There is an easy way as put forth by proponents of the Bhakti movement to elevate yourself spiritually the idea is to remain simple and non-ostentatious while expressing gratitude to God. As legend has it, in 1508 CE
Guru Nanak Dev visited the famous temple of Jagannath at Puri in Orrisa, which was very well known for its Arti for Lord Krishna. In the evening, priests brought a platter full of many lighted lamps, flowers, incense, and pearls and began the Aarti. Guru Nanak Sahib meanwhile spontaneously gave words to the wonderful Aarti which was being hummed by Nature before the invisible altar of God, the creator of this universe:
Gagan mein thaal rav chand dipak baney, tarika mandal janak moti, dhoop maly-anlo pavan chavro kare saal banray phulant joti, kaisi Aarti hoye bhav khandna - teri arti.
(SSGSJ page 663)
# The sky is puja thali (platter used for the Artis), in which sun and moon are the Diyas (lamps)/The stars in the constellations are the jewels/ The wind, laden with sandal-wood fragrance, is the celestial fans/All the flowering fields, forests are radiance! What wonderful worship this is, oh! Destroyer of fear, THIS is your Aarti!
However, the Aarti that is sung daily in the Gurudwaras is however only partly composed by Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
# second stanza, from "Naam tero arti majan muraare Hark e Naam bin jhoothey sagal pasaarey" - SGGSJ page
695
(O* Lord, Thy name to me is the Aarti and holy ablutions. Everything else is false, *has been composed by Bhagat Ravi Das Ji, a Hindu who, incidentally, was a cobbler therefore Brahmins' would not allow him to enter the temple.
# The third stanza, "Dhoop deep ghrit saaji arti vaar ne jaau kamalapati"
(*May I be a sacrifice unto the Lord: that for me is the Aarti performed with lamps, ghee, and incense' (*Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: page 695)
* onwards,*was composed by Saint Sain, a barber in the court of Raja Ram,
King of Rewa.
# The fourth stanza, from "Sun sandha teri dev devaakar adhpat aad samaayi",
'*Brothers! That is how the Immaculate Lord's Aarti is made: Let Divine essence be the oil, the Lord's Name the wick, and the enlightened self, the lamp. By lighting this lamp we invoke the Lord' *(Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: page 1350)* onwards, *was composed in the same vein by Sant Kabir, the
Muslim Julaha (The Weaver).
# Thereafter, from "Gopal tera aarta jo jan tumhri bhagat karante tin ke kaaj sanvaarta",
*'O Gopala, accept your Aarti You grant the wishes of those who worship you!* (Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji: page 695) onwards, was composed by Bhagat Dhanna, a simple Jat farmer from Rajasthan.
# The final part was composed by Guru Gobind Singh Ji,* right from "Ya te... maha mun devar ke tap mein sukh pave jag kare ik ved rarey".
The Lord is pleased by penance, prayers, rituals, recitation of scriptures, meditation music and dance of celestial beings, and the melody of the Aarti. The cosmic worlds rejoice and chant the Divine Name onwards
That the Aarti which we sing daily has been composed of two Gurus, a cobbler, a barber, a weaver, and a farmer. This is yet more proof that
Sikhism believes in the equality of all human beings:
*Awal Allah Noor upaya/Kudrat ke sab bandey/Ek noor te sab jag upjaya/Kaun bhale ko mande.*
'First of all, God created light; Mother Nature created all human beings equal; from that one Light the entire world came into being; so how do we differentiate that one is better than the other?'
*Jo tis bhave so Aarti hoye*
