How to sing Arti in spiritually correct way?

The Āratī should be sung with the bhāv that 'God Himself is standing in front and we are calling out to Him earnestly'.

The more the bhāv one has while singing the Āratī  for God, the more enriched with bhāv and Sattva predominant the Āratī will become. Such an Āratī will reach God faster. Individuals singing an Āratī in this manner benefit as follows: The greater the collective bhāv of the group singing the Āratī, greater is the extent and period of preservation of the frequencies of Chaitanya (Divine consciousness) of Deities in the environment, thus leading to a reduction in the distress from negative energies and in gaining the benefit of Chaitanya. Every embodied soul should make an effort to perform the Āratī with bhāv. Also as a covering is formed on the ground by these Sattva predominant vibrations, which stops the transmission of distressing frequencies from the Negative subtle regions, the worshipper's embodied soul benefits the most from the Chaitanya. Thus during the Āratī the worshipper's gross and subtle bodies get purified and this results in his faster spiritual evolution. (Divine knowledge received through the medium of Mrs Anjali Gadgil, 5th June 2005, 6.33 p.m.)

All of us do not necessarily have a good level of bhāv. To enable even those having low bhāv to perform Āratī with increased bhāv, Sanatan Sanstha has produced an audio cassette and CD in Marathi called 'Collection of Āratīs and Omkār sādhanā'. The collection includes regular Āratī of Shrī Gaṇapati, Deity Shiva, Shrīrām, Shrīkrushṇa, Deity Datta, Deity Māruti and Shrī Durgādēvi. These Āratīs have been sung by Mrs Anjali Gadgil, a seeker of Sanatan Sanstha who has a high level of bhāv, and other seekers. The Āratīs are enriched with bhāv, sāttviktā and Chaitanya. According to the spiritual principle that 'the word, touch, form, taste, odour and the energy related to them, all coexist', if worshippers sing the Āratīs in the manner sung by these seekers with bhāv, then it will help awaken bhāv in them too at a faster pace.

Pronunciation while singing Āratīs should be correct as per the science of Spirituality. The sāttviktā and Chaitanya generated from the words in the Āratī depend on its pronunciation, speed of singing and also pronouncing the words either together or separately. To illustrate how the Sattva component gets affected an example is given here: A line in Shrīkrushṇa's Āratī is as follows - Dhwajavajrānkush bridāchā toḍar.
 

This can be sung in two ways.

 

Method 1: Here 'dā' in the word 'bridāchā' is stretched.

Method 2: (Dhwajavajrānkush bridāchā toḍar)

Here 'chā' in the word 'bridāchā' is stretched.

By uttering the word 'bridāchā' in an even tone without any change in rhythm, the Sattva component generated is 100%. However when singing the Āratī, since there is a restriction of the rhythm, one has to sing it by stretching a specific alphabet in a word. When it is uttered as in method 1, 80% of sāttviktā is generated from it. When uttered by method 2, only 60% Sattva component is generated. This illustrates the importance of correct pronunciation of every word in any song. Only if the pronunciation is correct will it awaken bhāv. If an alphabet in the middle of a word is stretched then the last alphabet in the word has the capacity to bind the sound frequencies created by prolonging the middle alphabet. That is how words generate more Chaitanya, which also lasts longer. In contrast, if the last alphabet in a word is prolonged, then as there is no alphabet after it, the sound frequencies created are not held together, instead, they disperse into the atmosphere immediately. The Chaitanya in such words lasts only for a moment and one does not derive the desired benefit from the Sattva component in it. That is why it is more beneficial to prolong the middle alphabet than the last one in a word. In the advanced stage of spiritual progress, singing a song in an even tone bestows more inner bliss and serenity than singing a song with rhythmic changes. (Divine knowledge received through the medium of Mrs Anjali Gadgil, 19th January 2004, 10.59 a.m.) (The audio-cassette and CD - 'Collection of Āratīs and Omkār sādhanā' produced by Sanatan Sanstha will be very useful in learning how to pronounce the words. It is also beneficial to learn the manner in which some of the regular Āratīs should be sung so that they become Sattva predominant.)

The Āratīs should be sung after understanding their meaning. Most of the Āratīs have been composed by Saints and evolved devotees; at times, it is difficult to understand the meaning of such Āratīs. Singing the Āratī after understanding its meaning helps in an early awakening of bhāv towards Deities.

(When the bhāv of a worshipper is awakened, he is able to imbibe the Chaitanya emanating from Supreme God with a resultant increase in his enthusiasm. - Compilers)