master, servant of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami. You are kindly preaching the message of Lord Caitanya and delivering the Western countries, which are filled with impersonalism and voidism.
The order of offering
Each article is offered first to Srila Prabhupada, then to Lord Caitanya and the Panca-tattva, then to Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, moving from the spiritual master toward the Lord. Circle each article clockwise before each picture, ringing the bell with your left hand the whole time, and sing. The Gurvastakam is sung at morning arati and the Gaura-arati song in the evening, and the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is always right.
- Incense: three circles before each picture. Then set it down.
- Lamp: four circles at the feet, two at the navel, three at the face, and seven around the whole form, for each picture. Then offer the lamp's warmth to the assembled devotees, and to yourself last, by passing your hands over the flame and touching them to your head.
- Water: in a conch or small cup, three circles at the head and seven around the whole form. Then sprinkle a little to the devotees.
- Cloth: seven circles around the whole form.
- Flower: three circles at the feet and seven around the whole form. Then offer its fragrance to the devotees.
- Camara: wave it gently for a few moments before each picture.
- Peacock fan: in warm weather, wave it likewise.
Finish by offering obeisances again and, in the morning, by chanting the maha-mantra together. Then serve the Lord some fruit or breakfast, following the offering procedure, and honor the prasadam.
A note on standards
These are the standards Srila Prabhupada set for his temples, simplified for a home with pictures on the altar. The exact number of circles matters less than regularity, cleanliness, and attention. A five-minute arati offered every single morning at the same hour pleases Krishna far more than an elaborate one offered when the mood strikes. If you install Deities, rather than pictures, the standard of worship rises considerably, and you should write to us at info@harekrishnatemple.com for guidance before doing so.
The full morning program lists all the prayers, in order, with translations. The evening program gives the Gaura-arati song.