Flame is the “flame” of true knowledge. At the end of any aarati, we place our hands over the flame and then touch our eyes and the top of the head. It means – “May the light that illuminated the Lord light up my vision; May my vision be divine and my thoughts noble and beautiful”

The philosophical meaning of aarati extends further. The sun, moon, stars, lightning and fire are the natural sources of light. The Lord is the source of these wondrous phenomena of the universe. It is due to Him alone that all else exists and shines.

As we light up the Lord with the flame of the aarati, we turn our attention to the very source of all light which symbolizes knowledge and life. Also, the Sun is the presiding deity of the intellect, the moon, that of the mind, and fire, that of speech. The Lord is the supreme consciousness that illuminates all of them. Without Him, the intellect cannot think and neither can the mind feel nor the tongue speak. The Lord is beyond the mind, intellect and speech.

How can these finite equipments illuminate the Lord? Therefore, as we perform the aarati we chant:

Na tatra suryo bhaati na chandra taarakam
Nemaa vidyuto bhaanti kutoyamagnib
Tameva bhaantam anubhaati sarvam
Tasya bhasa sarvam idam vibhaati

“He is there where the sun does not shine, Nor the moon, stars and lightning. Then what to talk of this small flame (in my hand), Everything (in the universe) shines only after the Lord, And by His light alone are we all illumined”

In our spiritual progress, even as we serve the Guru and society, we should willingly sacrifice ourselves and all we have, to spread the “perfume” of love to all.

We often wait a long while to see the illuminated Lord but when the aarati is actually performed, our eyes close automatically as if to look within. This is to signify that each of us is a temple of the Lord.