diwali aartis(Religion and spirituality)

Paying a heavy price for the lack lustre Government policy vis-à-vis subversives, a large number of women and children out shopping for Diwali on the eve of Dhan Teras fell prey to multiple terror attacks carried out with detailed planning and precision.
This year's Vijayadashami day (The tenth day of the bright lunar month) has a special significance for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The pandals are made attractive so that crowds throng to have their view during the 10 days of the festival. Some pandals have electrical lighting that sways as per the music or popular songs from Bollywood or other regional songs. Other depict some historical, political or mythological scene by using statues, which may be static or movable. Some may simply have some paintings portraying some event. One will unmistakably find a loudspeaker playing songs of various types. Particularly after sunset, a large number of people leave their houses to savor the ambience of these pandals. Atleast in big cities, this creates a traffic problem and necessitates the deployment of special traffic police to ensure that the movement of the masses is disciplined and no untoward incident takes place. "Aarti" (a ritualistic puja with hymns) is performed in the morning and the evening at every pandal. All the people in the locality around the pandal make it a point to attend atleast the evening Aarti. On every occasion, Aartis of several gods are recited. Then, the devotees experience the heat of burning "kapoor" (camphor) placed on a plate, with their palms. They offer red flowers and "durva" grass and bow down before the Ganesha idol. Every day after each Aarti, a different "prasad" (small quantity of eatable) is distributed amongst all devotees.

It is a ceremony of worship that takes place in front of statues of the Gods. The priest has a tray with a diya (lamp), offerings of food, water, flowers, incense and a small bell. The five elements are represented in Arti: fire, earth, water and airand wind.the 5 senses touch taste sight smell and hear and it also represents wisdom Various rituals are carried out with the lamp. The ceremony ends with everyone sharing the food which has been offered to the Gods. Many Hindus perform Arti daily in their homes.

India is considered to be the land of festivals. And each festivals, has a reason or significance behind its celebration. Diwali the festival of light is also not an exception. It is celebrated across whole India with lots of enthusiasm and fun. Though the way it is celebrated differs from region to region according to the traditions and culture of that state but the reason behind its celebration remains same. The festival is celebrated by all there is no cast or age bar.
History of Diwali: The Diwali festival symbolizes unity in diversity as every state celebrates it in its own special and unique way. If we try to look for the origin of the Diwali festival, then we have to refer history. And history tells us that the festival is celebrated mainly for four days initiates on Aswayuja Bahula Chaturdasi and concludes on Kartika Shudda Vijiya. And each day has a significance and history behind its celebration.

Songs, either the traditional or the new ones, are sung at the time of aarti during Lakshmi Puja, Ganesha Puja and Kali Puja on Diwali. Either the devotees present in the puja sing the songs, or professional singers are called upon for the purpose. While bhajans are sung all through the kirtans, certain songs are especially sung during the performance of aarti. The tune of the very popular song 'Om Jai Jagdish Hare' is in wide use for a number of aarti songs. In this section, we have compiled the lyrics of some of the popular songs that can be sung during aarti, on the occasion of Diwali.