Kabir Aarti

By the BhaktiRas Editorial Team · Updated 14 July 2026

The Kabir Aarti is a devotional hymn sung in the Kabir Panth in praise of Sant Kabir Das, the fifteenth-century weaver-poet of Kashi. Its seven short verses hail Kabir as the eternal Satyanaam, the true name beyond birth and death. There is a quiet irony that devotees hold openly: Kabir himself questioned lamp-and-incense ritual and pointed to the nameless truth within, yet the tradition that grew after him honours him with this aarti as praise of the guru rather than worship of an image.

Kabir Aarti Lyrics (English)

Meaning & Significance

The Kabir Aarti reads as a string of names for the same idea: Kabir as Satyanaam, the true name; as the one who ends the fear of birth and death; as the imperishable truth that once walked the lanes of Kashi. The imagery is deliberately simple, a pearl on a dark mountain, a form on a lotus leaf, so the mind stays on the meaning rather than on ornament. The closing two verses are a phala-stuti, a note on what the singer gains: the wealth of devotion and release from being reborn.

The verse ‘Jayati Jayati Kabiram’ carries the legend that Kabir was found as an infant floating at the Lahartara pond outside Kashi, which is why he is called the child at the riverbank. Read in the Kabir Panth way, the aarti is not the worship of a deity image at all. It is praise of the guru and, through him, of the formless nameless reality that Kabir spent his life describing. That reading matters, because Kabir openly mocked the outward mechanics of ritual, and the tradition keeps the aarti while keeping his warning in view.

How Is the Kabir Aarti Performed?

1. Keep the setting plain — a single lamp is enough, and in the nirguni spirit many Kabir Panthis skip the lamp altogether and simply sit before an image or symbol of Kabir Saheb.
2. Open with the naam — sessions often begin with 'Sat Saheb' or 'Satya naam' before the verses start, setting the mind on the true name.
3. Sing the seven verses in order — keep an unhurried, even pace so each Sanskritised line stays clear and the meaning is not lost.
4. Turn attention inward — if a diya is waved, circle it gently while the group sings, but keep the focus on Kabir's teaching rather than on the flame itself.
5. Close on the phala verse — finish with 'Saaheb Kabir ki aarti, jo koi gaave' followed by a short bow or a jaikara to Kabir Saheb.

What Are the Benefits of Singing the Kabir Aarti?

Kabir Panth followers sing this aarti to turn the mind toward the formless divine that Kabir pointed to, not toward any single deity form.

• Focus on the formless: The words keep attention on the nameless truth and the nirguni Ram that Kabir taught, rather than on an idol.
• A shared satsang moment: Sung together at Kabir Panth gatherings, it draws a group into one voice and one intention.
• Remembrance of the guru: It fixes the singer's mind on Sant Kabir as a living guide, which the Panth treats as the core of practice.
• Calm and steadiness: The slow, repeated praise settles the breath and the thoughts, a small daily reset.
• A door into Kabir's words: Singing it often leads people back to his dohe and sakhi, where the deeper message sits.

Who Wrote the Kabir Aarti?

The verses are traditional and no single author is on record. The closing line signs off with Dharmadas, Kabir’s foremost disciple, whose lineage shaped much of the written Kabir Panth liturgy, so the aarti is placed within that Panth tradition rather than credited to Kabir himself. It is worth stating plainly that Kabir did not compose aartis. He wrote dohe, sakhi and pad, and he criticised outward lamp worship. The community that formed around him after his passing honoured him with this hymn, treating it as praise of the guru and of the nameless truth he described, not as ritual worship of a form.

Frequently Asked Questions

॥ जयती जयती कबीर ॥