Sacred ash (vhibuti) is distributed at the end of the Arati as devotees sing the vibhuti prayer. Hold out your right hand and receive the vibhuti in it. You may place it on your forehead between the eyebrows and a small portion on the tongue.

Paramam Pavitram Baba Vibhutim

Paramam Vichitram Leela Vibhutim

Paramartha Ishtartha Moksha Pradanam

Baba Vibhutim Idamashrayami

Sacred, Holy and Supreme is Baba's vibhuti;

Pouring forth in endless stream this play of vibhuti;

So auspicious is its might it grants liberation;

Baba's vibhuti its power protects me.

Vibhuti is a reminder that ash is the end product of all matter. Vibhuti has also an aspect of immortality, which makes it a fit offering for worshipping God. Only the vibhuti remains unchanged, since it is the final result of the annihilation of the five elements of creation. It is symbolic of the ultimate reality that remains when our ego is burnt away by the fire of illumination."The vibhuti that you smear on your forehead is intended to convey the basic spiritual lesson that everything will be reduced to ashes, including the brow that wears it".

 

 

The vibuthi (holy ash) that you smear on your forehead is intended to convey the basic spiritual lesson that every thing will be reduced to ashes, including the brow that wears it.                       Sathya Sai Baba, 20.10.1966