Navratri is commonly celebrated all over the world in our culture by playing garba. But why do we play garba? What does a garbo (the clay-pot) signify? Pujya Bhaishri beautifully explains this in this Navratri Sandesh.
When playing garba, in the centre, we keep a clay-pot (called garbo) containing holes and decorated with the symbols Shri and Swastika. This clay-pot is of great significance. Garbo signifies our body. This pot is made of earth. Our body also consists of five holes. We decorate this pot, i.e. adorn ourselves. Ornamentation is also a type of devotion.
When is a garbo worshipped? Until there is a lamp kindling inside.
Until when does this lamp remain alight? In the presence of oil.
This means that we are living until the oil of our destiny exists. As we endure our accumulated destiny and the oil finishes, the lamp turns off and the body dies.
Now, what does playing garba signify?
This signifies to live with God in the centre of our life.
What do we do instead?
We keep our ego in the centre and build our world surrounding the ego. One who lives with God in the centre will not get distracted in the illusions of this material world.
What a wonderful message has been given via celebrating Navratri: “Let me not trap myself in the worldly illusions and be attached. Let me be devoted to the lotus feet of God. I will live with God in the centre of my life and not my ego.”
In the present time, this spiritual thought has disappeared. What has remained is feeble Disco dandiya raas. Indeed, enjoy yourself but your focus should be God. There is fun and happiness in life only when Shri Krishna is the centre point of our life.